Sector: Water
Tools and techniques: Energy and carbon management
Abstract
Severn Trent is a leading environmental services group providing water, waste and utility services. Group turnover in 2004 was £2 billion. The Group employs over 15,000 staff. Core business activities are:
Severn Trent Water provides essential water and sewerage services to around three million households, as well as products and services to business customers in England and Wales.
Biffa is one of the UK’s largest integrated waste management businesses providing collection, landfill and specialist waste services to local authorities, industrial and commercial clients.
Severn Trent Laboratories (STL) is the largest environmental testing company in the world, providing environmental analysis services in the US and the UK.
Processes: as Severn Trent is an environmental services company, climate change will have a major impact on its operations. Moreover, the company is a significant emitter of greenhouse gases. Methane, a by-product of the decomposition of organic material at Biffa’s landfill sites, and from sludge digestion at Severn Trent Water’s sewage treatment works, accounts for 69% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Other sources are indirect, arising from electricity use for the treatment of water and waste, as well as from the running of its transport fleet. In 2003/4 greenhouse gas emissions from its UK sites, vehicles and electricity purchases totalled 2.02 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), approximately 0.3 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.
Severn Trent’s approach to climate change is twin-track: measuring, monitoring and mitigating its greenhouse gas emissions; and adapting the business to ensure its operations are able to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.
Mitigation – Severn Trent’s mitigation strategy is built on tracking flows of carbon through its processes. Building on an in-house carbon management model, it has developed scenarios with support from the Carbon Trust that allow it to forecast its greenhouse gas emissions to 2020. The company is able to use this model to identify the impact on emissions of changes in EU and UK legislation, to identify its most significant sources of emissions around the group, and prioritise its mitigation efforts. Its activities are concentrated on generation of renewable energy, primarily through capturing and utilising methane, optimising the energy efficiency of its operations and reducing fuel-related transport emissions.
Adaptation – Severn Trent Water has taken a lead within its sector to understand and plan for the effects of a changing climate. Over the next century, drier summers will put greater pressure on water resources, while wetter winters with increased periods of intense precipitation will put pressure on its sewerage systems to provide adequate drainage. The implications of climate change for its existing infrastructure is built into Severn Trent’s business planning process. The company’s assessment has identified over 150 potential climate hazards including general impacts such as working conditions for employees, facilities management and transport.
Busines Impacts:
Severn Trent is committed to exploiting the benefits of its environmental expertise across the group and in 2005 will use Severn Trent Water’s learning on climate change adaptation to assist Biffa’s planning in this area. Biffa’s operations will be affected by climate change and the company is beginning to assess possible impacts such as changes in rainfall patterns and temperature affecting the rate of degradation of waste and the production of landfill gas. The effective management of potential climate change impacts across the group helps minimise the risks and costs both to the business and the environment.
As a result of its work, Severn Trent has gained increasing international recognition. It has committed to raising awareness of the need for climate adaptation and has worked with the United Kingdom Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) and other partners on the regional climate change impact scoping studies within its area. The company’s increasing credibility and expertise has been recognized by the UK Government and led to invitations to attend the COP7 Conference in Morocco and to join an independent advisory body providing guidance to Ministers on the impact of climate change for business. It was also nominated by the UK Government to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as an author and reviewer for the fourth assessment report of the IPCC.
In November 2004, Severn Trent hosted the first of Business in the Community’s Beacon Network seminars, sharing its learning on climate change adaptation with other companies in the water sector and beyond.
Environmental impacts:
Severn Trent has increased its renewable electricity generation capacity by ten per cent across the group to over 100 MW in 2004. This is equivalent to 43 per cent of its own electricity requirements, offsetting 0.2 million tCO2e in 2003/4.
Among its many awareness-raising activities, the company has also provided technical advice and guidance to the Caribbean states on the development of their own climate change adaptation programme. In addition, it is working with the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) in developing a methodology for investors to assess the vulnerability of business to climate change.
Cost/benefit analysis:
The generation of renewable energy through the capture and utilisation of methane provides an additional profitable revenue stream for the business.