Water UK ‘Water companies in England have agreed a series of pledges which form part of a new Public Interest Commitment, strengthening their ongoing commitment to working in the public interest and placing wider good at the heart of everything they do. Announcing the Commitment, Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, said: “The sector will champion measures through which water companies can enshrine what it means to operate in the public interest within their business purpose, in line with best practice among leading socially-responsible businesses. ”As the industry looks ahead to the next 30 years companies recognise that customers and stakeholders expect them to do more, the industry body continued. The aim of the sector is to work together, and with independent external bodies, to meet these high expectations.
As part of the Public Interest Commitment water companies have also agreed to work together towards five challenging goals:
- Triple the rate of leakage reduction across the sector by 2030
- Make bills affordable as a minimum for all households with water and sewerage bills more than 5% of their disposable income by 2030 and develop a strategy to end water poverty
- Achieve net zero carbon emissions for the sector by 2030
- Prevent the equivalent of 4 billion plastic bottles ending up as waste by 2030
- Be the first sector to achieve 100% commitment to the Social Mobility Pledge
A programme of work to help achieve each of the goals will be led by a member of the Water UK board and an independent panel will be established to report annually on how well the sector is performing collectively.’