Accreditations
Investors in People Standard
Newydd retained the Investors in People Standard accreditation in September 2019. This prestigious quality standard is an internationally recognised accreditation held by 14,000 organisations worldwide. The standard defines what it takes to lead, support and manage people well for sustainable results. Achieving the standard gives an assurance we are amongst the very best in the world, when it comes to people management. We have been an Investors in People organisation for 22 years and are very proud of this ongoing commitment to our people. To retain the award, we have met 9 wide ranging factors which includes empowering and involving people, supporting people to realise their full potential and corporate social responsibility.
Best Companies Top 100
We participated in the Best Companies benchmarking survey in 2019. The survey measures the level of engagement of our people. A high level of engagement is a powerful indicator that people in our organisation feel valued and motivated. We were rated a 2* status employer, and celebrated being 30th position in the Top 100 not for profit places to work in the UK in 2019. This is a great achievement and we continue to work with our people to make Newydd an even better place to work.
Wales Housing Management Standards for Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour
Newydd was awarded the Welsh Government’s standard for dealing with anti-social behaviour in January 2013. Staff and tenant members of the Anti-Social Behaviour Sub Group have worked hard to ensure that Newydd’s services are focused on:
- Commitment and accountability
- Empowering and reassuring residents
- Prevention and early intervention
- Support to tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour
- Tailored services and support for victims and witnesses
- Protecting and encouraging community responsibility
QED Award
We were awarded the prestigious and nationally recognised equality and diversity mark for social landlords in 2022.
The QED Award, developed by Welsh housing charity, Tai Pawb, provides a comprehensive framework for improving the equality and diversity impact of an organisation. Awarded by an independent panel, it considers strategic areas such as governance, leadership and culture as well as customer-facing service provision, including access and tenant involvement. The award includes an annual check-up over three years where Tai Pawb will provide ongoing support and monitor Newydd’s action plan to ensure that we consolidate our progress in this area and embed equality and diversity in all aspects of our work.
Deeds Not Words
Tackling racial inequality is of utmost importance to Newydd and in 2020, we signed up to housing equalities charity Tai Pawb’s ‘Deeds Not Words’ pledge and promised our commitment to take action to:
- Mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and communities
- Improve the ethnic diversity of board and staff at all levels
- Communicate and engage
- Develop an inclusive culture
We aim to help find solutions to end discrimination and address the challenges faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups as we want our tenants to feel safe in their homes and supported in their communities. We want our Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) staff, applicants and partners to have confidence that we are committed to their wellbeing and prosperity.
Here is our action plan and progress so far.
Green Travel Plan
A Travel Plan is a reasoned action plan designed to help organisations implement measures to reduce the need for people to travel to and from a site. It also helps to facilitate and encourage the remainder to travel more sustainably by encouraging alternatives such as walking, cycling and public transport. Our Green Travel Plan is designed to outline what our group currently provides and what we would like to achieve in the future.
We are looking to promote greener and cleaner travel choices and reduce the environmental impact of our travel and transport and at the same time encourage our staff to have more active and healthier lifestyles. We have achieved the Welsh Travel Plan Gold award in 2016 which was presented by Sustrans.
Visibly better
Visibly Better Cymru is RNIB’s accreditation scheme
for supported housing in Wales. We are working in partnership with RNIB to
achieve the Visibly Better standard at each of our Independent Living Schemes.
Visibly better helps supported housing providers ensure their properties,
services and staff are able to meet the needs of this growing population in a
simple and cost effective way, and ensures that our homes and related services
are accessible by those people with sight conditions or loss of sight.
Sustainability Reporting for Social Housing – Early Adopter
A long-term strategy for sustainability demonstrates that we appreciate the scale of the challenges we face, from retrofitting over three thousand homes to become zero-carbon to exploring new ways of raising significant funding to build more of the right homes in the right places. Preparing this report has been instrumental in helping us identify the gaps in our journey to sustainability. Our Environmental , Social and Governance Reporting covers 12 key themes that are set to have a direct impact on how we will reach our sustainability objectives within the 2022 - 2027 corporate plan.
Carbon Literacy Award
We are accredited as a Carbon Literacy Bronze Certified Organisation with steps in place to reach our silver award. Staff are trained internally on this subject with the aim to provide an awareness and understanding of the impact that human activities have on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. It involves learning about the sources of carbon emissions, the science behind climate change, and effective strategies for reducing carbon footprints. This gives staff the ability to make informed decisions and take actions that contribute to reducing carbon emissions, both at an individual and organisational level.
