As a specialist in working in occupied properties, we understand that the initial engagement process is critical to a project’s success, including the speed of mobilisation, timely delivery, property access and customer satisfaction.
Social Value
One of our fundamental goals is to deliver high quality retrofit schemes; works that help to alleviate fuel poverty, improve people’s health and enhance households’ everyday living conditions. We do this while supporting government, local authorities, registered social housing providers, private landlords and individual households in pursuing their low and net zero ambitions.
As a specialist in residential decarbonisation we recognise that our schemes have the potential to deliver positive social impacts at scale.
On most publicly-funded social housing projects, we offer the same improvements to local, privately-owned/rented properties, allowing us to deliver economy-of-scale savings, and encourage wider adoption of energy-saving measures.
Doing this at scale helps to address issues relating to fuel-poverty, net zero targets and the cost-of-living crisis. Last year, 20% of the properties we improved were privately-owned and delivered through this approach.
We also proactively engage with project stakeholders at the earliest stages to:
• maximise opportunities for training and employment
• find ways to enhance and positively impact local communities and environments wherever possible.
Our continuing focus on social value has helped to foster a culture of innovation within the business. We look to develop and deliver a community investment programme on each project we deliver.
Ways in which we add social value include:
Training, Apprenticeships and Work Experience
- Supporting shared apprenticeship schemes and managing our own
- Providing training opportunities for project stakeholders, residents and the local community
- Liaising with social enterprises and colleges to identify candidates for placements, and to focus effort where it will deliver most benefit
- Setting project KPIs for job creation, work experience and apprenticeships
Employment Opportunities, Supply Chain and the Local Economy
- Recruiting locally and providing opportunities within the communities where we work
- Promoting employment and roles within the ‘Green Economy’
- Appointing local subcontractors and product suppliers
- Appointing supply chain partners who share our commitment to social and community initiatives
Education / Upskilling
- We work with higher and further education establishments to support work experience and skills development
- We regularly engage with schools, colleges and social enterprises to promote the benefits and importance of energy efficiency measures, residential decarbonisation and UK Net Zero targets
- We advise secondary school pupils about career options in construction and the ‘Green Economy’
- We provide training and qualifications to our supply chain to retrain and/or upskilling.
Other Support
- Explain to households how to maximise the benefits from their energy-efficiency / low-carbon measures
- Provide post-installation training and advice to households, encouraging the adoption of more energy-efficient, money-saving behaviours
- Encourage employees and project stakeholders to support volunteer programmes
- Provide support to make local ecological / habitat improvements
- Directly upgrade or support the improvement of community facilities / buildings
- Provide charity / community fundraising, sponsorship and investment
Resident Engagement
Our qualified resident-engagement teams develop household-specific plans that are dynamic, adaptable and aligned to PAS 2035. We take a proactive, digitalised, personal approach to engagement, rather than relying on standard letters, emails and literature. This means we can spend time understanding residents’ specific needs, identifying vulnerabilities, explaining the planned works, and detailing how each stage will affect them.
Our approach helps to preserve a genuine sense of involvement and enables us to work flexibly. accommodating any special circumstances.
1| Pre-Work Engagement
- Pre-commencement notifications
- Resident consultation events
- Bespoke household engagement plans
- Identification of vulnerable residents
- Neighbouring property engagement
- In-home resident inductions
- Provision of contact details and emergency call-out numbers
- Creation of project-specific communication channels
- Management of survey and work appointment(s).
2| Works in Progress
- Being present and visible during works
- Regular home visits during works
- Clear and prompt notification of any work changes/delays
- Drop-in surgeries for residents
- Bespoke support for vulnerable residents
- End-of-day home visits
3 | Post-Works
- Completion of handover process with residents
- Issue of household handover pack
- In-person advice, including how to gain the maximum benefit from the new measures
- Post-installation usage/aftercare support
- Ventilation guidance
- Re-contact at 28 days and 6 months after completion
Day-to-Day Contact
We ensure that residents understand the benefits of their energy efficiency measures and how to make the most of them. This includes offering suggestions, verbally and in the accompanying documentation, for adopting routine behaviours that help to keep homes comfortable, energy-efficient, and safely ventilated.
