♻️ Green Panel

About the Green Panel


"The Green Panel aims to encourage both Lifestone and its residents to live in a more eco-friendly and sustainable way — helping local communities and the planet by supporting environmentally conscious choices."

- Alison and Penny, Green Panel members


💚 Why green spaces matter

  • Boosts mental and physical wellbeing
  • Helps wildlife thrive (save the birds and bees!)
  • Keeps our neighbourhoods cooler and cleaner
  • No garden? No problem - even a few indoor plants can make a difference!


♻️ Let's talk about sustainability and green living

Update: October 2026

During 2025, our Green Panel worked with residents to understand your views on sustainability and green living. Your ideas and feedback were brought together into an action plan, which the Green Panel has been working to progress throughout 2026.

As we move forward as Lifestone Homes, the Green Panel is now looking to build on this work by refreshing and updating the action plan, making sure it continues to reflect the things that matter most to residents.

Your feedback plays a vital role in shaping our priorities. Together, we’ve created a range of actions to help make a positive difference, and we’re pleased to share the progress made so far below.

The action plan will continue to evolve as new ideas and opportunities emerge, and we’ll keep you updated on progress along the way.

Recycling, waste and everyday choices
You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You'd like to see Lifestone contribute to more recycling and be more sustainable by reducing waste.Over 98% of waste materials from our retrofit planned works, including loft insulation and solar panels, were recycled into products such as re-engineered paint and carbon-negative composite materials. These materials can be used as alternatives to timber, concrete and steel.

Interested in finding out more about a retrofit? Contact our planned maintenance team here.

The Green Panel has been exploring how we manage empty properties and looking at ways to maximise the reuse of good-quality items. We have improved our procedures to make as many suitable items as possible available to new residents moving into their homes.		We will continue to scrutinise the green credentials of the contractors we work with, ensuring they maximise opportunities for recycling and reuse.

We will also be exploring wider opportunities to promote and support local projects that provide good quality, low or no cost, reusable household items.

We are partnering with a local charity shop to provide affordable household goods to new residents who may not otherwise have access to them.
You'd like clearer signage in communal bin areas to help all residents understand which items can be correctly recycled.We're looking to assess our communal bin areas to make sure the recycling information is accurate and up to date.

You can always report problems with your bin areas to your local council here.		Where signage is not accurate, we'll be looking into acquiring more up to date information from the local authority.

We want the information to remain clear, accurate and easy to follow, even if arrangements change over time.
Having clearer information about how to recycle properly would encourage you to recycle more.The Green Panel are working to create a ‘Proud to be Green’ page for Lifestone Connect that will provide comprehensive guidance on recycling, reuse and many other aspects of sustainable living.The new pages will be published on Lifestone Connect by the end of 2026, so keep an eye out for this key information in the coming months.
Sustainable living and climate action
You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You'd be more likely to live more sustainably if it saved you money.The Green Panel are working closely with local partner Green Care at Norton, to bring to life their Community Benefit Fund project called 'Home Harvest', which encourages residents to utilise their gardens to grow food for themselves.


We will continue to support Green Care to expand the number of gardens they are working on, to help produce food more sustainably and provide residents with opportunities to learn about healthy eating whilst reducing their carbon footprint.

If you're interested in getting involved please email us at

[email protected]

Having access to educational resources and tips on energy saving would help you live more sustainable at home.The Green panel are working on a new ‘proud to be green’ page on Lifestone Connect, to help residents understand how to recycle effectively and help make better everyday choices.Once finalised, we'll be looking to publish easy to use guides and publish them online, so residents can access them whenever they need.
You’d like to see Lifeston lead by example.The Green panel reviewed energy use at our office in Blackhorse Road and suggested improvements to be more energy efficient.

From their suggestions, we've made sure all our lights are on sensors! This means we're reducing our carbon emissions by up to 30-50%.

We are introducing a new fleet of vans that are hybrid and much more environmentally friendly than our older vehicles that are coming to the end of their working life.		We're now actively trying to reduce our energy use in other ways. For example, we are trying to reduce the number of single use items, such as paper cups, that are used in our offices.

Our new fleet of vans will continue to be rolled out in the coming months.
Protecting nature and green spaces
You said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You said green spaces are important to your wellbeing and community.We've given £13,700 towards 6 green projects from our Community Benefit Fund. These projects support biodiversity, sustainability & healthy living whilst reducing food miles and waste! We're really excited to see how this benefits the local community in the coming months.

The Green Panel assessed the biodiversity of our outside spaces at Blackhorse Road and suggested some changes to our approach.		We're looking to plant more shrubs and plants all around our office at Blackhorse Road. This means we can help improve air quality, biodiversity and contribute towards essential habitats for wildlife.


What does being green mean to you?


🌸 Build or improve your own green space for almost nothing!

Spending time in green spaces has been shown to boost mental and physical wellbeing. If you have outside space you can create a green oasis suited to you, here are some ideas to make it on a budget:

  • Discounted flowers from supermarkets or garden centres
  • Solar-powered fairy lights
  • Repurpose tins, crates or old pots for planters
  • Need to borrow some tools to make this happen? Letchworth Garden Shed offers free membership for Lifestone residents. Gain access to tools, seeds, planters and more!


If you don't have access to an outside space there are also options for you:

  • Indoor plants - a great green option if you don't have a garden
  • You can garden at Green Care at Norton - social and therapeutic horticulture project based across three sites in Letchworth

About the Green Panel


"The Green Panel aims to encourage both Lifestone and its residents to live in a more eco-friendly and sustainable way — helping local communities and the planet by supporting environmentally conscious choices."

- Alison and Penny, Green Panel members


💚 Why green spaces matter

  • Boosts mental and physical wellbeing
  • Helps wildlife thrive (save the birds and bees!)
  • Keeps our neighbourhoods cooler and cleaner
  • No garden? No problem - even a few indoor plants can make a difference!


♻️ Let's talk about sustainability and green living

Update: October 2026

During 2025, our Green Panel worked with residents to understand your views on sustainability and green living. Your ideas and feedback were brought together into an action plan, which the Green Panel has been working to progress throughout 2026.

As we move forward as Lifestone Homes, the Green Panel is now looking to build on this work by refreshing and updating the action plan, making sure it continues to reflect the things that matter most to residents.

Your feedback plays a vital role in shaping our priorities. Together, we’ve created a range of actions to help make a positive difference, and we’re pleased to share the progress made so far below.

The action plan will continue to evolve as new ideas and opportunities emerge, and we’ll keep you updated on progress along the way.

Recycling, waste and everyday choices
You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You'd like to see Lifestone contribute to more recycling and be more sustainable by reducing waste.Over 98% of waste materials from our retrofit planned works, including loft insulation and solar panels, were recycled into products such as re-engineered paint and carbon-negative composite materials. These materials can be used as alternatives to timber, concrete and steel.

Interested in finding out more about a retrofit? Contact our planned maintenance team here.

The Green Panel has been exploring how we manage empty properties and looking at ways to maximise the reuse of good-quality items. We have improved our procedures to make as many suitable items as possible available to new residents moving into their homes.		We will continue to scrutinise the green credentials of the contractors we work with, ensuring they maximise opportunities for recycling and reuse.

We will also be exploring wider opportunities to promote and support local projects that provide good quality, low or no cost, reusable household items.

We are partnering with a local charity shop to provide affordable household goods to new residents who may not otherwise have access to them.
You'd like clearer signage in communal bin areas to help all residents understand which items can be correctly recycled.We're looking to assess our communal bin areas to make sure the recycling information is accurate and up to date.

You can always report problems with your bin areas to your local council here.		Where signage is not accurate, we'll be looking into acquiring more up to date information from the local authority.

We want the information to remain clear, accurate and easy to follow, even if arrangements change over time.
Having clearer information about how to recycle properly would encourage you to recycle more.The Green Panel are working to create a ‘Proud to be Green’ page for Lifestone Connect that will provide comprehensive guidance on recycling, reuse and many other aspects of sustainable living.The new pages will be published on Lifestone Connect by the end of 2026, so keep an eye out for this key information in the coming months.
Sustainable living and climate action
You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You'd be more likely to live more sustainably if it saved you money.The Green Panel are working closely with local partner Green Care at Norton, to bring to life their Community Benefit Fund project called 'Home Harvest', which encourages residents to utilise their gardens to grow food for themselves.


We will continue to support Green Care to expand the number of gardens they are working on, to help produce food more sustainably and provide residents with opportunities to learn about healthy eating whilst reducing their carbon footprint.

If you're interested in getting involved please email us at

[email protected]

Having access to educational resources and tips on energy saving would help you live more sustainable at home.The Green panel are working on a new ‘proud to be green’ page on Lifestone Connect, to help residents understand how to recycle effectively and help make better everyday choices.Once finalised, we'll be looking to publish easy to use guides and publish them online, so residents can access them whenever they need.
You’d like to see Lifeston lead by example.The Green panel reviewed energy use at our office in Blackhorse Road and suggested improvements to be more energy efficient.

From their suggestions, we've made sure all our lights are on sensors! This means we're reducing our carbon emissions by up to 30-50%.

We are introducing a new fleet of vans that are hybrid and much more environmentally friendly than our older vehicles that are coming to the end of their working life.		We're now actively trying to reduce our energy use in other ways. For example, we are trying to reduce the number of single use items, such as paper cups, that are used in our offices.

Our new fleet of vans will continue to be rolled out in the coming months.
Protecting nature and green spaces
You said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You said green spaces are important to your wellbeing and community.We've given £13,700 towards 6 green projects from our Community Benefit Fund. These projects support biodiversity, sustainability & healthy living whilst reducing food miles and waste! We're really excited to see how this benefits the local community in the coming months.

The Green Panel assessed the biodiversity of our outside spaces at Blackhorse Road and suggested some changes to our approach.		We're looking to plant more shrubs and plants all around our office at Blackhorse Road. This means we can help improve air quality, biodiversity and contribute towards essential habitats for wildlife.


What does being green mean to you?


🌸 Build or improve your own green space for almost nothing!

Spending time in green spaces has been shown to boost mental and physical wellbeing. If you have outside space you can create a green oasis suited to you, here are some ideas to make it on a budget:

  • Discounted flowers from supermarkets or garden centres
  • Solar-powered fairy lights
  • Repurpose tins, crates or old pots for planters
  • Need to borrow some tools to make this happen? Letchworth Garden Shed offers free membership for Lifestone residents. Gain access to tools, seeds, planters and more!


If you don't have access to an outside space there are also options for you:

  • Indoor plants - a great green option if you don't have a garden
  • You can garden at Green Care at Norton - social and therapeutic horticulture project based across three sites in Letchworth
Page last updated: 10 Nov 2026, 03:15 PM