Here, we catch up with Tony Grayling, Director of Sustainable Business and Development at the Environment Agency to find out about his role and thoughts on the current challenges facing the water sector on the road to reaching net zero.
Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background and your current role.
Following a PhD in plant sciences, I entered a career in the field of politics and environmental policy in 1991. Over the years, I have worked for a number of MPs, the Labour Party and the Institute for Public Policy Research (a think tank). I have also had two stints as a special adviser - initially for Gavin Strang, who was at that time Minister for Transport, during the development of the short-lived integrated transport policy in the early part of the Blair government. In the second and to more lasting effect, I supported Environment Secretaries David Miliband and Hilary Benn, helping to conceive and design the Climate Change Act.
Currently as Director for Sustainable Business and Development, I lead the Environment Agency’s work on some strategic cross-cutting issues, including climate change and sustainable places. In that capacity I joined Water UK’s Net Zero Advisory Panel.
What is the Net Zero 2030 Routemap and its aims?
Following the Government’s legally binding commitment in 2019 for the UK to reach net zero by 2050 the water companies agreed a ‘Public Interest Commitment’ that set out five demanding goals. One of these goals was a pledge to reach net zero on operational emissions by 2030. Operational emissions are those from grid supplied power and treatment processes, also known as scope 1 and 2 emissions under the greenhouse gas protocol. As pivotal international climate summit COP 26 approached and following the need for green measures to support the economy after COVID-19, water companies reconfirmed this commitment.
The Routemap set out the plan for achieving this net zero ambition for the whole sector. It’s a voluntary endeavour to reach a demanding target. Beyond these obvious drivers, achieving net zero is potentially a win-win for the water industry that has broader aims and wider benefits. The industry must adapt to a changing climate, it needs to avoid energy and carbon costs for financial reasons and minimise risks to the services it supplies. Encouraging innovation is also a necessity.
The Routemap was unveiled in 2020. What progress has been seen so far?
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Water UK reports that the water companies’ operational emissions have reduced by 45% between 2011 and 2018. They have taken substantial action in areas such as renewable power, biogas, and energy efficiency. The Routemap has provided a degree of focus and priority for water companies that perhaps shouldn’t be overlooked. Regardless, the pace of change will need to increase to reach net zero and the ambition is being stretched further as better emissions data starts to reveal the true scale of operational emissions. There are now more stringent accounting methodologies, legal obligations and pressures emerging for the industry to address.
Do you think the targets set out by Water UK in the Routemap are enough? What would you change if anything?
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The short answer is no, it’s not enough. In many respects things have moved on since the Routemap was launched and Water UK recognises that. The impacts from climate change have been even more apparent recently with extreme weather events impacting water supplies and sewerage systems - especially the drought and record temperatures of summer 2022. The need to adapt is now becoming more urgent and maintaining water services and environmental quality in a changing climate will need significant innovation or it will simply result in a larger footprint for the water industry just to stand still.
There is now a new world-wide standard framework for corporate net zero target setting in line with climate science known as the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The SBTi sets out that emissions reductions need to be profiled to accord with the pace of reductions needed globally to meet the Paris Agreement and have a chance of limiting global warming to about 1.5oC. SBTi also sets out a more limited role for offsetting - that was a big element for the Routemap. In addition, the Routemap never included what is known as upstream and downstream – scope 3 – emissions from embedded carbon. For the water industry with an ambitious capital programme, this scope 3 footprint is significant.
Finally, new legal duties that have arisen from the Environment Act 2021, particularly relating to Defra’s Storm Overflow Reduction Plan for sewage networks. Some of the emission factors for nitrous oxide - a key greenhouse gas - have been revised and are now considered to be around four times higher than when the Routemap was first launched. Consequentially Water UK is looking at its Routemap to understand all these changes and are planning for a relaunch early in the new year.
Why is it essential that water companies act on environmental issues now? What steps are most crucial in your opinion?
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Our water environment is precious in its own right, not just for environmental reasons. For example, the UK has 80% of the world’s chalk streams with their unique ecology and we have a duty to be custodians. The water environment also provides many, largely free, services for society and the economy. These obviously include water supply for a whole range of things but also flood defence, the disposal of treated effluent, heating and cooling, recreation, tourism and cultural value as well as the increasingly recognised health benefits of just being near or in water. In addition, as the UK decarbonises, we will require more water for new technology such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen production, so we need to preserve and manage our precious water environment for these reasons as well.
Water-related challenges and decarbonisation are not just water company responsibilities; businesses, land users, government and the wider public all have an important role. The steps towards achieving net zero will often be common for all.
The important first step is to quantify the scale of the carbon footprint and then establish a mechanism to monitor, track and report reductions from that baseline.
For the water industry, the key challenge is currently to understand its carbon footprint, especially in regard to process emissions and some key scope 3 impacts around construction. Process emissions are complex to monitor from sewage treatment and supply chains are long. Accounting for carbon fully in decision making needs to be further embedded. Water companies will need to innovate and collaborate with regulators, academics, suppliers, other infrastructure providers and the broader society. Ultimately, they will need to deploy technology, techniques and take action to reduce their footprint and encourage others to play their part – everyone who uses water.
What are the main challenges facing water companies as they strive to meet the targets of the Routemap?
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The climate is changing and the window of opportunity for reducing our emissions is closing. Although every step we take is worthwhile, we collectively need to move faster than ever as time is not on our side. I have already touched on some of the key challenges facing water companies in relation to net zero - namely understanding the true scale of their footprint and the deployment of solutions that make a difference. However, the path to net zero is set against a background of many other issues such as the cost of living, the price we pay for water, the growing expectations and demands from consumers and the UK’s growing and ageing population. Plus, there are new and stringent legal duties.
Maintaining and improving the water environment in a changing climate presents risks that are not under the water industry’s control or easily understood. The water environment needs to be considered systematically and that inevitably means there is incredible complexity to developing, embedding, and even communicating effective action with a broad range of stakeholders. In summary, whilst the Routemap needs a refresh and this is a path we haven’t trodden before, we all still need to take it to collectively find a route to net zero.
To find out more about Water UK’s Routemap, please click here. For VWT UK’s take on the Routemap as it stands, please click here.
Header photo of Tony is credited to Broads Authority
