The journey towards net zero in the UK is a hugely ambitious transition, and one in which the social housing sector has a significant role to play. In 2022, emissions from the fossil fuels used in residential buildings accounted for around 21% of England's total greenhouse gas emissions. Social housing has been credited with contributing around 10% of this.
As housing associations and local authorities work to decarbonise homes, procurement strategy has a critical part in this, not only as a compliance requirement, but as a tool to enable positive changes, both environmentally and socially.
In this guide, we explore what net zero means for social housing, how procurement is central to achieving these goals and what steps social housing developers and providers can take to prioritise sustainability at every stage of the process.
- The challenges in social housing sustainability
- The strategic role of procurement in sustainable housing
- Practical steps that procurement teams can take
- How Procurement Hub can help
The challenges in social housing sustainability
The UK government’s legally binding targets are to reach net zero emissions by 2050. In the meantime, interim targets for reductions are in place for 2030, which is fast approaching. These targets relate to many areas, including a 68% reduction (vs 1990 levels) in overall emissions, zero-emission vehicles, cleaner power production and others.
In relation to social housing, there are several key areas that need to transform in order to contribute to these goals. They include:
Decarbonising existing stock
Several million social homes need energy efficiency upgrades, such as improved insulation, and low-carbon heating solutions to be installed.
Building new homes to higher standards
From 2025, the Future Homes Standard now requires new dwellings to produce 75-80% less carbon emissions compared to homes built under the previous Building Regulations.
Reducing embodied carbon
Beyond operational emissions, once the homes are completed and new residents move in, there is also a need to address the carbon emitted during construction and throughout a building’s lifecycle.
Delivering social value
Local authorities and housing associations must also consider the wider social and environmental benefits of their procurement choices, as reinforced by the Social Value Act and implementation of the Procurement Act 2023.
The challenges that the social housing sector is facing are significant. The good news is that they are also opportunities for the industry to achieve lasting environmental benefits while delivering high-quality affordable homes.
The strategic role of procurement in sustainable housing
Procurement is often thought of as simply the mechanism by which products or services can be purchased at the best price. In the context of net zero though, procurement has a much greater role to play!
Strategic procurement can start much earlier and shape things like design choices, along with driving innovation through the supply chain and setting new standards. Some of the ways it can contribute to net zero include:
Embedding sustainability into procurement strategy
By embedding sustainability objectives into the strategy itself at the very beginning of the project, it means that this consideration is at the very heart, before tender documents are even written. This could look like:
● Setting clear environmental targets (e.g., whole-life carbon reductions, operational energy targets, use of low-carbon materials).
● Aligning these targets with broader organisational strategies and local authority climate action plans.
● Ensuring sustainability is a key part of supplier evaluation and contract awards, not just a ‘nice to have’ consideration.
Using whole lifecycle costing rather than lowest capital cost
A building’s lifecycle costs, including energy consumption when people are living there and the maintenance of the property, have far greater environmental and financial impact than just the initial capital cost of development.
Lifecycle costing (LCC) evaluates options based on their total cost and carbon impact over time. For instance, choosing a slightly more expensive low-carbon heating system might yield significant energy savings and emissions reductions over its lifespan.
Including LCC in tender evaluations helps ensure that sustainable choices are economically sound. Not just in the long term, but often in the medium term too. This value assessment is a vital part of social housing procurement.
Awarding contracts to suppliers with strong sustainability credentials
The supply chain plays a huge role in a project’s carbon footprint. The procurement strategy can ask prospective suppliers to show that they have:
● Strong sustainability and carbon reduction plans already in place.
● Taken into consideration the use of recycled or low-carbon materials.
● All of the required certifications in place for the specific project, such as ISO 14001 (environmental management) or BES 6001 (responsible sourcing).
Integrating social value into environmental goals
Public sector buyers now have to consider social value as part of procurement, which can and should include environmental sustainability too.
When evaluating suppliers, taking into account things like local supply chains that reduce transport emissions, the use of local contractors and ongoing training in green skills means that not only does the project being benefits environmentally, it also helps invest in the local community and SMEs.
Practical steps that procurement teams can take
When building new homes or working on existing housing stock, procurement teams in the social housing sector can:
● Review and update procurement policies to align with your organisation’s climate strategy.
● Train procurement teams and project managers on lifecycle costing, sustainability criteria and market engagement.
● Engage early with suppliers to understand what innovative solutions exist and what support suppliers may need to deliver them.
● Set clear, measurable sustainability targets in tenders, contracts and procurement KPIs.
● Collaborate with other housing providers to share knowledge, standardise requirements and create stronger market signals.
How Procurement Hub can help
Achieving net zero is a huge challenge within the social housing sector, where affordability, speed of development and ageing housing stock all need to be balanced. It also provides an opportunity for housing associations to deliver homes that are fit for the future, comfortable to live in and cheaper to run, while contributing to climate targets at the same time.
At Procurement Hub, we are specialists in social housing and supporting housing associations and public bodies to incorporate sustainability in procurement, whether that’s new homes or the management of existing properties.
You can become a member for free to access our wide range of flexible procurement solutions, with pre-qualified suppliers that can deliver sustainable goods and services in a huge range of project types.
Get in touch to find out more.