Aster Group bridges gap between sustainability and property maintenance with newly created role

Housing association (HA) Aster Group has appointed Gary Bellenger as its Director of Home Strategy and Sustainability, marking a pivotal moment in Aster’s sustainability journey.

In the newly created role, Gary will be responsible for bridging the gap between sustainability and property maintenance to help Aster offer homes that are as comfortable and affordable to run as possible for its customers.

Gary will work closely with Aster’s supply chain partners to ensure they’re able to help deliver on the Group’s long-term sustainability strategy, which in part will guarantee all of its homes have an EPC rating of C or above by 2030. Currently 85.1% of Aster’s homes are EPC C or higher and 21% are already B or higher.

Gary joined the Group as Property Investment Director in 2022 and has since been responsible for co-ordinating Aster’s investments in upgrades, maintenance and repairs across its 37,000-home portfolio. He is instrumental in Aster’s ambitious programme to introduce new technology that will help homes to be safer and more sustainable.

Gary’s promotion follows a successful year for the Group, as detailed in its latest ESG report. Further to the success of Aster’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2 project which exceeded delivery targets, Gary is also overseeing the HA’s bids for the newly named Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3.

Gary Bellenger said: “Upgrading the UK’s homes, some of the oldest in Europe, has a significant part to play in helping to reduce the country’s carbon emissions, so it’s incredibly important for sustainability to be baked into all new-build, maintenance and investment programmes. It’s our priority to make sure our customers feel comfortable and safe in their homes and that’s why we’re working to ensure that all of our homes are sustainable, energy efficient and healthy spaces to live in.

“I’m looking forward to building on the strong foundations of sustainable practice already present at Aster and to developing a new and ambitious strategy focused on enabling healthier, more resilient homes and communities.”

Gary will report to Chief Operating and Technology Officer Emma O’Shea.

Emma said: “We created this role to ensure that sustainability and customer comfort and safety are at the heart of our plans to continue to drive up standards in our homes so they’re as affordable to run as possible. Gary has already played a pivotal role in evolving our property investment programmes. It’s his dedication and experience that will really allow us to further develop robust, long-term sustainability principles that are delivered across the whole Group. By empowering everyone to think sustainably with every decision we make, we’re going to be able to meet our environmental goals which are ultimately focused on improving living conditions for our customers.”  

 Read Aster’s latest ESG report here.