Piers Williamson has been appointed as chair of Sustainability for Housing (SfH), the board that oversees the Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS) for the social housing sector.

The appointment comes after incumbent chair Brendan Sarsfield announced in June that he is stepping down after three years at the helm.

Piers recently stepped down as chief executive of The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC), the leading bond aggregator for the social housing sector, after 22 years in charge.

Sarah Forster, CEO and Co-founder of The Good Economy, which is the secretariat to SfH and ran the recruitment process, said: “During the recruitment process, Piers stood out due to his wealth of experience in both the social housing and financial sectors.

“His commitment to the social housing sector is well-known and we also note that, under his leadership, THFC was an avid supporter and early adopter of the SRS.”

During his time at THFC, the group’s loan book grew to more than £8bn and the organisation created its sustainable bond framework as well as THFC Sustainable Finance, a vehicle aimed at helping housing associations tackle net zero targets. The aggregator also became the first lender in the sector to publish an ESG report and has published three in total to date.

Piers is expected to take over in September 2024.

Commenting on his appointment, Piers said: “The ESG and sustainability agendas have never been more important and I’m excited to build on the momentum that SfH has already created in the sector.

“Despite extreme financial challenges, housing associations have made strong progress on ESG over the last three years, thanks to the SRS. I am determined to expand on this progress and help social landlords rise to the challenge that net zero poses.”

Brendan Sarsfield, outgoing Chair of SfH, said: “Piers’ appointment is great news for the ESG movement in social housing.

“His deep knowledge of the sector will stand SfH in good stead along with the expertise provided by the existing board members.”