Developer becomes latest South West business to win B Corp status

Housing developer Goram Homes is the latest South West firm to be awarded B Corp status.

The Bristol City Council owned developer has been awarded the certification for its work to create environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable communities in the city.

The housing company, which plans to build around 3,000 new homes for Bristol in the coming years, is one of only a handful of UK developers to meet the rigorous social and environmental standards required to gain certification.

B Corp recognises companies with a shared mission to use ‘business for good’.

These include well-known brands like Patagonia, Alpro, Triodos Bank, and Innocent. To join the B Corp community, an organisation must pass a series of tests in five key categories: governance, workers, customers, community, and environment.

Stephen Baker, managing director of Goram Homes, said: “Becoming a B Corp is testament to our talented and passionate team, who want to create sustainable homes and communities that people love to live in.

“The B Corp status recognises the part we’re playing in tackling the housing crisis by building affordable homes in the high numbers really needed in this city. As well as our commitment to building beautifully designed, net zero homes that exceed standards for biodiversity and improve nature wherever we build.

“Our focus now is to continue to improve as a business, stick to our values, and do good for our people, our partners, and our planet.”

Goram Homes was set up by Bristol City Council to regenerate council land into new communities with the high levels of council-owned housing that commercial developers often struggle to deliver alone.

It’s 2024/25 Business Plan was approved this week by Bristol City Council’s cabinet and highlights the five sites it aims to be building on in 2024/25. Around half the homes it will build will be for council-owned housing – a mix of social rent and shared ownership homes.

Goram Homes joins around 1,600 other for-profit, mission-driven organisations in the UK, that are committed to using their business for social and environmental good.

Tom Renhard, cabinet member for housing said: “I’m incredibly proud that our housing company has been recognised for its purpose-led ethos and its commitment to sustainable, council owned affordable homes. The team is committed to creating communities where people and nature can thrive and becoming a B Corp is proof of that.

“Goram Homes’ first homes added to the more than 12,500 new homes already built in Bristol between 2016 and 2023. Their pipeline of around 3,000 new homes, on brownfield sites, will help continue to tackle the housing crisis and build a city where nobody is left behind.”

Goram Homes celebrated finishing its first homes at One Lockleaze in December 2023. The eco-focused homes all have air or ground source heat pumps, which produce much lower levels of carbon emissions than traditional gas boilers.

A new public park and nature area will link the new development with neighbouring Stoke Park, providing attractive walking and cycling routes and a wildlife corridor to improve the biodiversity of the area.

Its on-site skills academy has already trained more than 260 people who are either unemployed or earning less than the minimum wage, helping to kickstart careers in construction.

This first development will provide a blueprint for Goram Homes developments across the city and proves that the construction industry can make a positive impact on the environment and communities in which It builds.