Anglian Water has funded 850 capital investment projects through financing from Green Bonds totalling £876 million since it announced its first Green Bond in 2017, according to its latest Green Bond Impact Report 2020.
The water company has six Green Bonds now in operation, funding schemes including innovative water abstraction projects, drought and flood resilience work and progressive water recycling and water resource management projects - saving more than 161,000 tonnes of CO2e.
The company became the first European utility company to issue a sterling Green Bond in 2017. Since then, the projects delivered via bonds issued to date have enabled a 62% reduction from the company’s 2010 capital carbon baseline.
The report says that in collaboration with its integrated supply chain, Anglian has created a strong ‘reduce carbon, reduce cost’ culture. The approach has delivered innovation and financial efficiency through the reuse of assets, low-carbon materials, off-site build, low-carbon standard products and advanced 3D design tools.
Green finance projects funded by the Green Bonds must contribute to five environmental objectives:
- Climate change mitigation
- Climate change adaptation
- Natural resource conservation
- Biodiversity conservation
- Pollution prevention and control
The water company said the sustainability focus at the heart of its business means all Anglian Water’s capital expenditure qualifies for the Green Bond.
Last year, Anglian became the first water company to change its Articles of Association to enshrine its long-term commitment to deliver wider public interest outcomes for society and the environment by altering the core documents that govern the overall management of the business.
This means the company’s Board must take account of the wider impact Anglian Water has on customers, communities and the environment, as well as delivering a fair return for shareholders.
The company has also committed to using six capitals thinking in decision making to keep these responsibilities front of mind, balancing natural capital against social, financial, manufactured, people and intellectual capital to help drive the right outcomes. It has developed a set of metrics to help it understand, track and report on its impact on them
As part of the water industry’s recently pledged Public Interest Commitment, Anglian has committed to a range of ambitious environmental goals, including pledging to reach net zero carbon by 2030.
Steve Buck, Chief Financial Officer for Anglian Water, said:
“We made history in 2017 when we became the first public utility to launch a Sterling Green Bond, and we are very proud that all our capital activity meets the strict environmental criteria set for Green Bond investment. Sustainability is simply how we do business, all day, every day.
“Sustainable finance has never been higher on the corporate agenda. Forward-thinking investors recognise that environmental and social responsibility is no longer an afterthought, but a fundamental part of their decision-making process. They are looking to make investments that enable the right choices to be made to safeguard the planet, while enabling sustainable growth.”
Long-term access to secure water supplies is one of the most pressing global challenges today. Operating in one of the driest, yet fastest growing regions of the UK, means that this challenge is felt nowhere more keenly than in the East of England. All Anglian’s schemes funded by Green Bond investment directly tackle these challenges.
The Anglian Water Green Bond Framework has been reviewed by DNV GL which has issued a Second Party Opinion. DNV GL were also engaged to perform limited assurance in accordance with ISAE 3000 (revised) standard on ‘Reduction in CO2 e (T)’ key performance indicator.
Anglian Water proposes to raise the vast majority of the capital it needs in AMP7 as sustainable finance.
The centrepiece of the water company’s AMP7 Business Plan is the creation of a strategic interconnector which will see it create up to 500km of interconnecting pipelines and associated infrastructure to move water from areas of surplus in Lincolnshire down to the drier south and east of its region.
The resulting network is will safeguard water supplies for years to come and provide hundreds of thousands of customers with a second source of supply.
Click here to download Anglian Water’s Green Bond Impact Report 2020
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Börger UK, which has firmly established itself as a leading pump brand since it was set up in Staffordshire in 2004, has moved into bigger, brand-new premises in Shrewsbury.
HUBER Technology UK & Ireland are inviting people to register for their March webinar where they will be providing information about HUBER water intake screens for municipal and industrial applications.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.