Legal & General has committed to making its new housing stock net zero carbon enabled by 2030.
This will be implemented in a phased approach across all homes invested in or built by Legal & General Group including: Build to Rent, Build to Sell, later living and affordable housing.
Net zero carbon will be achieved on all new Legal & General homes through a combination of improved thermal building fabric and the use of environmental control systems, including low and zero-carbon technologies.
Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal & General, said: “We have to Build Back Better after Covid-19.Construction is rocket fuel for UK economic growth: every pound invested delivers a threefold economic multiplier and the housebuilding sector provides jobs and vital economic resilience.
“But as we accelerate building, we have to avoid stoking up a climate crisis that would be at least as serious as the COVID emergency. Across our own housing platform, we continue to invest and progress planning for future developments, providing much needed economic stimulus and accelerating the delivery of homes across the UK.
“We are doing this with climate firmly in mind. By enabling all new Legal & General homes to be operationally net carbon neutral within a decade, the emission of many tonnes of greenhouse gasses will be avoided, whilst saving customers money and meeting the needs of investors who increasingly focus on sustainable solutions.”
Legal & General Modular Homes has ambitions to build its annual housing delivery to 3,000 homes a year in 2024. Work on its eight acre site to in Selby, North Yorkshire, is underway.
L&G runs later life businesses Guild Living and Inspired Villages, which contains over 1,000 homes in six villages, while there are plans for a further 18 sites.
The company’s build to rent portfolio has 5,000 homes across 13 schemes.
CALA Group completed over 2,400 new-build homes in 2019, while Legal & General Affordable Homes has a pipeline of over 3,500 homes.
Legal & General Modular Homes’ product portfolio will consist of two and three bedroom family homes, along with one and two bedroom apartments, that meet the government’s EPC ‘A’ rating as standard (only around 1% of new and existing dwellings in England & Wales currently meet this rating).
Inspired Villages, Legal & General’s later living business, has successfully reduced utility consumption by 30% across its properties, with 10% of parking spaces reserved for electric vehicle charging.
