NetZero Collective has been awarded two new contracts, with Sanctuary and Welsh landlord Hafod. The contracts will progress decarbonisation efforts on over 5,600 homes across England and Wales.
Welsh housing association, Hafod, has enlisted NetZero Collective to support its decarbonisation journey and an ambitious future upgrade of 5,000 homes across Wales.
Hafod provides high-quality affordable homes, and housing to help people live independently, plus care services across nine local authorities in Wales.
NetZero Collective has been awarded the £200,000 consultancy contract as part of Hafod’s wider decarbonisation plan which aims to ensure that all its homes, including existing properties, achieve at least an EPC Rating of C by the government target date of 2029. This contract cements the existing partnership between NetZero Collective and Hafod, following NetZero Collective’s support with the landlord’s grant applications.
Over the border in the North West of England, Sanctuary has awarded NetZero Collective a one-year contract for retrofit surveys, assessments, and installation of measures for over 500 homes. This work is to part-deliver Sanctuary’s aim of improving more than 2,000 homes to EPC Band C under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1, for which they have received £12.5m in grant funding.
NetZero Collective secured both contracts via direct award from the Greener Futures Partnership (GFP) Decarbonisation Delivery framework, managed by Pretium Frameworks Ltd.
The framework, launched last year, provides retrofit and professional consultancy services to support the delivery of decarbonisation works. It was developed with the GFP, a collective of five like-minded housing associations — Abri, Anchor, Home Group, Hyde Group and Sanctuary — which was set up in 2021, as its members believed that a joint effort would be more effective in helping the social housing sector seriously address the green agenda.
Neil Waite, Director at NetZero Collective, said: “We are delighted to have started two new contracts that will help drive forward Hafod and Sanctuary’s decarbonisation ambitions. We’re looking forward to bringing in NetZero Collective’s skills and expertise to support these organisations’ retrofit plans.
“It’s great to see both Hafod and Sanctuary prioritising sustainability but also the health, happiness, and wellbeing of everyone who lives in their homes. Along with being better for the environment, these upgrades will ultimately increase the warmth of people’s homes and reduce their energy bills.”
Sarah Hancock, Hafod’s Head of Assets, commented: “At Hafod, we’re committed to achieving net zero by 2036, and decarbonising our existing homes is a critical aspect of this journey. We recognise that achieving net zero carbon is a huge undertaking and we’re delighted to be able to partner with NetZero Collective to help us achieve this.
“As a socially responsible business focused on making lives better for our customers, this decarbonisation work will extend beyond carbon reduction, but will also make our customers’ homes warmer, dryer and more energy efficient, to combat fuel poverty and promote better physical and mental health.
“We look forward to working alongside the NetZero Collective team and learning from their expertise.”
Rebecca Craig, Director of Sustainability and Climate Change, Sanctuary, added: “We are delighted to be working with NetZero Collective in the North West to deliver improved homes for our customers, and we are looking forward to getting started with this phase of our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 programme. This phase will see us improving over 500 homes up to EPC Band C.
“Sustainability is one of our core values here at Sanctuary — our culture involves working together as one team to support our social purpose and putting our customers at the heart of everything we do. This new phase of work will help drive forward Sanctuary’s retrofit plans and ultimately increase the warmth and energy efficiency of our customers’ homes.”
Header image: Neil Waite, Director at NetZero Collective
