Net Zero Week took place last week, bringing organisations and communities together to raise awareness of climate action and support the journey towards a net zero future.
Encouraging Sustainable Travel
As part of the week, we welcomed Plymotion to Plumer House to showcase e-bikes, encouraging colleagues to consider more sustainable travel options while staying active.
Sian from Plymotion said:
"Sustainable travel means choosing eco-friendly, low-emission, and energy-efficient ways to get around. Whether you're taking the bus, cycling or walking, you're helping to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and support a cleaner, healthier Plymouth."
This is a small but important step in ensuring that Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) continues to consider its environmental impact through both everyday choices and long-term ambitions.
How PCH Is Working Towards Net Zero
At PCH, our ambition is to achieve net zero by 2050. As a leading housing provider, the way we decarbonise our homes, operate our business, and manage our community land is important. Here are some of the ways we're making progress towards our net zero ambition.
Solar Panels
More than 2,300 PCH homes have rooftop solar panels, generating 5,002 MWh of free daytime electricity for residents and helping tenants save an average of over £265 per year on their energy bills.
Reduced Emissions
In 2025/26, emissions fell to 29,481 tonnes, driven by improved data quality and energy-efficiency measures, including the installation of new double glazing in 198 homes.
PCH aims to reduce operational emissions by:
- 25% by 2031
- 70% by 2036
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
We are continuing to prioritise electric vans within our fleet and are providing EV charging points for colleagues.
Waste Management
In 2024/25, we diverted 99.8% of our waste from landfill, with 1,350 tonnes either recycled or used for energy recovery. Waste from empty home clearances and fly-tipping is sorted at our recycling centre with reusable items offered to residents.
Reducing Plastic Waste
Reusable water bottles and coffee mugs have been rolled out across PCH teams, helping colleagues on the move reduce single-use waste. As a result, we expect to reduce our consumption of 1.5l single use plastic bottles by over 5800 a year.
Looking Ahead
Calum Gordon, Sustainability Lead at PCH, said:
"Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is embedded in everything we do. Understanding our path to Net Zero is a key part of this commitment, and we are currently developing a new Sustainability Strategy that will outline the next steps on our journey towards achieving this important goal."
If you'd like to learn more about PCH and our journey to Net Zero, you can read our previous ESG reports here.
To be among the first to hear about our latest ESG report, as well as other PCH news and updates, you can sign up to our resident newsletter here.
