Severn Trent commits to £1.2bn sustainability drive

Severn Trent (SVT) has set out a series of environmental and social commitments for the next decade.

This includes a £1.2 billion investment plan over the next five years – with £700 million to be spent on improving the natural habitat; £250 million on managing water scarcity; £200 million on decarbonisation and £50 million on strengthening its role in society.

The FTSE 100 company has set a target of drawing 100 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by the end of the decade. It is currently self-generating half of its energy and from 1 April will be matching the rest with REGO certificates.

SVT’s managing director of production, James Jesic, told Utility Week that the company would seek to move away from REGOs as soon as possible and that new ventures, such as the acquisition of renewable generation firm, Agrivert, would boost its ability to self-supply.

Jesic also said that the company would continue to monitor the development of electric HGVs and tankers as it promises a 100 per cent electrified fleet by 2030.

The sustainability commitments were released as part of the group’s Capital Markets Day and are the result of consultation with customers and other stakeholders.

Chief executive Liv Garfield said the board strongly believed that businesses with a strong social purpose could deliver better and more sustainable outcomes for all stakeholders over the long term.

She said: “To truly make a difference we need to look after nature and the precious resources it provides, we need the most talented and engaged minds helping us to drive performance and innovate, and we need customers who trust us to do the right thing for their communities. We’re incredibly proud of the work we have done so far when it comes to sustainability and excited that our stakeholders support the approach we are taking for the future.”

Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said SVT’s pledges added up to a “very significant contribution… toward the creation of a national Nature Recovery Network”.

In its work to restore the natural habitat, SVT will seek to enhance the biodiversity of 5,000 hectares of land – equivalent to one per cent of the national target – by 2027. This will involve the planting of 1.3 million trees over the next 10 years and the use of wildflower margins and beetle banks.

It is also aiming to improve river water quality in 44 catchment areas by engaging with 9,000 farmers to reduce pollutants from agriculture getting into the watercourse.

Jesic said that while the target was ambitious, it was building on good relationships with the farming community built up over the past few years

“Over the past five years we have worked with farmers across 15 catchments. We have a team engaging face-to-face with them and what we find is that they are often unaware of the impact of their practices.

“We’ve been able to show them that the alternative methods we’re suggesting are not only better for the environment but also result in greater crop yield.

“We have extended it to allow farmers to dispose of pesticides and fertilisers and through doing that we have diverted 16 tonnes of fertiliser.”

SVT will also target behavioural change among other businesses and customers with the aim of halving the number of pollutions in its region over the next five years.

There will be a separate push on per capita consumption of water – where the target is a 3.5 per cent reduction – equivalent to 36 million litres a day.

This will involve installing at least 500,000 meters and educating half a million school children by 2025.

Chief customer officer Sarah Bentley told Utility Week there was also a huge amount of work to do “on the doorstep”.

She said there was a real appetite from customers for the company to tackle both social and environmental issues.

“Customers clearly want to make sure we do our day job but they absolutely believe that we should step into this space. There is a real sense of the physical environment and ways in which we can all play our part in preserving it.”