United Utilities is leading the way in environmental management, with an integrated carbon management system, innovative and sustainable use of waste and support for employees and customers for managing their own environmental impact.
To ensure the delivery of its carbon reduction targets, UU has invested significantly in combined heat and power (CHP) projects to increase production by 80%, and is also working with its suppliers to measure and manage their carbon emissions.
The environment is an integral part of the company’s strategy and recognising that eco-efficiency presents commercial opportunities, United Utilities has developed innovative ways to reuse excavated waste from the company’s operations. United Utilities creates a recycled, high-grade cement-bound excavated material (CBEM) with the soil and rubble the company digs from roads. This is then re-used as a material for backfilling excavations. By using excavated materials in this way, the company eliminates the costs of removing the waste and buying virgin quarried materials.
Another innovative byproducts solution uses recycled ash from a paper mill, in place of lime, in the treatment of raw sewage sludge cake. This process uses two waste products to create a sustainable fertilizer, and the use of recycled ash is a cheaper treatment option than the original lime. The resulting sludge has a value of approximately £40 per hectare for its application to land in terms of nutrient replacement.
The company reaches out to all age groups to promote environmental messages: its environmental classrooms promote environmental messages to thousands of school children each year; it promotes water efficiency to customers, for example offering free water-efficient showerheads and provides a web-based calculator for customers that converts water consumption into carbon; and employees’ environmental contributions are supported through a performance reward and recognition scheme.
