We’re delighted to have achieved SHIFT Gold accreditation, for our dedication and commitment to environmental sustainability. Specialist environmental consultant, SHIFT, have highlighted the significant improvements we have made to our EPC and SAP scores and sustainability strategy, and uplifted our score from low Silver to Gold in just three years. We’ve also maintained the highest SHIFT score for resident engagement with energy efficiency. We’re proud to be one of the top performing landlords in the sector for environmental sustainability, and will continue our holistic approach to reducing our carbon emissions and improving the energy efficiency of our homes and the thermal comfort of our residents. #SHIFT #Sustainability
We’re delighted to be reporting another strong set of financial and operational results for the period 2023/2024. Highlights of this year’s report include the delivery of our largest ever programme of home upgrades, with thousands of bathrooms, kitchens and boilers reworked, refitted and replaced to improve the thermal comfort of residents, with over 77% of all properties now rated at EPC C or above. We've developed 670 homes for rent and shared ownership, part of a six-year programme to build and acquire 4,000 homes within our corporate plan, to 2025. We’ve also retained our G1 V1 rating from the Regulator and A1 credit rating from Moodys. This year will see us celebrate the 100-year anniversary of our creation, and our growth from a home improvement society with 200 homes, to a leading housing association with over 35,000 homes across the Midlands, and we’re proud to be approaching this milestone from a position of financial strength.
Today we had the pleasure of sponsoring the Housing, Communities and Regeneration Hustings, hosted by Centre for the New Midlands! The event gave mayoral candidates for the West Midlands region, including Andy Street and Richard Parker, the opportunity to outline their commitments around housing and share how they intend to collaborate with organisations like ours, working hard to supply much-needed affordable housing in our region. The Hustings coincides with the launch of the West Midlands Housing Association Partnership (WMHAP) manifesto, a written agreement between 17 housing associations across the West Midlands, all united with the same purpose, to ensure everyone has access to safe, good quality and warm homes.
Our Carbon Reduction Plan sets out our commitment to energy efficiency and low carbon in the homes we rent, the homes we build, and in the way we work. With our plan in mind, we have taken important steps to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions at our three core offices. Just two examples over the past 12 months include upgrading our mechanical heating and cooling systems at our Birmingham head office, and commencing the roll out of rooftop solar PV across all three of our core offices. As our drone footage shows, the solar PV programme began at our West Midlands Hub facility in Oldbury and ensures that we can generate affordable, clean energy to run the office space and depot services. Since the installation was completed earlier this month, the solar panels have already been powering over half of our electricity during peak office hours. We’ll continue to share further updates as we continue our solar PV programme.
At Midland Heart, we’re extremely proud that our apprentices constantly look to go above and beyond. A perfect example of that is Martell Wilson who is the only female in her year group. Martell is in her second year as an apprentice electrician and through her four-year course, is also an ambassador for Walsall College where she spends one day every week, aside from her vital on-site training. Being part of the college’s ambassador programme gives Martell the opportunity to encourage others to look at the wide number of apprenticeships on offer, whilst providing valuable insight to new students on her learning, experiences and the next steps in her career.
On Friday we welcomed Phil McHugh, Managing Director for Vistry Group North West Midlands and Jane Grant from Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to the former Bedworth Bowling and Rugby Club, which will soon be transformed into a vibrant development of affordable homes. Our Executive Director of Finance & Growth, Joe Reeves, said: “Providing quality, affordable homes for local people is the primary focus of our organisation. We’re delighted that Jane and our partners could join us to celebrate the start of works on the site and hear our plans for its development. “This former rugby site will now be recycled into a new community. It's not just the much-needed homes that will be developed, but the major contribution of further local infrastructure that it creates. The whole community will benefit, including a new clubhouse for Bedworth Rugby Club.”
Last weekend we were delighted to join the annual Birmingham Pride Parade, a celebration of individuality and the power of community. Colleagues from across our organisation joined the c.80,000 strong crowd there to celebrate the achievements of the LGBT+ community. Celebrating Pride and engaging with the community in which we operate is a key priority for Harmony, our LGBT+ Inclusion Network, who work alongside our other inclusion networks to deliver activities for colleagues throughout the year, and help promote inclusion for all.
We’re extremely proud to feature in this year’s Sunday Times Best Places to Work list. This prestigious national recognition is received for our commitment to being a great place to work by providing an empowering and rewarding environment for our colleagues. We work hard to ensure our colleagues are able to thrive and succeed irrespective of background; where they are empowered to deliver the right outcomes for the people who live in our homes. This follows our top 40 regional ranking in last year’s 2023 Best Companies to Work For list. More than anything, we know that delivering our mission is only possible with an engaged team. We continue to challenge ourselves every day to ensure we are able to reward the hard work of our people with a great place to work.
During this year's #InternationalWomensDay, we wanted to shine a light on a variety of inspirational women here at Midland Heart. We focused on the career journeys of those currently taking part in our Female Development programme, whilst our Balance (women's) network hosted a marketplace event. The marketplace showpiece saw almost 100 colleagues attend from across the business to learn more about the network’s priorities for the year, including health, menopause and the role of inspirational women. We also launched our new Everyday Sexism eLearning for colleagues, which has also been shaped by our Balance network.
