SCAPE, the UK’s leading public sector procurement authority, has become a member of the Good Homes Alliance (GHA), making it the UK’s first framework provider to join the Alliance.
The GHA aims to promote the building of quality sustainable homes that enhance the communities they are part of through a range of social, economic and environmental benefits.
As a member of the Alliance, SCAPE will collaborate with more than 80 organisations – ranging from industry contractors and suppliers to local authorities and universities – to support the aim of net-zero emissions homes along with higher standards in comfort and health for occupants. The GHA has an ever-growing Vanguard Network of forward-thinking local authorities and has recently launched a new Pathfinder Network for housing associations.
Members of the GHA – such as Pollard Thomas Edwards, Hoare Lea and Bioregional – are driving innovation and improving standards across the housing sector, including actively supporting progress towards the government’s 2050 Net Zero carbon target. To aid that, the GHA is supporting the Building for 2050 research project, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which aims to inform UK policy on delivering low carbon homes in England and Wales.
SCAPE champions the development of sustainable low carbon homes through its procurement frameworks for public sector projects and has recently published its own comprehensive environmental policy – alongside recommended environmental standards for projects – approved by the UK Green Building Council. The policy sets out a range of objectives that will match the environmental objectives of our most ambitious clients.
Featuring in its recently published Social Value: More Than Metricsresearch report, SCAPE has also outlined a series of recommendations to encourage sustainable development across the UK.
Mark Robinson, group chief executive of SCAPE, said: “If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that collaboration is essential to driving meaningful and impactful change. As a collective of the private and public sector’s most forward-thinking organisations, the GHA is spearheading the effort to create exemplary homes that set a benchmark for sustainability – not just in the UK, but across the world. The Alliance’s work is vital to developing the homes that we need to live in a greener world.
“We currently work very closely with our delivery partners to improve project standards and ensure that benchmarks are not only met but surpassed, so we know that outstanding things happen when we pool knowledge, resources and commitment to the same cause. By joining the GHA, I’m confident that we can achieve more together as we actively contribute to its work for championing change and best practice and generating the sustainable outcomes that local communities deserve.”
The GHA is led by a board that includes council representatives, sustainable design experts and architects. The Alliance operates within four key themes to embed sustainability into the mainstream:
- exploring alternative housing models that address the housing crisis;
- introducing measures that improve people’s health & wellbeing in homes;
- identifying techniques to support carbon neutral and carbon positive homes;
- and encouraging the adoption of robust standards that yield high-performance housing.
Julian Brooks, Programmes Director at Good Homes Alliance, said: “We’re delighted that SCAPE has joined our Alliance. Developing the supply chain to enable the delivery of net zero new homes is a critical part of the journey and experience from client groups is suggesting that a greater focus is needed around verifiable and real net zero outcomes. Working with organisations such as SCAPE opens up this much needed discussion directly across the supply chain and we are optimistic that we can accelerate the delivery of net zero homes as a result.”
