Corporate Social Responsibility

Transcription

1 Corporate Social Responsibility

2 2 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 3 What is Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the way in which an organisation behaves in respect of its social, environmental and economic responsibilities. It s about ensuring that we run our business in an ethical and sustainable way. Our mission and values Rooftop is a value-led organisation that is clear about its role within wider society. We are dedicated to improving the quality of life for people and the communities in which they live. We aim to achieve this by providing excellent housing and related services, improving existing homes, providing new homes and working with a range of partners to benefit the community. Our objectives Services We will develop, deliver and sustain excellent services to all our customers. Community needs Working with partners, we will contribute toward the creation of cohesive and inclusive communities; developing new build and refurbishment schemes that respond to housing needs identified by national and regional strategies which are environmentally sustainable. Resources Making best use of resources: we will make best use of our financial, ICT and human resources to support and deliver excellent services and homes for customers and the community. We value: Our role in communities Social diversity, equality and social justice Listening, communicating and involving customers Value for money and financial security Our staff Continuous improvement and innovation

3 4 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 5 Corporate Social Responsibility and Rooftop Corporate Social Responsibility is not just a corporate phrase; it s the way Rooftop has been doing business since the organisation began. We are committed to running our organisation in an ethical and socially responsible way to contribute positively to the communities in which we operate. This is in relation to all aspects of our business for our residents, our staff, our partners and our suppliers. Rooftop is not an organisation which is driven by shareholders and profits. As a social business our surplus income is reinvested to maintain high standards and develop new services for the benefit of our residents. If we did not make long-term decisions that take into account the wider implications of what we do, our business would not succeed. We recognise that the management of social, ethical and environmental issues involves everyone within our business. Principal authority and accountability for our work rests with the Group Board. Day-to-day responsibility for CSR issues rests with the directorates and their line management, backed up by the Group Human Resources team. Four CSR themes provide the framework which underpins our objectives: Our community We aim to demonstrate that by recruiting, purchasing and investing in a considered way we can achieve thriving communities. We will continue to build relationships with our suppliers and the local communities we re part of by encouraging our staff and customers to involve themselves with volunteering initiatives. Our environment We aim to take all reasonable steps to manage our business so as to minimise our environmental impact and to promote good environmental practice. We will continue to promote sustainable methods of construction and maintenance. We are working towards a renewable energy future and already use renewable technologies on some schemes. We are also employing green technologies in selected developments. We will continue to review regularly our practices and performance to identify how we can improve our energy efficiency, reduce water usage, waste disposal and air emissions. Our partners We aim to treat our customers and suppliers fairly and with respect, ensuring that we adopt an ethical approach to procurement without compromising value for money. We always aim to conduct our business relationships with integrity and courtesy, honouring our trading commitments and building long-term successful partnerships. Our people We aim to be a good employer who people want to work for and to show the people who work for us that we value their contribution. We do this by ensuring that we maintain a workplace culture where diversity is valued and promoted, and also by ensuring that we offer opportunities for training and development so that talent is nurtured and rewarded. Our ultimate aim is to provide worthwhile, satisfying employment and development opportunities within a successful business.

4 6 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 7 Some of the things we ve been doing There is considerable day-to-day practice within Rooftop which demonstrates our commitment to CSR. Here are some examples: Our community Community volunteering Rooftop is supporting a range of volunteering projects. One is part of a Worcestershire-wide project called Generations Together. The aim of this project is to build more contact between young and older people through a broad range of activities, for example, providing support for older people living in our homes who wish to improve their computing skills. The Working World experience Rooftop supports a non-profit organisation called Working World that helps local young people with learning difficulties take the important step from education to learn transferable skills that can be used in the workplace. Working World clients have been doing work at Rooftop sheltered schemes, offering valuable cleaning and gardening services and other support to our residents.

5 8 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 9 Residents making choices The Rooftop Community Fund is a grant scheme run by Rooftop s Customer Panel. The Panel has been given approval to distribute 100,000 to projects which benefit Rooftop residents in their local communities. Funding is allocated by the Panel in sums ranging from 100 to 10,000. The award of 500 over a period of three years was granted to The Chantry, Fladbury to enhance the grounds at the front of Rooftop properties. Play area reaches The Peak Young people in the Worcestershire village of Eckington are benefiting from new play equipment recently installed at their Recreation Centre. Rooftop and Thomas Vale Construction made a joint donation of 3,000 to help fund the new equipment as a thank you to everyone who helped out during the construction of 12 new properties adjacent to the recreation ground. The money has been invested in improving the play area and in particular installing an exciting piece of equipment called The Peak.

6 10 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 11 Our environment Affordable warmth We are committed to improving the energy efficiency of our homes to help our residents reduce their fuel bills. Over recent years average fuel costs per Rooftop home have been reduced by approximately 83 per annum. With our partners, Connaught Partnerships and PRP Architects, we are developing a carbon emission reduction and affordable warmth programme for homes in Pebworth. External wall insulation is set to reduce residents energy bills by up to 150 a year. Energy generation - St Oswald s power plant Power at the St Oswald s Village development will be generated by a Combined Heat and Power Unit (CHP), generating electricity and, as a by-product, hot water to supplement the heating system. This form of unit complies with Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and reduces carbon emissions below the Target Emission Rate. On an average usage (assuming 8,300 hours of operation per annum), this will give an annual CO 2 saving of 132 tonnes per annum. The image below shows how much thicker the walls will be once the work is completed, while the diagrams underneath highlight the energy efficiency gains that are likely to be achieved.

7 12 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 13 Our partners Buying power! Rooftop is part of the Matrix partnership, a group of seven housing associations delivering over 110 million of new housing development and other services. Led by Rooftop, Matrix has worked with residents from the outset in jointly procuring a 178 million maintenance contract through Connaught. This achieved major economies of scale to deliver more for Rooftop residents, whilst also enabling them to shape the service they want for their homes now and long into the future. ExtraCare Charitable Trust (ECT) We have been working with ECT for over 10 years with an existing joint scheme at Yates Court in Evesham. We are now working with ECT again, and Gloucester City Council, on the 29 million St Oswald s Village in Gloucester. The Village provides 166 homes comprising one and two bedroom units for up to 250 local people aged 55 plus. The accommodation will surround a Village Centre with 18 health and leisure facilities.

8 14 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 15 Employment opportunities We are constantly seeking ways to improve employment opportunities for our residents or under-represented groups in our communities. We are currently offering volunteering opportunities in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire to enable our residents, or members of the communities in which we work, to gain experience of our work environment. We offer work experience opportunities to local schools and colleges. We are currently working in partnership with the National Housing Federation and Groundwork Trust to provide apprenticeships to young people between We will continue to work with our partners to increase employment opportunities in our local communities. Our people What our staff think We want to be a fair and ethical employer - offering stimulating employment and development opportunities for our staff. As part of our commitment we value staff views on how we can improve. In order to capture these views we use mechanisms such as one-to-ones, team meetings, staff surveys and, as part of our core briefing, sessions with our Group Chief Executive. Over 75% of our staff responded to our survey in 2008, which was an excellent result exceeding the take-up of the majority of Investors in People (IIP) employers and other housing associations. The survey findings were overall very positive showing a marked improvement in many areas compared to our previous survey. We ve set up a Staff Survey Action Group to oversee the organisation s improvements, with representatives from all over the business.

9 16 Rooftop Housing Group Corporate Social Responsibility 17 Investors in People (IIP) We have been accredited as Investors in People since 1999 and in 2008 were successful in achieving a Silver award. Following their inspection, the assessors noted that there is a very strong and consistent culture of supporting colleagues at every level of the organisation, including board members. We have now created an action plan which will support our aim of achieving the IIP Gold standard. Our future plans We have achieved much as an organisation, but we know there is so much more to do. Rooftop has an ambitious corporate development plan to achieve the Group s core objectives, underpinned by our CSR principles. In the period , the following list represents a sample of projects on our corporate agenda: We re developing a financial inclusion strategy to help our residents have access to appropriate financial products and services and to manage their money effectively. We re investigating social enterprise business, providing a public benefit service to deliver gardening and handyman services within EPHA housing stock. We re providing specific assistance to a defined section of job applicants to improve employability and working with our contractors/consultants to provide local employment opportunities. We re building a rural zero energy development. We re producing a toolkit to create places where people feel safe, secure and cared for. We re investing more resources in solar/photovoltaic energy sources. We re seeking re-assessment against the Investors in People accreditation aiming for the top-level Gold Standard. We re implementing stage 3 of our comprehensive staff health and safety management system. We re working with Evesham Library on the My Guide initiative, to improve PC literacy in the local area.

10 We aim to build relationships with the local communities in which we operate. We will contribute toward the creation of cohesive and inclusive communities.

11 Rooftop Housing Group Limited 70 High Street Evesham Worcestershire WR11 4YD