Crest Nicholson UK’s ‘greenest housebuilder’

Crest Nicholson has been named the most sustainable housebuilder in the UK, according to a study by a group of public and private bodies.

The NextGeneration report, written by a consortium of the Homes and Communities Agency, Jones Lang LaSalle and the UK Green Building Council, scores the 25 biggest housebuilders out of 250 across environmental, social and economic sustainability criteria.

Crest Nicholson scored 83% in the ranking, with Barratt Developments and Lendlease ranked second and third respectively, both scoring 81%.

The assessment process works in two stages with the first stage assessing publically available information and the second looking at detailed information not in the public domain.

Berkeley dropped down to ninth in the table, having previously won the sustainable housebuilder accolade for eight years in a row.

Berkeley scored the highest for the first stage of the assessment, but is no longer a NextGeneration member so, unlike the firms ranked higher, was not given a score for the second stage.

Only housebuilders who are NextGeneration members receive the second stage assessment, for which they pay a fee.

Other highly rated firms included Linden Homes, Redrow and Countryside. However, seven major housebuilders, including McCarthy & Stone, Bloor, Galliard Homes, Telford Homes and Avant, scored less than 10% in the ranking.

Speaking to Building, director and chairman of Crest Nicholson’s regeneration division, Chris Tinker, said the firm is going above and beyond stated environmental commitments with initiatives such as giving staff a 20% increase in their car allowance if they drive low-emission cars. It also has research and development programmes on energy efficiency and how to incorporate renewable energy technologies in its homes.

Tinker said: “We’re not just focused on the delivery of low-carbon homes, but also our desire to be leading on the low carbon economy.”

Tinker added that Crest is also looking at retaining more staff as part of its sustainability agenda: “We’ve set up a site management academy to retain final-year apprentices and existing staff who want to progress.”