Speaking on a Mortgage Solutions video debate in association with Halifax Intermediaries, Mason said: “We need to encourage broader participation of things like sourcing systems so brokers can easily source products that are helpful for sustainable lending.”
Overall, he praised the housing sector for being innovative with respect to meeting its green targets.
Mason added: “There’s so much activity to try and understand what the house of the future needs to look like. It’ll be fascinating to see how it evolves – for example, what kind of heating systems do future homes need?
“Modern method of construction (MMC) homes are rapidly evolving. The big benefits there are the energy bills in these MMCs can be much smaller because they’re engineered in the factories to be highly efficient.”
Mason said more could be done however, and although lenders have created products to offer cashback or lower rates to borrowers retrofitting their homes, other means to encourage and promote energy efficiency could be utilised.
“For example, capturing EPC in the mortgage journey is going to be essential for the future, and then you can start to think about reflecting genuine affordability,” he added.
Kevin Roberts, director of Legal and General Mortgage Club, said the industry was doing well to think about its impact on the climate and environment on a broader scale.
He added: “Even if it’s having electric cars, putting things on their [company] website, offsetting [the mortgage process] by planting trees, people are starting to think about this and that’s because our consumers are.”
Bukky Bird, group sustainability director at Barratt Developments, said not enough steps have been taken to encourage borrowers to reach a level which was needed, but suggested financial products which factor in a customer’s monthly savings could help.
She added: “I think we probably need bolder partner engagement; I think we need to just do some things. Just trial some things, get out there, not wait for every single thing to fall into place.”
Watch the video embedded [8:51] hosted by Shekina Tuahene, commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions, featuring Andy Mason, head of strategic partnerships and housing at Lloyds Banking Group, Bukky Bird, group sustainability director at Barratt Developments and Kevin Roberts, director of Legal and General Mortgage Club.
Sponsored content in association with Halifax and Lloyds Banking Group. For Intermediary Use Only
