While a big part of our sustainability plans relate to helping the planet, we are also promoting sustainable communities throughout the East Midlands. At an individual level this means helping our customers to sustain their tenancies when things get tough. This can include helping people to get their finances under control and supporting people into work or other employment opportunities. All of these can help struggling households to stand on their own feet again. This year we supported more than 800 customers with intensive tenancy support of some kind.
We also work on a larger scale to support regional employers. Their work helps fuel the local economy and support job creation which can provide new opportunities for our customers. And working with local suppliers can help with our environmental credentials too.
One of the ways in which we do this is through increasing our focus on local supply. We now get 80% of our materials from local suppliers compared to 65% in 2021-22. We also monitor the size of suppliers when signing-up new ones. Small and medium-sized companies now make up 69% of our supplier portfolio.
