All-in on sustainability: Woven Housing Association 

From appointing a new environmental, health and safety team to exploring ways to cut down on both scope 2 and 3 emissions, Derek Johnston explains how Northern Ireland-based housing association Woven is delivering on its sustainability and net zero commitments.

Why is sustainability important to Woven? 

We launched our first environmental and sustainability strategy in 2022, and sustainability is now an integral part of the business and at the forefront of operational decisions. 

As an organisation responsible for providing affordable and accessible housing, it is important we use this position to drive positive change by providing our staff and tenants with greener spaces that will help foster healthier lifestyles and more vibrant, environmentally friendly communities and to play our part in moving the UK to net zero.

How are you working to improve the sustainability of your homes? 

Through the launch of our environmental and sustainability strategy, we set several objectives focussed on the various aspects of the organisation, including our homes and communities. 

The strategy set us on a path to become a net zero business, and the objectives are linked to our annual Environmental Management Certificate, which ensures we comply with all relevant environmental legislation and the expected standards of best practice. To date, 70 per cent of the strategic goals set within this plan have been achieved. 

We also actively engage with a range of stakeholders to improve operations and are a transformational member of Business in the Community Northern Ireland. We also serve in their environmental leadership team, which was set up as a way for businesses to share knowledge and expertise that will help organisations taking action to improve the environment in which they operate. 

How are you working to make Woven a greener organisation more broadly? 

We have recently invested in our staff resources by appointing a new environmental, health and safety (EHS) team, which acts as a focal point of support for the sustainability journey of each department within Woven. The team will also oversee our environmental compliance and impact of our land and built assets by focussing on carbon footprint, green space development and staff training. 

The team is currently developing our new environmental strategy for 2026–2029, on the understanding that organisational sustainability cannot be achieved by one team or department and must be inclusive of all areas of the business.

It’s important to support passionate staff, as they will become your biggest champions

Elsewhere, we complete the Business in the Community benchmarking survey on an annual basis, which reports on our environmental approach and carbon footprint and highlights where improvements can be made. 

This year, we are making the commitment to focus on scope 2 and 3 emissions and will map out our supply chain emissions in more detail to understand how this can be improved for the future. 

How do you ensure staff are bought into your sustainability ambitions? 

Sustainability is a crucial part of our organisation, and we ensure this message is instilled in all colleagues from the get-go. As part of our approach to staff inductions, there is now a section that details Woven’s past, present and future sustainability objectives.

Our environmental committee, led by the EHS team, focusses on staff engagement and environmental compliance. In addition, we also have a staff-led environmental steering group, which comprises volunteer staff members and is the backbone of our environmental and sustainability strategy.

From toolkits to tree-planting, Woven is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to sustainability

Collaborative teamwork is an essential part of our strategy, and work has begun with internal and external partners to map out all green assets, in an effort to plan for greenspace development as part of our net zero journey.

Staff are also working with a carbon literacy toolkit, which will allow us to deliver the accredited carbon literacy course to all our staff and interested tenants in 2025.

What challenges have you encountered in your sustainability journey so far?

Our vision for the first environmental and sustainability strategy was a one-size-fits-all approach. However, through trial and error, we now understand that cross-departmental collaboration is needed.

To combat the challenges faced, the development of the new strategy will allow for departmental ownership and collaboration among departments with the support of the EHS team. 

What are your long-term goals?

With our current environmental strategy coming to an end in 2025, we have created an action plan that will consider its successes, challenges, and barriers as an opportunity to move forward on a positive footing.

A new three-year strategy is under development, which will be reviewed and amended annually to ensure flexibility and provide a benchmark, enabling staff to remain focussed on outcomes. This approach will allow us to establish a robust net zero baseline, which we will use to report on quarterly emissions and map out our long-term net zero goal through smaller, more manageable carbon reduction steps. 

Incorporating such flexibility into the strategy will also enable us to consider any policy changes and potential financial support from the UK government to assist with the decarbonisation of our housing stock in Northern Ireland.

What advice would you give to other housing associations that aren’t making as much progress as they would like in this area?

As a starting point, it would be to place an internal focus on sustainability by creating a group of like-minded volunteers. Providing a platform for staff to share knowledge on what could be better was a positive way to engage with those already passionate about the topic.

Within Woven, our environmental steering group became the backbone of organisational change. The group initially focused on small, easily achievable goals, such as centralising waste, installing recycling bins, and removing single-desk mixed-waste bins.

The success of these low-cost projects led to staff suggesting more ambitious projects, such as greenspace development and energy and heating-awareness campaigns, which have snowballed into the creation of our first environmental and sustainability strategy.

Completing projects outlined in the strategy created a sense of achievement within Woven, and it allowed us to celebrate successes together while also accepting setbacks as part of a positive learning process. 

Ultimately, it’s important to support passionate staff, as they will become your biggest champions. This bottom-up approach helped us to initiate a positive cultural change within the organisation for sustainability.

Main image: Members of Woven's Greenspace group. (All images courtesy of Woven)