Author: Darcie Williamson

It outlines the activities which have taken place during the 12 months since September 14th 2020 to further reduce emissions and lay the foundation work to enable future decreases.

The public water and waste water services organisation has been reducing its carbon footprint since 2006 and has now achieved more than 249,000 tCO2e – a 2 per cent reduction on the previous year. In 2006 our emissions were 462,000 tCO2e.

During the year there was a focus on our four strategic areas of action which can help us reduce further and faster to become net zero by 2040 – five years ahead of national targets.

A programme of organisation-wide transformation has also been developed which will enable even more work to be done to limit our impact on the environment.

The routemap was published in 2020 during Climate Week and again it provides a platform for the first annual update on progress.

Scottish Water is working closely with a broad spectrum of partners – from our supply chain to academia, private and public sector – to go beyond net zero.

To mark climate week and the anniversary of the routemap, Scottish Water has become a signatory to the Edinburgh Declaration – an international statement of intent led by Scottish Government to ensure action is taken at all levels to protect global biodiversity.

“We are committed to playing our part in supporting a flourishing Scottish environment. Signing the Edinburgh Declaration signals our intent to tackle biodiversity loss and protect nature alongside our commitment to be net zero by 2040.”

Simon Parsons, Scottish Water’s director for Strategic Customer Service Planning

This year we will host COP26 here in Scotland. It’s a hard to underestimate how important this could be for us all.  Back at COP21 the Paris Agreement on climate change saw signed – the world agreed to take action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C by 2050. This has failed and the IPCC’s recent findings show the Earth could well exceed the 1.5ºC warming limit by early 2030s. The ‘code red’ is because every emissions scenario considered by the IPCC, Earth’s surface temperature will continue to increase until at least 2050 and unless we take action now, we will be looking at a 2 or 3C future – or perhaps worse. This will have very significant impact on the planet and how all creatures on the planet live.

As we prepare for COP26 there is a lot of really positive action underway between ourselves and other organisations and companies across Scotland and the World. I am sure you will hear more about this over the coming week. 

So what’s our role – to me it’s simple we need to reduce our contribution to climate change and make sure our assets can still deliver fantastic service as the climate continues to change. This time last year we set out our Net Zero Routemap to reduce our operational and investment emissions down to net zero emissions by 2040. Earlier this year we agreed out plan for our operational emissions and we are aiming to get these to zero by 2030 and there is huge amount of work underway – transforming our fleet, building new renewable energy generation and reducing the energy we use across wastewater and water treatment. On our investment emissions we are making great progress – testing low carbon concrete, taking steel out of our designs and using recyclable material for roads.

This year we will host COP26 here in Scotland. It’s a hard to underestimate how important this could be for us all.

Simon Parsons, Director of Strategic Customer Service Planning at Scottish Water

We are already adapting to extremes of weather – our water resources teams have shown again this year how prepared we are for significant dry periods – some great innovations that mean we get even more out of our reservoirs and learning from the new low levels we are seeing. Our wastewater teams have dealt with significant flooding challenges again this year – looking after our customers and embracing storm water management in partnerships with other organisations – and building intelligent networks with our digital partners. This will allow us to transform our asset base for the future.

I am hoping for a really successful COP26 to set the global momentum needed – and closer to home I know that everyone in Scottish Water will play there part in reducing our contribution and prepare us for a changing climate.

Diesel-powered vans which are coming to their end of their work cycle are now being replaced by vans which can be plugged in at charging points.

They form part of Scottish Water’s fleet of small vans and mark the beginning of a wholesale shift to more environmentally-friendly options.

The move comes as a new report for the public water and waste water organisation said up to 60 per cent of its operational fleet could turn electric to reduce transport emissions.

Pre-pandemic, Scottish Water’s fleet of vehicles – from HGVs and large heavy-payload vans to small general purpose vans and cars – clocked up 19 million miles annually.

The organisation pledged to become net zero by 2040 and set out plans to achieve that in a routemap published in September 2020.

The 20 new Nissan EV 200s have just been bought and need to be adapted for use in helping deliver services across the country, including by water quality samplers, technical teams and network operatives. They will be on the road by April 2022.

A report by consultants for Scottish Water said that the light commercial van fleet had real potential to reduce fuel emissions.

The comprehensive review of over 1,300 vehicles by Cenex identified where suitable electric vehicles could be introduced, the location and type of charging infrastructure required, and provided a strategic deployment plan to meet Scottish Water’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2040.

A new Scottish Water project team led by EV vehicle specialists is now in place to take forward the fleet transformation opportunities.

As well as achieving significant emission savings, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, electric vehicles will generate substantial financial savings from reduced fuel and maintenance costs over their operational life.

Other areas being explored include using alternative fuels for heavy vehicles including compressed natural gas (CNG) and “drop-in” fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).

Crucial to successful roll-out is access to electric vehicle charging points at strategic locations across the country. Charging stations have already been installed at key Scottish Water offices, treatment plants and depots. Scottish Water Horizons, the utility’s commercial subsidiary,  are installing charge points during the build of new renewables sites as a cost-effective way of accelerating their deployment.

“We are now starting our journey to putting zero emissions vehicles on the road – and planning for more. We operate a varied fleet with specific usage profiles, payload and towing requirements and equipment.  

“We will now carry out our own real-world testing – including having access to vital charging infrastructure at workplaces and at home – to ensure the electric vehicle technology will meet operational requirements with no impact on customer service.”

Elaine Pringle, Fleet Manager at Scottish Water

“With such a large and varied operation, Scottish Water was one of the most complex vehicle fleets for us to assess and plan for a zero-emission fleet transition. In-depth analysis has shown that even with such a varied fleet operation, there is still great potential to transition the van fleet to electric, with limited impact on business operations.” 

Robert Anderson, Senior Fleet Specialist at Cenex