Home Page >
About Harvest
>
What's new
>
2009
>
January 2009
> Harvest Housing Group Receive Recognition
Harvest Housing Group have distinguished themselves from a large proportion of the housing sector by undergoing an independent assessment of their sustainability activity and achievements by Sustainable Homes, a leading training and advisory consultancy.
In an official inaugural ceremony, which took place in London yesterday (22 January), Harvest Housing Group were awarded a Bronze Banding on the Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow (SHIFT), a benchmarking scheme set up by Sustainable Homes that provides a comprehensive assessment of an organisation’s environmental sustainability, taking into account all the activities and impacts of the organisation.
The event was held at City Hall by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and was an opportunity for the 16 members of SHIFT, including Harvest Housing Group to celebrate their environmental achievements in 2008 and discuss the way forward in 2009.
Harvest Housing Group joined SHIFT in 2008 and were required to undergo a rigorous analysis and evaluation of their sustainability performance across several areas of the organisation including Strategy and Management, Office Practices, Existing Buildings and New Build.
The outcome of the assessment enabled Harvest Housing Group to identify their overall progress and performance to date regarding environmental issues and also provided an opportunity for them to set out a comprehensive plan of action to improve their environmental impact.
Upon receiving the Bronze Banding, Bronwen Rapley, Group Director of Legal Services for Harvest Housing Group said:
“This is the beginning of a very positive journey for Harvest Housing Group and we are delighted to have been recognised by the Sustainable Homes Index for our progress to date. We have found the whole process very valuable, enabling us to compare our environmental performance with that of our peers and providing us with the guidance we require to move forward and build on our achievements”.
The outcome of the index also served as a benchmark rating which will allow for continuous yearly improvement and comparison against similar organisations and current best practice.