A bold approach to sustainability and social impact makes good business sense, writes Jonathan Murphy, CEO, Assura.
The role of business is changing.
Companies across the globe are giving greater weight to purpose and impact, managing the risks of climate change and their responsibility to the communities they work in.
The best companies are thinking bigger.
Why? Well, quite simply, it’s about being a better, stronger and more sustainable business.
As a FTSE 250 company that develops, invests in and manages a portfolio of healthcare buildings in community settings across the UK and Ireland, our purpose is to BUILD for health. Meeting this mission requires us to be a financially resilient and strong business that can deliver for all our stakeholders.
However, the nature of the challenges we face today means looking beyond traditional business and financial performance. Our commercial success will be materially impacted by our performance across social impact and sustainability. What’s more – our stakeholders demand more of us.
That’s why we are hugely proud to be launching The Bigger Picture– the new home of our sustainability and social impact activity, and the platform where you can view our sector leading approach to social impact and sustainability.
The Bigger Picture is built around three pillars, each with their own impact targets – Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities and Healthy Business.
Not only does this help us think big, be intentional and increase our accountability, it also demonstrates how we are managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in a way that makes us a stronger business, delivering enhanced performance and ultimately more value to our stakeholders.
Our goal is to become the number one listed property business for long-term social impact and sustainability and to have a net zero portfolio by 2040.
If we are to get there, we need to connect everything we do to The Bigger Picture.
Why now?
The built environment is responsible for 40% of total global carbon emissions. We’re aiming to remove as many carbon emissions as we produce – known as being ‘net zero’ – by the year 2040.
Our vision is for healthcare spaces that lead us into a sustainable future, helping the NHS and all our healthcare customers meet their net zero carbon aspirations.
This means building sustainable schemes and making existing buildings more energy efficient, along with supporting our customers and suppliers to reduce their energy usage.
That’s why we’ve been focused on environmental sustainable initiatives for several years now – launching our Net Zero Carbon Pathway and our Net Zero Design Guide to shape our investments and developments.
While minimising our impact on the environment, we are also committed to maximising our positive impact in the communities where we build. Our Community Fund continues to support health-improving projects for local people, and our volunteering, education partnerships and mentoring activities are helping to build more inclusive communities.
Limiting our impact on the environment and having a positive impact on our communities is underpinned by our strong commercial performance and our commitment to being a Healthy Business. We aim to lead the way in supporting and developing all our people, and to extend our positive impact by driving sustainability and social value throughout our supply chains.
The journey
People are at the heart of this strategy – both in terms of why it’s been created, and the outcomes and impact we want to deliver.
In 2023, we undertook a series of stakeholder engagement activities to hear from our people, clients, suppliers and partners, and our investors. These informed and shaped the development of our ESG priorities – so that we can be confident that the areas we are putting focus on matter.
We know we won’t cover every single one of our stakeholders’ priorities from day one. That’s why this remains a ‘live’ strategy, that will need continuous review and enhancement – and input from our people, our customers, our suppliers and our funders.
Being accountable
Importantly for us, The Bigger Picture allows our stakeholders to track our progress against each pillar, to hold us to account, have their say and be a part of our journey.
The approach is about creating shared value, and ensuring our core business contributes to the shared interests of our stakeholders in ways that will also support our goals as a business.
Assura’s Social Impact & Sustainability Steering Group is responsible for ensuring that our ESG activity is central to what we do. I lead the steering group, and we report directly to Assura’s Executive Committee and Board.
By considering how Assura fits into the bigger picture, we can identify ways to use our strengths and expertise to make a more significant contribution to addressing climate change, supporting healthy communities and ensuring we continue to be a robust and successful business.
We are hugely excited by what the coming years hold for us as a business – and we look forward to bringing you along with us.
Find out more information through our online hub.