UK pensions giant Legal & General has announced that it is to make all of its new housing stock operational 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.
Legal & General is one of the UK’s largest house-builders by volume. The firm has already been piloting energy savings initiatives across its portfolio through its modular homes division, which builds properties that meet the government's EPC 'A' rating as standard, joining just 1% of homes built in the UK.
Inspired Villages, Legal & General’s later living business, has reduced utility consumption by 30% across its properties, with 10% of parking spaces reserved for electric vehicle charging.
Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal & General, commented: 'We have to build back better after Covid-19. 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.
'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.'
More broadly, Legal & General invests its capital in clean energy assets, businesses and technologies including offshore wind, solar and fusion energy. Recently, the firm increased its stake in Pod Point, one of the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging companies, to around 22% alongside EDF, and invested in Kensa Group, one of the UK’s largest players in the ground source heat pump technology sector, taking a 36% stake.
