One of the Midlands largest housing associations is a finalist in a leading awards scheme.
Platform Housing Group has been shortlisted in the inaugural ACT Diversity and Sustainability Awards, in the Sustainability Award Large Corporate category.
The awards – which are organised by The Association of Corporate Treasurers – recognise the outstanding organisations and individuals who have championed positive change in diversity and sustainability in the treasury profession.
The winners will be unveiled at a ceremony on Wednesday 16 October at The View in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London.
Jessica Friend, Group Corporate Finance Director at Platform Housing Group said: “To be shortlisted at this year’s awards is extremely well deserved for the team. As an organisation we have gone above and beyond in embracing sustainability finance in various forms and implementing innovative initiatives that move us further forward in our sustainability journey. Our Treasury team has been instrumental in our commitment to addressing the challenges our people, places and business are facing in relation to climate change, ecological demands and social pressures. We wish them – and everyone at the awards – the very best of luck!”
Platform Housing Group’s award entry focussed on its ambitious targets for improving the energy efficiencies of its homes; a series of social value initiatives including its Wellbeing Fund which targets those customers who are most in need with essentials such as food, clothing, beds and white goods; the Fund allocated £1.1m to help approximately 3,500 customers during the year.
Jessica concluded: “During the year we issued our second sustainability bond which will fund development of new affordable housing that qualifies as ‘green buildings’, having one of the highest Energy Performance Certificate ratings of A or B. In doing so we are directly contributing towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The bond was a benchmark sized £250m deal issued from our EMTN programme, attracting the tightest credit spread for the sector in more than 4 years at 83bps. This complemented £275m sustainability linked revolving credit facilities arranged earlier in the year with international banks National Australia Bank and ABN Amro. Overall this means that just under half of Platform’s £2.2bn debt portfolio is now explicitly supporting our sustainability objectives. Our sustainability linked revolving credit facilities have KPIs linked to improvements in the energy efficiency of new build properties. In addition, further metrics are linked to improving the representation of black and minority ethnic colleagues, relative to the demographics of the operational areas of Platform and national averages.
“These awards are an important opportunity to take a step back and review how far we have come and share inspiration for where we go next in our sustainability journey. This shortlisting acknowledges Platform’s strong commitment to deliver on these targets.”
Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
