Salix Homes strikes gold for sustainability

Salix Homes has struck gold after being recognised for our efforts to reduce our environmental impact.

We’ve been awarded the Gold accreditation in the Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow (SHIFT) assessment.

SHIFT is an independent body, which sets the sustainability standards benchmark for the housing sector, and supports housing providers to be more environmentally friendly.

We achieved an overall score of 58.46, ranking number 10 out of 40 other organisations who have recently undergone a SHIFT assessment.

This was our first ever assessment, and the process takes into account the green credentials of our 8,000 homes, as well as our offices, day-to-day operations and the partners and suppliers we work with.

Key highlights from the assessment include:

• • The average SAP score for our homes is 72.91.
    SAP stands for Standard Assessment Procedure and is used to measure how energy efficient a property is. The higher the SAP score, the more energy efficient the property is. We’ve been improving the energy efficiency of all our homes across Salford, which includes things like installing solar panels, new doors and windows and installing external wall and loft insulation.

• • Energy use in our communal heating systems is very low.
    This includes our high rise buildings where we have invested in eco-friendly, more energy efficient heating systems.

• • 47% of our homes are rated EPC C or better.
    EPC stands for Energy Performance Certificate and is a scale for rating the energy efficiency of a property with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least. It helps to understand how much energy a home uses, and how much it costs to run, meaning our homes are cheaper to run compared to others. We’ve set ourselves a target that all of our homes will be rated EPC C or better by 2030.

• • We scored high for our efforts in signposting our customers to access energy support.
    This includes initiatives we run such as Green Doctors, where our customers can access free, impartial energy saving advice and support.

David Malsom, Sustainability Manager at Salix Homes said: “We’re incredibly proud to have been awarded the Gold accreditation in our first SHIFT assessment. Sustainability is a key priority for Salix Homes, and we’re committed to creating cleaner, greener homes and communities, so this accreditation reaffirms that we’re on the right track towards achieving our mission.

“We’re working hard to ensure our homes, business, communities and activities are as environmentally friendly as possible, and we’re aiming to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2038.

“We recognise that sustainability is a continuous journey of improvement, so we’ll be using the findings and recommendations in the SHIFT report to continue to progress our sustainability strategy, working to improve the energy efficiency of all our homes and activities, which will benefit our customers, colleagues and the planet.”