Stonewater has retained its SHIFT Gold accreditation for the fifth time, while ranking 1st amongst the 40 most recent SHIFT assessments for the second consecutive year.

The housing association achieved its highest overall SHIFT (Sustainable Homes Index For Tomorrow) score, 71.6%, reinforcing its position as one of England’s leading sustainable housing providers.

SHIFT is the housing sector’s sustainability assessment and accreditation scheme, benchmarking organisations against a wide range of environmental and social sustainability measures.

Stonewater improved its performance across nine of the assessment’s criteria, with 74% of homes achieving EPC rating of C or above despite the introduction of the new SAP 10 methodology, which has reduced rating across the housing sector.

The provider saw notable increases in its customer engagement figures thanks to several sustainability awareness campaigns. These covered topics such as World Bee Day, World Environment Day, low carbon transport initiatives and energy efficiency campaigns. The assessment also recognised significant progress in reducing operational emissions.

Stonewater’s office-based emissions fell from 24.7 tCO2e to 8.7 tCO2e, supported by lower gas consumption across newer office locations and improved energy performance throughout its workplace estate.

Enhanced environmental reporting and data collection have further strengthened Stonewater’s sustainability performance, helping to reduce business mileage while improving waste diversion rates and reducing fly-tipping incidents.

Adam Masters, Director of Sustainability and Homes at Stonewater, said:

“Retaining our SHIFT Gold accreditation for a fifth time and once again achieving the highest score amongst the most recent assessments is a fantastic recognition of the progress we’re making across the organisation.

“Sustainability remains at the heart of everything we do, from improving the environmental performance of our homes and workplaces to helping customers make more sustainable choices in their daily lives.

“We’re particularly proud to have seen strong improvements across a number of assessment areas, including sustainable transport, operational emissions and environmental reporting. While challenges remain across the sector, particularly following the introduction of SAP 10, these results demonstrate our continued commitment to delivering positive environmental outcomes for our customers, communities and colleagues.”

The latest result builds on Stonewater’s longstanding commitment to sustainability and supports its wider ambitions to create more energy-efficient homes, reduce carbon emissions and help customers live more sustainably.