Our approach
This is a long-term and significant commitment, which will impact across all areas of our development and asset management work.
Housing is responsible for 21% of carbon emissions in Wales and the Welsh Government has set it’s target to achieve net zero by 2050.
All our new homes designed and built by us will achieve an energy efficiency rating ‘EPC’ A using low carbon space and water heating solutions and solar PV. Where appropriate, we also consider employing modern methods of construction and new innovations in pursuit of continuous improvements in safety and speed of delivery.
We are committed to reducing construction waste and improving the quality of our homes even further.
MHA have created a ‘Net Zero Pathway’ that details how we will achieve net zero by 2050 across our business, and both new and existing homes.
The education of staff, tenants and partners in carbon literacy training is key to successfully navigating our journey to net zero.
We’ve already phased out traditional fossil fuel heating systems from our designs for new homes – part of our efforts to reach net zero by 2050.
Our journey to date
Since our development journey began in 2011, we have strived to innovate and improve the energy efficiency of our new homes, initially focussing on a fabric first approach and then supplemented with technology such as heat pumps and solar panels.
Some of our achievements …
- MHA are the only organisation to have secured 3 or more rounds of Innovative Housing Programme (IHP) capital funding from Welsh Government for which we won a Construction Excellence in Wales Innovative Award (Check out Cwrt Llywfen).
- We have used our funded projects to develop internal skills and learn valuable lessons for a low carbon future.
- We achieved our first EPC ‘A’ rated scheme in 2015 (which requires a SAP of 92 or more).
- Supported by IHP funding, our first 100+ SAP rated new homes were produced at Pembroke Road, Bulwark in 2022 and furthered our fabric first approach combined with the use of low carbon materials.
- In 2023, we completed our first ‘net zero: primary occupational energy’ homes which produced more energy through solar PV than they are predicted to use for space heating, hot water and lighting using SAP calculations. While these do not meet the definition for UKGBC’s definition for ‘net zero: occupational energy’, they are a key milestone stage in our journey toward this standard.
Optimised Retrofit
The Optimised Retrofit Programme is funded by Welsh Government.
The objective of this programme is to decarbonise existing homes to a point where we reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
The collaboration of 68 partners, including 26 social housing providers, has been awarded more than £13m in funding by Welsh Government through the Optimised Retrofit Programme that was introduced as part of the Innovative Housing Programme.
