We’re excited to share that we have published our third Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report for 2024/25, which sets out the progress we’ve made over the last year and our commitments for the future.
Each year, we report on how we’re doing against our ESG objectives – from building energy-efficient homes and keeping rents affordable, to supporting our customers and investing in our people.
Why ESG matters
For housing associations like Accent, ESG is a way of showing how we create long-term value for our customers and communities. By measuring our impact on the environment, how we support people, and how we run our organisation, we can keep homes affordable and sustainable so customers benefit from lower rents and warmer, greener homes. It also means we can provide the right support to help with the cost of living and build stronger communities. Most importantly, ESG makes us transparent and accountable, so customers, partners and funders can see the difference we’re making and trust us to deliver.
Warmer, greener homes
This year, we’ve continued to improve the energy efficiency of our homes.
- 85.2% of Accent homes now have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above.
- 72% of the new homes we built were rated EPC A – the highest possible standard.
- We also secured £3.6 million of government funding to make more homes warmer and cheaper to run between 2025 and 2028.
Affordable rents and support for customers
Keeping rents affordable is one of our biggest priorities. In 2024/25, Accent rents were on average 38.3% lower than those in the private rented sector.
We also built 458 new homes for rent or low-cost home ownership.
Alongside this, we’ve supported customers with the rising cost of living:
- Securing nearly £43,000 in backdated benefits.
- Helping customers gain over £200,000 in extra income.
- Reducing debts by more than £42,000, including with energy suppliers.
We continue to work closely with our contractors to deliver extra social value for customers and communities.
Building an inclusive workplace
We know that the strength of our organisation comes from our people. Over the past year we’ve:
- Reduced our gender pay gap by 2.3%.
- Introduced a new Menopause Policy and are working towards Menopause Friendly accreditation.
- Rolled out our Leadership Academy, offering 18 months of training and coaching to leaders across Accent, with more than 160 coaching sessions already delivered.
Looking ahead
We’re proud of the progress we’ve made this year, but there is still more to do. Our commitment is to keep making a positive difference for our customers, our communities, and our colleagues.
You can read our full report here - (ESG) report for 2024/25
