ESG Round-up March

Welcome to our March ESG and sustainability round up.?

This bulletin is your one-stop-shop update on the most significant news in the world of ESG and sustainability across the UK built environment and beyond.

Also, Luke Cross will be at NHF Housing Finance Conference?in Liverpool tomorrow, Wednesday 13th March on the Newbridge stand (207), if you're attending please head over for a chat and a coffee.

We hope you enjoy the read!?

Best regards,?

Team Social??

Social’s Impact Chat?

In the latest Impact Chat, Luke Cross caught up with Imran Mubeen, Bromford’s Director of Treasury. During the session, they discussed Bromford's approach to sustainable finance to-date, and its plans to raise over ￡1bn through its sustainable finance framework. We also discussed the outcomes being driven by sustainability-linked loans, Bromford's recent efforts to bring together credit ratings agencies with customers and requests that its funders provide their own ESG disclosures.?

Watch below.

ESG: built environment focus – our top 7?

Here’s our must-read pick of the top stories from the last few weeks in the built environment.?

1. Whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) for the built environment: The RICS whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) standard is set to become the world-leading standard for consistent and accurate carbon measurement in the built environment. Find out more here.?

1. Empowering local places for health and prosperity: new perspectives from Yorkshire and the Humber: A new white paper, which responds to the urgent need for action to address widening health and economic inequalities in Yorkshire and the Humber has been published by YHealth for Growth partners. Read more here.?

1. Almost 10m UK households living in ‘cold, damp, poorly insulated homes’: A total of 34% of UK households or 9.6m are living in cold, poorly insulated homes, according to analysis of the English Housing Survey by the Institute of Health Equity and Friends of the Earth. Learn more here.?

1. Electric Grid Miscalculations Impact Housebuilding in the UK: Grid capacity challenges are so severe in West London that a ban could be placed on housebuilding altogether until capacity frees up in the network. Learn more here.?

1. International green building rating systems to form sustainable finance alliance: Each of the major green building rating systems for the UK, Australia, and the USA have announced a first-of-its-kind alliance aiming to unlock sustainable finance for the built environment. Learn more here.?

1. Comment: Why a circular built environment makes economic and environmental sense: By 2050 around 68% of the global population will live in cities. Delivering the new construction needed to house these populations requires building a New York-sized city every 40 days. That is the challenge of the century: to sustainably meet the demand for accelerating urbanisation and population growth. Read the comment piece here.?

ESG: the bigger picture – our top 6?

Here’s our must-read pick of the top stories from the last few weeks in the wider ESG world.?

1. Nearly Half of Companies Still Using Spreadsheets to Manage ESG Data: KPMG Survey: For its new study, KPMG US surveyed 550 board members, executives and managers, and found many appear to rely on highly manual data collection, with spreadsheets reported by a wide margin as the top ESG data management system used, at 47%, while 38% reported using ERP systems with ESG modules, and only 37% using specialized ESG software solutions and 33% using ESG data management solutions. Learn more here.?

1. Role of internal audit in ESG heats up amid global wave of regulation: Internal audit teams' responsibility to verify material ESG data continues to expand as more than 60 jurisdictions weigh new sustainability reporting requirements. Find out more here.?

1. The SBTi releases new reports to help accelerate corporate climate action beyond the value chain: The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has released two new reports to support the design and implementation of beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) strategies and mobilize increased action from corporations. Learn more here.?

1. EU Lawmakers Approve Penalties Including Imprisonment, Fines for Environmental Crimes: The European Parliament announced that it has adopted new rules on environmental crimes and related sanctions aimed at strengthening ecosystem protection and harmonized sanctions including fines and imprisonment. Find out more here.?

1. Investor ‘disappointment’ as JPMAM and State Street exit CA100+: The announcements that asset manager giants JPMAM and State Street have left Climate Action 100+ has caused responsible investors to review positions in funds, while others have said the move is “not surprising” for passive players. Read the full story here.?

1. IEA Report Reveals Global energy-related CO2 emissions hit record high in 2023: Global energy-related CO2 emissions increased as exceptional droughts hit hydropower, but rise was lower than in 2022 thanks to expansion of technologies such as solar, wind & EVs. Learn more here.?

Thank you for reading!

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