Great Places’ green ethos
Great Places works hard to be green. We are committed to constantly improving our sustainability.
We achieved a silver rating in the national Sustainable Housing Index For Tomorrow which benchmarks the way housing associations operate. We also gained a gold award from Manchester City Council through the Environmental Business Pledge scheme.
Our Environmental Policy sets out ambitious plans to tackle our sustainability as an organisation in four areas - waste, water, energy and travel. This ethos has been implemented in bite-size chunks - projects with measurable results, including:
Recycling
We reviewed our waste management and increased recycling by over 50%. All offices now have recycling stations for paper, cardboard, aluminium cans, glass and plastic.
Where space allows, kitchens have a compost container. To dispose of trickier items like batteries, toner cartridges and light bulbs we have formed new partnerships with specialist organisations Emerge Manchester, Ricoh and Recolight.
As well as establishing drop-off points for these items at our offices we have expanded the collection services to community centres in the areas where we work.
Resource conservation
We work constantly to make our offices more sustainable. Toilets are fitted with water savers, and there are aerators on taps. Over the past 12 months we have reduced water use by 8% in our head office.
A comprehensive system of monitoring across all offices and supported housing schemes keeps a check on electricity, gas and water use. We can now pinpoint any issues such as faulty equipment using too much water or power and take action.
We have invested in technology to reduce carbon emissions and energy use. Projects have included the installation of LED lighting, which is set to save 19,000 kwh a year, providing energy savings of £1,706 a year. The amount of Co2 saved is estimated at 10.5 tonnes.
Green travel
We have web conferencing facilities in our six offices, reducing business mileage and therefore carbon emissions. Last year, approximately 5,000 car miles and 1,372kg of CO2 were saved.
We also promote green travel, devising a company-wide travel plan with car sharing, pool cars and cycle to work schemes.
Great Places is about to trial the installation of photovoltaic panels to 100 homes and, if successful, will roll this investment out to many more homes.
Furniture re-use
Every year an average of 1,500 of our tenants move house. Residents often leave behind furniture and white goods that were previously being sent to landfill. We have now formed partnerships with furniture re-use charities to pass on such items for re-use by people who need them.
Positive Influence
We encourage residents to conserve energy and water at home and to spread the word about asking fuel suppliers about cheaper tariffs, potentially saving themselves money.
When residents move in they are presented with detailed information on efficient water and energy use.
We provide recycling stations at supported housing schemes to help foster good recycling habits among residents and have also delivered training to interested tenants on sustainability through our resident involvement programme.
To see our advice to residents go to the green living section of our dedicated tenant site, My Great Place.
Sustainable development
Our new housing developments are as environmentally-friendly as we can make them.
Astling Green, a recent development of eight family homes in Mereside, Blackpool, is the greenest development in the north west, reaching Code for Sustainable Homes level five.
Each rented property has 18 photovoltaic cells on the roof to generate electricity, along with heat exchange units and efficient boilers. They also have rain water harvesting systems which recycle water for use in flushing toilets and washing machines. Read more about Astling Green here.
Old School Lane in Mere, Stoke-on-Trent, is another good example of highly-sustainable development.
Features include air source pump central heating and rain water recycling systems. Properties also have “green screen” ivy living walls and top grade insulation, making them the most environmentally-friendly homes in the area. As well as increasing sustainability, such measures save tenants money. Read more about Old School Lane here.
Great Places developed the first homes with green roofs in Sheffield at Yorkstone Close, a development of eco-bungalows for older people at Wybourn. Read more about Yorkstone Close here.
See more about development and regeneration here.