Q&A
Climate Change/Carbon Footprint
Q. What is SW’s Emissions and Footprint policy?
We are committed to publishing our carbon footprint (CFP) each year, making this available on our website. We also will look to review and improve the level of detail to ensure the information is easy to understand.
Within the business we are developing a plan to encourage and track actions that each area of Scottish Water can undertake to help mitigate emissions. We will add to it as we learn more about our CFP, as actions become established and as new activities are identified and developed. Our plan is available here.
Through this process, we hope to have a clear view of the work that will be necessary to align the whole of Scottish Water with the carbon agenda.
There is no quick fix. We must have a sustained, long term, deliverable and attainable vision to ensure Scottish Water tackles climate change on behalf of our customers and Scotland.
Q. What is the cost to the customer?
Ministers set the priorities for Scottish Water within each 5 year regulatory period. Scottish Water develops a business plan to deliver these objectives within the financial determination agreed with regulators.
The final determination for the 2010-2015 period, which will deliver improvements in service and quality along with measures to address climate change, includes actions to mitigate our emissions and ensure we can adapt to climate change to secure a resilient service. This will be done whilst limiting changes to customers’ charges to 5% below inflation over the 2010-2015 regulatory period.
Longer term we expect carbon to cost more, so taking cost-effective action now helps secure long term value. We want to help Scotland be in a better position to cope with climate change, but in a way that keeps Scottish Water’s service and investment at an affordable level for the public.
Q. What pressure is government putting on you?
The Scottish Government has clearly set its ambitions for carbon in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. Its expectations on Scottish Water are clearly laid out in the public body duty within the Act, namely to contribute towards the adaptation and mitigation goals of the Act. Ministers have set their expectations of Scottish Water through the objectives for the 2010-2015 investment period. These include the delivery of cost-effective renewable generation, carbon management, studies to develop more efficient treatment processes and studies to inform climate change adaptation.
Additionally, Scottish Water is in regular discussions with the Scottish Government to develop the activities necessary to move the carbon agenda forward. We support the government approach to mainstream climate and carbon thinking across all departments. Carbon assessment and management must become business as usual for all activities in order that we develop a more sustainable water industry.
Q. What examples can you give of changes you are making?
Scottish Water is taking a number of actions including:
• Developing hydro generation to meet a target of 25GWh in the ministers' objectives
• Taking opportunities for cost effective generation when they arise – e.g. hydro generation within Edinburgh’s new water treatment works
• Looking at the potential for wind power across our asset base and working with partners to pilot some schemes
• Amending our standards and specifications to promote more energy efficient pumps and other kit
• Developing tools to allow carbon to be fully appraised in our investment programme
• Promoting energy efficiency across the business
• Commitment to carbon reporting annually
• Developing a carbon plan to promote and deliver more activity
We also recognise we have a duty under the Climate Change Act to support the aims and goals of the Act and we are looking at how this integrates across all we do. We are committed to demonstrating leadership on behalf of our customers.
Q. By how much does Scottish Water want to reduce its carbon emissions?
We aspire to a low carbon water industry. However this must be delivered in the context of wider service and quality obligations. We support the aspirations of the Scottish Government, expressed in the Climate Change Act, and, as outlined above, we are taking and have planned a number of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We do not have a specific target at this stage, however we are part of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and are seeking to minimise our exposure under this.
Q. How do you ensure the support of contractors and subcontractors?
We are working with delivery partners to ensure that they understand our expectations of them and that they use the appropriate tools to assess carbon within the activities they undertake for us. A key guide to contractors is within the standards and specifications for equipment and kit that we promote with contractors. This supports the use of energy and carbon efficient technologies within capital investment.
We are also working with suppliers, encouraging them to report carbon to enable us to make sustainable choices of our supply chain in the future.
Q. How can you ensure carbon is considered by the engineers who are creating your next wave of new assets?
We have been active in the UK water industry in developing methodologies for accounting for the “whole life cost of carbon”. When we build assets they will be in the ground for a long time. There is carbon associated with raw materials, building, operating and maintaining.
Scottish Water’s capital investment programme is one of the largest in the water industry with thousands of projects delivered each regulatory period. We are currently developing tools that will allow us to report the ‘whole life’ carbon impact of investment decisions. This will allow the evaluation of investment options such that more carbon beneficial projects may be chosen.
Recognising that much of our asset base is long lived (typically 25-40 years), adopting this approach will allow SW to evolve to a more sustainable asset base with a reduced energy/carbon intensity.
Q. Have you had to impose any penalties on suppliers to date?
No. We believe that at this stage of learning and developing it would be counter productive. Indeed we have been very pleased by the similar values and interest in the environment coming through from our contractors. It saves money, of course, to use less diesel, less energy, etc.
Q. How are you communicating what you are doing to your customers?
A recent customer survey showed that customers rate climate change in the top three items that matter to them most. However we need to make sure that our own house is in order before we roll out our advice to others.
We publish our annual carbon footprint report and other sustainability information on our website and in our annual report. Already customers are approaching us for information so they can begin to assess their own footprint and we include figures in our carbon footprint report that enables them to do so.
Q. How highly does SW weigh climate change against other policies?
It is not a question of weighing. The challenges of climate change affect the whole business because the water industry is at the forefront of climate change. We depend on a healthy environment for reliable, good quality water to treat and supply to customers. We also need to protect our beaches, rivers and watercourses by treating and safely returning society’s wastewaters without causing flooding or pollution.
And our staff deal first hand with floods and potential droughts. We now want to work towards understanding how climate change fits into everything we do.
Our strategy for climate change commits us to be proactive on behalf of customers, to seek to understand the impacts and secure service in a changing climate and to contribute appropriately to carbon mitigation by reducing our energy demand, becoming more efficient and generating renewable energy.
Across our business we are ensuring that carbon is appropriately considered along with the core elements of service delivery so that we can provide a more sustainable service and make an appropriate contribution to Scotland’s greenhouse gas emission targets.
Q. What area of your business is the worst offender in terms of carbon emissions?
It is difficult to quantify it in this way. Approximately two thirds of our carbon footprint is attributable to grid electricity, over half of which is used in wastewater treatment and pumping. But this side of the business requires a lot of energy use to secure the safe sanitation and environmental protection in accordance with relevant legislation.
Producing and distributing drinking water is less energy intense owing to the greater opportunity to use gravity to move water.
Q. How do you benchmark against others?
Scottish Water has the lowest emissions in the UK for drinking water treatment and pumping, but the highest for wastewater treatment and pumping. The low emissions on the water side are down to the generally high quality of raw water in Scotland, therefore requiring less treatment; and the fact that most of our water systems are gravity fed, so we don’t have to do as much pumping as water companies with a flatter geography.
The higher emissions on the wastewater side are attributable to a number of factors. The demography of Scotland where more, and often smaller, wastewater treatment works are required to serve smaller populations, thereby losing the benefits associated with economies of scale found elsewhere in the UK. There is a high proportion of surface water entering our sewers, creating more need for pumping.
There is also the relatively low use of CHP (combined heat and power) plants in the treatment of sludge compared to companies in England. These latter two points are being explored for future development in Scotland.
We are benchmarked annually with companies in England and Wales through figures reported to the industry trade body, Water UK.
