In H&F, we're committed to tackling the climate and ecological emergency. Across housing services, we've introduced a wide range of measures to reduce carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency and help us deliver a quality service for residents – all while minimising our impact on the planet.
Cutting energy bills and carbon emissions
We're investing more than £1million a week to refurbish and modernise council-owned homes. This helps us address three major challenges: the climate crisis, the cost-of-living crisis and the need for safe, warm housing.
So far, we've delivered more than 3,200 energy efficiency upgrades in 1,546 homes over the past two years. These include:
- new windows and doors
- roof replacements
- wall and loft insulation.
These improvements are helping residents cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.
We're also completing a deep retrofit of some homes on the West Kensington Estate. This includes bespoke external panels, heat pumps and solar panels. It's an important step toward greener living. In addition, we've installed:
- hybrid heat pumps into 10 sheltered housing schemes for older residents
- air-source heat pumps in selected flats.
Cleaning our air with electric vehicles
We've introduced 39 new electric vans for our housing repairs team. These vehicles reduce emissions, improve air quality, support faster, more efficient repair services for residents.
By switching to electric, we're saving around 36 tonnes of CO2 each year, helping us deliver essential services more sustainably across the borough.
"By transitioning to eco-friendly electric vans, we're reducing emissions and making transport more sustainable for the teams delivering repairs to your homes," said Cllr Frances Umeh, H&F Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness.
We're also investing in energy-efficient upgrades and building new affordable homes to the highest environmental standards. It's all part of how we're helping residents live in warmer, safer homes while supporting our climate goals."
Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology, added:
It's great to see the repairs team taking this step to make our borough cleaner and greener. We're determined to expand the UK's largest electric vehicle charging network per head and continue leading the way on climate action in H&F."
Electric vehicles are a great way to protect our climate. They produce no tailpipe emissions, improve air quality and are more energy efficient than petrol or diesel cars.
H&F is one of the best places in the country to have an EV. With the largest electric vehicle charging network per head in the UK, every resident is never more than 400 metres from a charger – it couldn't be easier to drive electric.
Building greener homes
We're building 1,800 new genuinely affordable homes for local people, including current council tenants, over the next five years. These new homes will meet the highest energy efficiency standards and feature: solar panels, green roofs and water harvesting systems.
Turning food waste into clean energy
We're introducing a new food waste recycling service across our homes and estates in the borough, in line with government standards on food waste separation. The service turns leftovers into clean, green energy and helps reduce household waste. We've trialled the scheme at Linacre Court Estate where it's already proving popular with residents. More estates and council homes across H&F will soon receive their own food waste bins.
"I think the food waste caddies at Linacre Court is a great thing" said Michael Dipple, Chair of the Linacre Court Tenants Residents Association (TRA).
"I want my grandchildren to live in a healthy world so any small ways we can help reduce waste at home is a great step forward."
Find out more about the council's commitment to climate action.
