We’re recruiting more Customer Sustainability Champions!

17/10/2023

“Doing our bit helps the planet not just for our generation but also the next generation and our children's futures,” says Customer Sustainability Champion, Alex on the important role customers play in making our neighbourhoods greener places to live. Want to get involved? Read on!

Over the past year our Customer Sustainability Champions have helped us deliver positive changes in our homes and neighbourhoods to make them better for the environment and fit for the future.

Now we’re looking to recruit more individuals to this group, so if you’re passionate about the planet and shaping our work, we want to hear from you.

What are Customer Sustainability Champions?

Our Customer Sustainability Champions are FCHO customers who want to help us tackle climate change in our homes and neighbourhoods.

We want to recruit people to work collaboratively with us to help make a difference for our customers, homes and communities.

Here are some of the ways our Customer Sustainability Champions have made a difference over the past year

  • Informed how we improve the energy efficiency of FCHO homes, in particular, how, what and when we communicate with customers.

  • Reviewed how other housing providers are working to achieve net zero carbon targets with a visit to Mosscare St Vincent’s retrofitted Cosy Home, with a view to helping to shape our plans.

  • Shared their views on how we can support customers to save energy and money to help manage the cost-of-living.

  • Influenced how we improve biodiversity in our green spaces, including suggesting a tree sponsorship programme which is now in development, identifying areas for wildflower planting and discussing opportunities for customers to get involved in local gardening projects.

Why become a Customer Sustainability Champion?

Through our Big Plan 2022-25 we want to provide sustainable, great homes and neighbourhoods.

We know that more than 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from homes, and as a social housing provider, we have a good opportunity to be at the forefront of work to start to bring greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. In doing so, we can have a positive impact on our customers and communities, today and in years to come.

Through our Customer Sustainability Champions we want to create a network of like-minded FCHO-customers, whose input will help us achieve environmental targets in our Big Plan and Sustainability Strategy.

We are focusing on:

  • Supporting customers to move out of fuel poverty
  • Increasing the energy efficiency of our homes
  • Building good quality, energy efficient and low carbon new homes
  • Aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions
  • Improving the biodiversity of our green spaces
  • Reducing the amount of waste, we produce and increase how much we recycle.

What is involved?

Our Customer Sustainability Champions will:

  • Take part in quarterly meetings
  • You don’t need to have any previous experience and members of our Stronger Communities team will be on hand to give you support in this time.

About you

We want our Customer Sustainability Champions group to be diverse and representative of all our customers. With this in mind, we would welcome applications from customers over the age of 18 for this role.

You’ll be innovative, creative and interested in sustainability and climate change issues, with the ability to bring new ideas, views and energy to the group and meetings.

You’ll be confident, a great communicator, comfortable working as part of a team and be able to identify with our values.

You’ll be passionate about Oldham, its neighbourhoods and residents and have an interest in housing and improving lives.

Get in touch

If you’re interested, please contact our Stronger Communities team on ci@fcho.co.uk or call 0161 393 7117.