Environmental, Social and Governance - what does it mean for Social Landlords?

Lenders are increasingly having regard to a set of ESG standards with environmental considerations in respect of the natural/environmental impact of the operation of the body; social considerations in respect of  the relationships the body has with customers, employees and communities; and governance consideration in respect of how the body conducts its business.

In the article below, my colleague Derek Hogg draws the obvious parallels between these standards and the structure and purposes of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). Most RSLs are also registered charities and have their own environmental targets in terms of providing low carbon, energy efficient affordable housing within the communities in which they operate.

The ESG Social Housing Working Group produced a Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing which is intended to provide a framework allowing RSLs to record ESG performance in an open and transparent manner.

This would certainly be a good starting point when RSLs are negotiating the terms of financial investment to evidence the actions being taken and targets being achieved by the RSL and to set any targets with the lender to strengthen the RSLs position.