Environment & Community

United Utilities is committed to being a sustainable business.

For us being sustainable means to develop our business in a way that conserves natural resources, protects and enhances the environment, supports the communities we serve, and maintains economic growth.

We are a major user of energy. In fact in 2006/07 we used around one third of a percent of the UK's electricity. And because of the nature of our business, this figure is set to rise because we have to meet tighter treatment standards set by regulators.

We are determined to manage our impacts on the environment and reducing our carbon emissions is one way we will do this.

Our Carbon Strategy

• We are seeking to achieve a 26%* reduction on the 2005/06 baseline by 2012
• We will continue our reduction of emissions beyond 2012 and aim to halve the current level of our emissions by 2035
• We will influence the external environment to support the achievement of these aims
• We will pursue a vision of making carbon an integral part of the way we do business.

*This will be achieved by cutting our own emissions by 8% and the other 18% will come from renewable energy contracts we have secured.

How we will deliver the gross 8% reduction

• Combined Heat and Power (CHP) - Methane gas, a by-product of treating wastewater, is used to generate electricity to power our sewage works. Any surplus is exported to the National Grid. Our £22m investment in CHP will save over 34,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
• Pumping efficiency - We have been testing 1,000 of the pumps we own, to identify where refurbishment or replacement could provide more efficiency improvements. We expect that the first phase of this programme will deliver over two million kWh in savings: equivalent to making 10,000,000 cups of tea!

Continuing our reduction

Reducing our emissions beyond 2012 presents a real challenge for the wider water industry. We are actively pursuing a number of renewable energy related initiatives, including:

• Continuing our leakage reduction activities, which has so far resulted in a 50% reduction in leakage levels since the mid 1990's
• Extending the number of hydro-turbines
• Investigating the use of wind power
• Exploring the use of biofuels to power process plant generators, to reduce our use of fossil fuels
• Engaging with our supply chain to seek out low carbon technologies
• Working with our customers to increase water efficiency.

Our employee engagement programme

As a large employer we recognise the impact that our employees can have, and have implemented schemes to help reduce carbon emissions both at home and in the work place. These initiatives include a poster campaign to raise awareness and an employee award recognising ideas that will reduce carbon usage.

How we will approach the external environment

We interact on a daily basis with a variety of stakeholders, from our customers and media to the government and regulators, to ensure we all play our role in reducing the UK's carbon emissions.

 

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