Our progress on reducing our carbon footprint
We have been measuring our carbon footprint for ten years, using the Carbon Accounting Workbook, and have used this to proactively decrease our carbon emissions and reduce our impact on the environment.
Our carbon footprint today is 89% lower than ten years ago because of the changes we have already made to how we source and use energy.
We have:
- Focused on water efficiency and leakage reduction measures to reduce the amount of water needing to be abstracted, treated and distributed in the first place
- Invested in energy-efficient pumps and renewable energy generation solutions on our own sites, including solar panels
- Purchased green electricity, allowing us to accelerate our focus on elements of our carbon footprint not associated directly with electricity consumption
Water treatment goes green
We have made the switch to renewable electricity for all our treatment works, pumping stations and offices, and now only consume electricity that has a Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificate that traces the source and destination of every megawatt-hour (MWh). Purchasing electricity that is backed by REGOs supports the investment in renewable generation in the UK and reduces the environmental impact of our operations.
Fleet switches to electric
All of our company cars will soon be electric or plug-in hybrids with employees also being offered home-charging technology. Our commitment builds on a previous trial, which saw us replace 12 of our operational vans with fully electric models and invest in 42 new charging points across our sites.
Each electric car in our fleet saves around two to three tonnes of carbon dioxide per year as well as reducing the impact on local air quality. We are adopting a more agile way of working with more flexibility for employees to work at home, further reducing the number of journeys they are making.
Flushed with success
At our brand-new, state-of-the-art education centre at Bough Beech Reservoir, we have installed a rainwater harvesting system so the toilets are flushed using rainwater collected from the roof.
We are also teaching visitors specifically about the link between water use, carbon emissions and climate change in addition to our water treatment process talks to spread the carbon message.
