Sun, Apr 05, 2026
Text Size
Wednesday, 04 September 2019 07:24

Scottish Water targets net zero emissions drive five years early

Douglas Millican Chief Executive of Scottish Water Scottish Water has welcomed the opportunity to deliver net zero emissions ahead of national targets, set out in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government published yesterday.

The plan sets out national priorities for the coming year and places a focus on how the country will respond to the climate emergency, highlighting the important role Scottish Water will play in leading on renewable technologies and energy efficiency.

Scottish Water’s track record over more than a decade has already delivered significant reductions in carbon emissions from our activities, increased energy efficiency and developed renewable technologies.

The water company is now sseeking to transform our activities to reach net zero emissions five years ahead of national 2045 targets – and go beyond.

Scottish Water will develop a route map for progress working with both the water sector and wider public sector.

HeatFromWasteStirlingActivities will include increasing the amount of renewable energy generated and hosted to 300 per cent more than the energy consumed, leading on biogas generation and recovering energy from waste water to convert into heat.

The utility will accelerate its strategy to minimise emissions through reducing demand and leakage, investing in energy efficiency and renewable power, and transforming our treatment works and processes to lower emission technologies.

At the same time, it will also invest in the management of its catchments to restore peat, increase woodland and turn our landholdings into a ‘carbon sink’, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, Scottish Water, said:

“This will be a big challenge – it presents a massive opportunity.

“We’re absolutely committed to doing all we can as a major public body providing vital water and waste water services throughout the whole country to reduce the impact we have on the environment. It’s not just our duty and our responsibility – it's the right thing to do.

“Our aim is to go further than just meeting the targets already laid down. We want to meet our net zero milestone by 2040, five years early. And once we achieve that we want to go beyond, to go further in ensuring all of our activities have an overall positive impact on the planet.

“This will have a transformative impact on everything we do.

“I’m enormously proud of the positive contribution we’ve made in the water sector in Scotland to date. There is clearly more we can all do and Scottish Water will lead the way in delivering better and more sustainable services for our communities.”

The plan sets out national priorities for the coming year and places a focus on how the country will respond to the climate emergency, highlighting the important role Scottish Water will play in leading on renewable technologies and energy efficiency.

Scottish Water’s track record over more than a decade has already delivered significant reductions in carbon emissions from our activities, increased energy efficiency and developed renewable technologies.

The water company is now seeking to transform its activities to reach net zero emissions five years ahead of national 2045 targets – and go beyond.

Scottish Water will develop a route map for progress working with both the water sector and wider public sector.

Activities will include increasing the amount of renewable energy generated and hosted to 300 per cent more than the energy consumed, leading on biogas generation and recovering energy from waste water to convert into heat.

The utility will accelerate its strategy to minimise emissions through reducing demand and leakage, investing in energy efficiency and renewable power, and transforming our treatment works and processes to lower emission technologies.

At the same time, it will also invest in the management of its catchments to restore peat, increase woodland and turn our landholdings into a ‘carbon sink’, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, Scottish Water, said:

“This will be a big challenge – it presents a massive opportunity.

“We’re absolutely committed to doing all we can as a major public body providing vital water and waste water services throughout the whole country to reduce the impact we have on the environment. It’s not just our duty and our responsibility – it's the right thing to do.

“Our aim is to go further than just meeting the targets already laid down. We want to meet our net zero milestone by 2040, five years early. And once we achieve that we want to go beyond, to go further in ensuring all of our activities have an overall positive impact on the planet.

“This will have a transformative impact on everything we do.

“I’m enormously proud of the positive contribution we’ve made in the water sector in Scotland to date. There is clearly more we can all do and Scottish Water will lead the way in delivering better and more sustainable services for our communities.”

News Showcase

Sign up to receive the Waterbriefing newsletter:


Watch

Click here for more...

Login / Register




Forgot login?

New Account Registrations

To register for a new account with Waterbriefing, please contact us via email at waterbriefing@imsbis.org

Existing waterbriefing users - log into the new website using your original username and the new password 'waterbriefing'. You can then change your password once logged in.

Advertise with Waterbriefing

WaterBriefing is the UK’s leading online daily dedicated news and intelligence service for business professionals in the water sector – covering both UK and international issues. Advertise with us for an unrivalled opportunity to place your message in front of key influencers, decision makers and purchasers.

Find out more

About Waterbriefing

Water Briefing is an information service, delivering daily news, company data and product information straight to the desks of purchasers, users and specifiers of equipment and services in the UK water and wastewater industry.


Find out more