Thisreporthighlightsthekeychallengeswe … · · 2015-06-16Overview Foreword Climatechange...

This report highlights the key challenges weface and how we are addressing these throughthe engagement of customers, suppliers andemployees of

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EnvironmentClimate changeOverview Foreword

This report is primarily for those whohave a particular interest in corporateresponsibility issues. This year we haveproduced a summary Community andEnvironment Report as we transition toa sustainable web only report next year.

Our website anglianwater.co.ukincludes information on Anglian Water’sservices as well as more detail on theissues highlighted in this report.Throughout the report, we havesignposted areas where moreinformation is available on the websitewith this symbol.

Delivering our vision

Our Strategic Direction Statement (SDS) sets out our vision for the next25 years and the seven strategic priorities that will enable us to deliverit (see page two). We have reviewed our corporate responsibility targetsin light of these priorities. Some of these key targets and commitmentsare highlighted in this report. For a full list, visit our websiteanglianwater.co.uk.

Delivering our vision

AssuranceStakeholders Community and Environment Report 2008anglianwater.co.uk

01Some of our key achievements in 2007/8

Some of our key achievements in 2007/8

Contents Male osprey soaring overRutland Water ©John Wright

1Excluding commercial fleet

WonBITCBig TickAward for oureducationprogramme

99.4%wastewatercompliance:best everperformance

22.5%of grid energypurchasedfromrenewablesources

10%reductionin businessmileage1

Biggestinvestmentin employee technicalskill enhancementsince privatisation

More than500 pledgesreceived at our climatechange supplier event

Foreword

02 Foreword

Climate change

04 Preparing for climate change

06 Managing our carbon footprint

08 Planning for regional growth

10 Addressing flood risk

Environment

12 Borrowing water from nature

14 Reducing waste in everything we do

16 Ensuring water is at the heartof the community

Stakeholders

18 Consulting with others

20 A year in our communities

22 Working in the communities we serve

24 Engaging our employees

26 Enabling our suppliers to playtheir part

Assurance

28 Verification statement

IBC Stakeholder feedback


02 Foreword

Welcome to our Community and Environment Report 2008.

Our two key issues: climate change andregional growthClimate change is a serious challenge to our business.With an extensive coastline and low-lying land, our regionis particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.Our region is also the driest in the UK. With this in mindwe are putting plans in place to adapt to the effects ofclimate change and mitigate our own impacts; for example,by implementing a carbon reduction strategy.

The region is experiencing extreme weather more regularly.In June 2007, North Norfolk experienced a severe stormwhich overwhelmed our network, caused localised floodingand compromised water quality. We are working hard withall our partners to anticipate and mitigate the impact of suchextreme occurrences for the future.

The Anglian Water region is one of the fastest-growing inthe country. We made 24,000 new connections in 2007/8.Anglian Water estimates that around a million more homeswill be built in the next 25 years. Through the formation ofthe Regional Water Partnership we are working to put waterat the forefront of decision-making in the planning processand working towards a sustainable strategy for the east ofEngland (see page nine).

We have engaged with those we serve on anunprecedented scaleIn 2007, we published our first Strategic Direction Statement(SDS), which outlines our 25-year strategy. This identifiedour seven key strategic priorities (see diagram below).

Foreword

“Our aspiration is to be the mostwater-efficient region in the UK.As part of this I was delighted to signthe Regional Water Partnership Charterwith the Minister for the east of England,Barbara Follett.”

is delivered by seven strategic priorities:

To deliver a reliable supply ofclean, safe drinking water andeffective wastewater servicesat an affordable price.

Our fundamental business goal:

Mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts

Increase the resilience and reliabilityof our water and wastewater services

Anticipate and invest for growth in our region

Secure and conserve water resources

Improve the environment in our region

Keep bills at current affordability

Improve our efficiency and flexibility

Community and Environment Report 2008anglianwater.co.uk

03Foreword

Five expert opinion panels, made up of representatives fromour communities, were established and consulted with aspart of this process. We are also consulting with thesepanels, and a whole range of customers and stakeholders,as we prepare our five-year investment plan to be submittedto Ofwat in 2009. A copy of the SDS is available online.

This year, we have worked even more closely with oursuppliers and partners to address issues such as mitigatingand adapting to climate change (see page 27).

Borrowing water from natureAll water we use is borrowed from nature and we treatour responsibility as a custodian of the environment veryseriously. We want to ensure the ecological sensitivityand biodiversity of wetlands in the east of England are notadversely affected by our operations. I am pleased with ourenvironmental performance during the year with our bestever wastewater compliance of 99.4 per cent. 99.1 per centof our Sites of Special Scientific Interest were also classifiedas being in ‘favourable or recovering’ position.

In light of the growth in our region, water efficiency willbe key to managing resources and everyone has a partto play. We will continue our efforts to minimise leakage,maintaining our position as having one of the best leakagerates in the industry while also promoting the use of metersto customers. We are also engaging our customers in helpingus to reduce the amount of water that is wasted and therebyreduce the amount we abstract, treat to potable standardand treat as wastewater.

Looking aheadOur aim is to take a leading role in water conservation inour industry. We support alternative technologies to improvemetering, to create innovative tariffs for customers and toencourage water efficiency.

The challenges of growth and climate change will need to betackled by an integrated regional strategy. I am determinedthat we will play a leading role in this and over the next yearwe will strengthen our existing partnerships across theregion. Success will come through coordinated and agreedaction, and Anglian Water will be at the heart of buildingthe plan for the east of England.

I am pleased with the positive comments we received aboutlast year’s report. We have incorporated feedback in thisyear’s report to cover more non-regulatory information,to widen the understanding of our business activities andexplain how we engage with others. I hope you find thisreport helpful, and I welcome your comments.

It has been an exceptional year of achievements andI would like to thank all my colleagues, and our supplypartners, for their hard work and effort.

Jonson Cox, Chief Executive, Anglian Water Group

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This report outlines the strategy we willadopt for the next 25 years to ensure thatwe continue to deliver a reliable supply ofsafe, clean water and effective wastewaterservices to the customers of

This strategy is contained in theStrategic Direction Statement (SDS),which is available online atanglianwater.co.uk.

which are addressed through the following activities:

Preparing forclimate change

04

Managing ourcarbon footprint

Planning forregional growth

Addressing flood risk

06

08

10

Reducing waste ineverything we do

Ensuring water isat the heart ofthe community

14

16

Working in thecommunities we serve

Engaging ouremployees

Enabling our suppliersto play their part

22

24

26

Borrowingwaterfrom nature

12 Consultingwith others

18

Stakeholders Assurance


04 Preparing forclimate change

Preparing forclimate changeWe believe that climate change is the biggest risk to ourbusiness over the next 25 years. Changes in rainfall patterns,temperatures and sea levels affect almost every part of ourbusiness and more extreme weather events are alreadyhaving an impact.

We are working to ensure the service we deliver today cancontinue into the future, particularly as the population ofour region is growing rapidly. We are embedding ourresponse to the challenges of climate change into ourdecision-making processes across the business, ensuringit is integrated into everything we do. The impacts of climatechange on all elements of the water cycle are illustratedin the diagram (see opposite page).

We are ensuring our infrastructure has the resilience tocope with the changing climate by assessing, for example,the vulnerability of our critical assets, sites and infrastructureto potential changes in flood risk and sea-level rise. Wehave also been working closely with the MeteorologicalOffice to understand how future changes in rainfall mightaffect our sewer design standards.

1Based on 2006/7 baseline of 748 GWh 2Baseline of £50m spend 3From 2006/7 baseline 4Excluding commercial fleet

Anglian Water has taken a lead on the climate changeagenda through our membership of the Corporate Leaders’Group (CLG). This is a group of 20 leading companiesbrought together under the leadership of the Prince ofWales. It represents a wide range of economic interest,working at a national level with Government and at an EUlevel, to support early adoption of measures that will increasethe rate of mitigation and adaptation to the effects ofclimate change.

In 2007, Anglian Water became a founder signatoryof the CLG’s Bali Communiqué which attracted the supportof 170 businesses worldwide. balicommunique.com

We are also working with the Government and otherorganisations through our involvement in the East of EnglandClimate Change Partnership, Water UK Climate ChangeFocus Group and Eureau Climate Change Task.

A climate change roadshow, which included the screeningof Al Gore’s Oscar-winning film An Inconvenient Truth, wasone method we used to increase employee awareness ofclimate change issues. Their ability to do something aboutclimate change is promoted through our think energy andwhy travel? campaigns where everyone is encouraged toreduce energy, and their own carbon footprint, at operationaland office sites and at home.

Strategic priority(from SDS)

Target Performance in 2007/8 2008/9 commitment

Mitigate andadapt to climatechange impacts

Climate change adaptation strategy NEW In development stage Reviewed annuallyby the Board

Carbon management20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 20101

NEW 4.4% reported reduction Ongoing

Energy initiative20% reduction in energy costs by 20102

15% reduction achieved Ongoing

Energy reduction4.7% reduction in electricityconsumption (35 GWh)1

1.9% reduction. 734 GWh ofelectricity consumed. Energyinitiative projects saved 19 GWh.Overall energy consumption↓14 GWh.

Invest in energyprojects to save16 GWh (2%) ofnon-renewable energy

Transportation8%3 reduction in business mileage4

by 2010

10% reduction achieved Further 5% reduction

Renewable energySelf-generation of 20 GWh (2.5%)1

13.5 GWh (approx 2%) from ourCombined Heat and Power (CHP)engines. Operational issues impairedmeeting target.

Self-generate40 GWh (5%)

Renewable energy22.5% of grid energy purchased fromrenewable sources

22.5% 22.5%


05Preparing forclimate change

RainfallChanging rainfallpatterns maybring wetterwinters anddrier summers.

Managing the impacts of climatechange across our business

IMPACT

CustomersPromotingwaterwise andsewerwisemessages tocustomers.

BiosolidsManagingresources inthe mostsustainable way.

Leakage controlReducing waterwastage,therefore reducingenergy wastage.

WastewatertreatmentFitting CHP unitsto convert biogasinto electricity.

WaterworksPlanning pumpingand worksoperation to beenergy efficient.

SeweragesystemUsing moreefficient pumpsreduces ourenergy usage.

IndustryEncouragingwater efficiencyby our businesscustomers.

GrowthInfluencingplanners andinformingRegionalAssemblies.

TransportReducing ourmileage byeffective planningand Green Travelinitiatives.

RiversIncreased risk offlooding to ourassets and ourcustomers.

River waterqualityAffected bychanges in rainfallpatterns andtemperature.

Nature reservesWetland habitatsare particularlyvulnerable tothe effects ofclimate change.

ACTION

New assetsDesigning newinfrastructure tocope with futureclimate changes.

CoastlineForecasting theeffects of sea-levelrise and storms onour coastal assetsand customers.

FloodingPromotingsustainableurban drainagemethods.

ReservoirProviding extraareas for wildlifewhile we expandour use ofRutland Water.

Water resourcesAdapting ourplans to allow forclimate change.

Educating our employees on the impactsof climate change and methods for savingenergy. Embedding carbon and energyreduction targets for all business units.Reducing energy usage in our office.

Offices

New homesPromotingwater efficiencymeasures todevelopers.


06 Managing ourcarbon footprint

Managing ourcarbon footprintIn order to deliver water and wastewater services to ourcustomers we need to use a significant amount of energy.We are committed to providing outstanding service whilereducing our use of energy and therefore, our carbonemissions. To meet this commitment we are developingan energy and carbon reduction strategy.

What we are doingOur current target is to reduce our carbon emissions by20 per cent by 20101. This consists of:

• 6 per cent reduction in our energy consumption.• 14 per cent reduction from generating our own electricityfrom wind and biogas.

In addition, we have been involved in steering a numberof national projects to establish a clear carbon accountingmethod for all water companies. At a regional level wehave been working with the East of England DevelopmentAgency (EEDA) to reduce carbon emissions in thecommunities we serve, for example by our involvementin EEDA’s Cut Your Carbon scheme.

Disclosing our carbon footprintWe have made significant progress in understanding andmeasuring our carbon emissions. This year we have useda new method for calculating our emissions and we arenow capturing data that we have not previously included.

Direct emissions account for just 16 per cent of the total,as detailed in the diagram (see opposite page). Overall, thereported total emissions have reduced by 4.4 per centcompared to 2006/7, although we recognise that this ispartly due to the new method of calculation. We areawaiting further guidance from the Government on whetherrenewable power can be claimed as a carbon saving forcompany reporting.

1Compared to the 2006/7 baseline (748 GWh)

Working to minimise our carbon footprintWe have undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce ourenergy use and resulting carbon emissions, which include:

Next stepsWe know we can do even more by:

• Completing development and implementation of our carbonreduction strategy.

• Measuring the indirect emissions from forms of transport,for example, those used by employees and suppliers.

• Obtaining more accurate conversion factors for nitrousoxide and methane emissions from our processes and frombiosolids to land practices.

• Determining the carbon footprint of building materials.• Working with the chemicals industry to determine thecarbon footprint of our chemical use.

• Working with our suppliers to help calculate their carbonemissions (see page 26).

Energy efficiency

• Reduced energy costs by £7.6 million since the initiativesbegan in 2005/6.

• Conducted energy efficiency site audits and implemented180 energy-saving projects across the company.

• Launched the think energy campaign with energy reductiontips for employees.

Renewable energy

• Saved 7,060 tonnes of CO2e through the renewable powerwe generated, compared with buying it from the grid.

• Focused on using methane to generate renewable electricity.• Commissioned four new Combined Heat and Power (CHP)engines to improve operational performance.

• Continued to assess our sites for suitability for wind turbines.

Transport

• 10 per cent reduction in business mileage2 through our whytravel? initiative.

• Introduced a car-sharing database for employees for personaland business travel.

• Launched a new incentive scheme to reduce single-occupancyemployee car journeys.

2Excluding commercial fleet

Transportemissions

4.3%

Fuels used atoperational sites

and offices

3.3%

OUR DIRECT EMISSIONSOUR INDIRECT EMISSIONS

07Managing ourcarbon footprint

Purchasedelectricity

66.4%


Water processemissions

1.7%

What we all can doCalculate your personal carbon footprint atactonco2.direct.gov.uk.

Become a Carbon Hero and help your communityto tackle climate change by visitingcutyourcarbon.org.uk.

“Our region is affected by a unique set ofissues. While the region has a good trackrecord on leakage, there is more to be doneto promote water efficiency, reduce leakagefurther, and to encourage and rewardbehavioural change.

Community action plays a key part inhelping to respond to these challenges,and EEDA is delighted to be workingwith the support of Anglian Water onthe Cut Your Carbon campaign.”

Richard Ellis, Chair, EEDA

View of Stamford, Lincolnshire

1Includes emissions from our renewablepower generation where we claimRenewable Obligation Certificates.

Biosolidsto land

emissions

15.5%

Stakeholders Assurance

Self-generatedrenewableelectricity1

1.5%

Wastewaterprocessemissions

6.5%


08 Planning forregional growth

Planning forregional growthOur region is one of the fastest-growing in the country.We made 24,000 new connections during 2007/8.Anglian Water estimates that around a million morehomes will be built in the next 25 years. Water efficiencyin all its forms has been the key to our successin effectively managing water supply and the threat ofdroughts to date, and we will continue to work with ourcustomers to become the most water-efficient region,while accommodating the additional growth.

What we are doingIn addition to the challenges of climate change, ourservices and assets must accommodate planned growth,not restrict it. We must understand the demands thatthe new housing stock will have on the resilience ofour infrastructure – something we are proactively planningfor in order to continue to provide effective water andwastewater services. Anglian Water must thereforeensure that we:

• Work with the Government to make the standardsof the Code for Sustainable Homes mandatory for allnew homes, enabling us to promote water efficiencymore effectively.

• Lobby the Government to include such standards intothe Building and Water Fittings Regulations.

• Provide the required water and wastewater services to allnew homes and businesses in the most sustainable way.

• Continue to protect the environment in whichwe all live and work.

This consideration of regional growth has been fullyincorporated into our Draft Water ResourcesManagement Plan.

We cannot plan for future growth in isolation.We need to collaborate with other organisations toensure that water efficiency and sustainable drainagemethods are incorporated into new developments.


Target Performancein 2007/8

2008/9commitment

Anticipate and investfor growth in the region

Water cycles studies – encourage their inclusion inLocal Development Frameworks which form guidance at a local level

NEW Monitor progress


09Planning forregional growth

What we all can doIf you haven’t already done so, contact Anglian Waterand enquire about having a water meter fitted.Typically metered customers save approximately£100 per year.

New housing development atHampton, Cambridgeshire

“This is an ambitious project, which I am proudto be associated with. The Regional WaterPartnership will have a key role to play in theeast of England's ambitious plans for housingand economic growth. I am sure that it will dothis sensitively and successfully.”

Barbara Follett,Minister for the East of England

Case studyRegional Water Partnership

In March 2008, we launched the RegionalWater Partnership, the first of its kind in theUK. Working with EEDA, GO-East, NaturalEngland, CC Water, the Environment Agency,the East of England Regional Assembly and thewater supply companies in our region, thepartnership is working to put all aspects ofwater at the forefront of decision-making inplanning processes.


10 Addressing flood risk

Addressing flood riskFlooding – the risksOur region is flat and low-lying. This makes us particularlyvulnerable to the impacts of flooding from rivers andsurface water run-off during heavy rain. Our longcoastline also makes us vulnerable to the effects of stormsurges and rises in sea level.

In 2007, there were examples of these in our region:heavy rain caused flooding in parts of Lincolnshire and anautumn storm surge threatened much of our coastline.We know that as the climate changes, it will be key forus to make our assets even more resilient; and oursubmission to Ofwat of our investment plan 2010–2015will make the case to provide this resilience to ourcustomers in the most cost-effective way.

What we are doingWe are currently assessing the risk of flooding, undercurrent and changing climate conditions, for all ourcritical assets. We have been working with theMeteorological Office to understand how future changesin rainfall might affect the design of new sewers.

We are also revising our business continuity plans toensure that we can continue to provide the services ourcustomers expect even if water, sewerage or office assetsare affected by flooding. Key employees are being trainedto ensure we can give the appropriate support to GoldCommand, the emergency response structure.

We are investing in the water treatment and distributionsystems in Lincoln and Norwich to improve their resilienceto extreme events.

We have since provided detailed feedback on the InterimPitt Review, which sought to identify the lessons to belearned from 2007’s flooding events.

We are also taking a lead role, along with three of our peers,in the UK water industry’s own review of the 2007 floodswhich will consider what lessons can be learned, and whataction should be taken next time drinking water suppliesand wastewater services come under threat fromextreme events.


11Addressing flood risk

Case studySupporting others

The exceptional rainfall last summer causeddisruption to water services in many parts of thecountry. We were fortunate to have avoidedsevere flooding and our systems performed wellin those areas that were affected. We were ableto provide assistance to Severn Trent Water bysending filled tankers, bowsers and membersof our own media team to Gloucestershire.

Storm surge at Cromer,Norfolk, in 2007 What we all can do

Consider using permeable materials for paving andpatios allowing rainwater to perculate directly into theground. Pick up a copy of the Sitewise II leaflet at aB&Q store which provides green DIY tips.

“I am delighted that Anglian Water isworking with the best science and the localcommunities to assess the changing flood riskon the vulnerable coasts of the region. It isvital that we move to create a mix of old andnew coastlines with assurances that theresulting mix will be economically viable,socially just and supported, and ecologicallyresilient for a changing sea.”

Prof Tim O'Riordan,Sustainable Development Commission


12 Borrowing waterfrom nature

Borrowing waterfrom natureAnglian Water has a responsibility to protect and enhancethe species and habitats that exist within its region. Theecological sensitivity of many places in the east of Englandadds a further challenge: more than 60 per cent of allthe Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in our regionare wetlands. For more comprehensive information andour full environmental policy please visit our website.

What we are doingBiodiversityOur 10-year Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) is nearingcompletion. We are now planning our next BAP for2010–2020 in order to continue to manage the speciesand habitats on our sites. We have already identifiedpotential locations where we could enhance populationsof dormice, natterjack toads and fen orchids. A biodiversityfield guide will be issued to all field-based employeesduring 2008. This gives details of the identification andmanagement of protected species and habitats.

Reintroduction of speciesWorking with the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust,our osprey project had another record year in 2007 whenfive chicks fledged. One parent was a wild-hatchedRutland bird: the first to breed in England since 1847.

Meanwhile, in Norfolk, the pool frogs that wereintroduced with Natural England and the HerpetologicalConservation Trust are breeding successfully.

New lagoons at Rutland WaterIn 2007, work began on the creation of 90 hectares ofnew habitat for waterfowl at Rutland Water. This is partof securing permission to abstract more water to meetthe expected growth in demand in the east Midlandsand Milton Keynes.


Target Performance in 2007/8 2008/9commitment

Improve the environmentin our region

SSSIs – 95% of SSSIs in favourablecondition by 2010

99.1% in favourable orrecovering position

Ongoing

Biodiversity – 100% completionof annual action plan until 2010

100% Ongoing


13Borrowing waterfrom nature

Bee orchid at Covenham reservoir, LincolnshireWhat we all can doFollow the progress of the osprey reintroductionproject at Rutland Water by visiting the reservoiror going online at ospreys.org.uk.

Case studyProtecting Grafham Water

Anglian Water’s second-largest reservoirincludes a 114 hectare nature reserve,which is designated SSSI for its populationof over-wintering birds.

During 2007, Natural England raised concernsabout changes in the numbers of some birdspecies, and reclassified the SSSI as being in‘declining’ condition.

We worked quickly with Natural England, theWildlife Trust and local ecology experts toidentify that the most likely cause was banksideerosion. Actions were immediately carried outto protect the banks, using natural materials asmuch as possible. At the end of 2007, NaturalEngland reclassified Grafham Water as being in‘recovering’ condition.

“This [the new lagoons] is a marvellousexample of how a whole community workstogether to produce something that benefitsthe community and the natural world.”

Sir David Attenborough



Increase resilience andreliability of our waterand wastewater services

Wastewater compliance –7 unconsented Category 1 and 2wastewater pollution incidents

<183 unconsented Category 3wastewater pollution incidents

5 unconsented

212 unconsented

7 uncontested

<195 unconsented

Secure and conservewater resources

Leakage – achieve sustainable level of210Ml/d

208Ml/d Maintain target


Waste – 70% diverted from landfill annually 75.9% Maintain target

Sludge – 75% water treatment workssludge diverted to beneficial use inagriculture (from landfill)

NEW 100% 75%

Biosolids – 95% biosolids divertedfrom landfill

99% Maintain target of95% or higher

Construction waste – 80% of excavatedconstruction material (capital schemes)diverted from landfill to beneficial use

NEW 76.5% 80%

14 Reducing waste ineverything we do

Reducing waste ineverything we do

Anglian Water’s leakage performance comparedto other water and sewerage companies


To protect the environment in the region we serve, wemust reduce waste in our operations and minimise waterwastage too.

What we are doingReducing water leakage and promoting meteringThe impact of hotter, drier summers, combined with agrowing population, will increase the demand for water inour region. Our Draft Water Resources Management Plandescribes how we propose to maintain a secure balancebetween water supplies and demands throughout theregion. The keystones to our strategy are leakage control andincreasing the number of homes with a meter. Our Draft Planis available on our website.

We are pleased to consistently hold one of the best leakagerecords in the industry and we strive continually to improveour performance. Two-thirds of the water lost due to leaksis within our network; the remainder is lost from customers’pipes, on which we will fix leaks on a one-off basis as partof our ‘Watertight’ promise.

Currently 62 per cent of our domestic customers use watermeters. We are promoting to our customers the choice ofhaving a meter, to save water and perhaps money too. Webelieve metering is the fairest way to pay for water. It enablesus to promote water efficiency and conservation. During 2007,we began proactively installing water meters whereappropriate. This approach enables us to show customershow much they would have saved if they had been on ametered supply. Customers then have a choice of whetherthey wish to switch permanently to a metered supply.

m3/km/day

6.05.55.5

6.37.17.7

9.311.111.3

25.2

AnglianSouth WestSouthernWessexSouth EastDwr CymruYorkshireUnited UtilitiesSevern TrentThames

Source: Anglian Water data and Ofwat’s Security of supply, leakageand water efficiency report 2006/7


15Reducing waste ineverything we do

Reducing wasteWe are reducing the amount of waste we produce andstriving to move up the ‘waste hierarchy’.

Preparing for future legislationAnglian Water is taking action now in preparation for therequirements of forthcoming legislation including theHabitats Directive, the new Bathing Water Directive, theWater Framework Directive and the Climate Change Bill.Please see our website for more information.

Reduce: Intranet ‘swap shop’ advertisesspare equipment

Reuse: More than half of excavatedsoils are reused on site

Reclaim: Oils and wiring recoveredfrom in-house vehicle repairs

Recycle: Office paper andcardboard sent for recycling

Recover: Use ofbiogases in CHP units

What we all can doBe waterwise and sewerwise, therefore helping usreduce the amount of energy used in treating waterand so reducing our carbon emissions. See ourwebsite for helpful water-saving tips.

Case studyBiosolids strategy

Our largest potential source of waste is thesludge left after treating wastewater. We treatthis to produce biosolids. More than 90 per centof this product is recycled to agriculture. Ourstrategy is to:

• Produce an industry-leading approach to theintegration and management of scope, risk,cost and schedule.

• Sustain the agricultural route by focusing onimproving the quality of biosolids product,while also reducing its quantity.

• Deliver four sludge treatment centres to treat100,000 tonnes of dry solids per year.

• Use the sludges to generate electricity at fournew Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants.

“I am very pleased that we continueto set new targets for waste reduction andreuse. Diverting waste from landfill reducesour operating costs as well as being better forthe environment. I am now working with allparts of the business and our contractors tofurther reduce waste and to improve thequality of the data that we capture.”

Derek McNair, Strategic Waste Planner,Anglian Water


16 Ensuring water is at theheart of the community

Ensuring water is at theheart of the community

The east of England is the driest region in the UK. Thepressures placed on water resources from public, industrialand agricultural use makes it scarce but vital to the successand vibrancy of the region. Wetland sites are a distinctive andimportant part of our natural heritage and regional identity.Our river systems, broads and reservoirs provide wonderfulrecreational facilities.

We are investigating how we can improve drinking waterand environmental water quality through complete waterand nutrient cycles operating over entire river catchments.These approaches might involve changing agricultural,industrial or land management practices as well as, or insteadof, enhancing treatment to achieve environmental goals.

What we are doingImproving the environment in our regionThroughout the next 25 years and beyond, Anglian Waterwill continue to provide high-quality stewardship of theenvironment, and in particular, the ecologically sensitivewatercourses in our region. Ensuring the quality ofwastewater effluent discharges will also continue to be ofparamount importance to us, and we will aim to comply with,and exceed where possible, required standards for the qualityand quantity of treated effluents we discharge. During thecalendar year 2007, we achieved our best-ever performancefor overall wastewater compliance (99.4 per cent) and thelowest number of significant pollution events. Ourenvironmental regulator, the Environment Agency, broughtjust one prosecution for a pollution event. Full details of thisand our efforts to ensure compliance are on our website.


Target Performance in 2007 2008commitment


RiverCare:

No. of RiverCare groups: 30 by 2007

No. of volunteer hours: 7,560 by 2007

No. of RiverCare events: 120 by 2007

No. of bags of litter collected: 4,080 by 2007

36

10,437

142

5,964

40

11,760

160

6,720


17Ensuring water is at theheart of the community

Going beyond our obligationsAlthough our responsibility for environmental water qualityends where we discharge treated wastewater back into theenvironment, we already go beyond this through ourRiverCare project. Run in conjunction with the environmentalcharity ENCAMS, RiverCare enables community groups totake an active role in improving the quality of their localwaterside areas. During 2007, volunteers collected almost6,000 bin bags full of litter and pulled more than 200bicycles out of the rivers in our region. The scheme alsowon a number of awards for its sculptures that were madefrom recovered shopping trolleys and, following a mediacampaign, we are pleased that 36 RiverCare groups wereactive at the end of the year. More information is availableat rivercare.org.uk.

Access for allWe have responsibility for providing access for all at ourrecreational facilities.

During 2007, Rutland Water celebrated its 30th anniversary.As well as being a wetland of international importance itis a premier site for fishing and sailing. Access for all isencouraged and in 2007 it became the first venue in thecountry to take delivery of the new improved Coulam 16Wheelyboat, designed specifically for disabled anglers.

1 Environment Agency data

What we all can doVisit one of our reservoirs and explore the wide rangeof activities to be found there. Details can be found atanglianwaterleisure.co.uk.

Case studyTaverham Mills

One of our lesser-known fisheries is TaverhamMills, on the banks of the River Wensum, inNorfolk. The site is important for supplyingNorwich with water. It is situated by an old weir,mill pool and by a river protected as a SpecialArea of Conservation. It is surrounded bymature trees and a lake and so provides anexcellent recreational asset for the community.

100%compliance with mandatory bathingwater standards, for the ninth timein 11 years1

98.1%of rivers in ‘very good’ to‘fair’ biological condition1

“I’m keen to promote our reservoirsas providing much-needed, high-quality areasof public open space for recreation, leisureand conservation. Growth planned for thenext 25 years will link the reservoirs, through‘green corridors’, to other local attractionsand public open spaces for the benefit ofour customers and conservation.”

Jake Williams, Recreation and AccessManager, Anglian Water


18 Consulting with others

Consulting with othersWe consult with a wide range of interested parties inthe normal course of business, to help to increase ourunderstanding and to inform our decisions and actions.

In 2007/8 we reviewed how we consulted with others toaddress the issues that affect them and how we can allwork together to build a more sustainable environmentin the communities we serve.

What we are doingExpert opinion panels

Last year, we undertook extensive research involving a widerange of professionals and customer groups to help us tounderstand their priorities. The research took the form of fiveindependently chaired expert opinion panels representingdomestic customers, business customers and our Hartlepoolcustomers, as well as representatives for growth, climatechange and the environment.

The main issues identified by these panels will help us toplan our investment strategy for the next regulatory cycle2010–2015 and further to 2035.

Twenty-two common priorities were identified throughthese panels:

Focus: Customers• Improving customer service• Reducing water restrictions• Reducing sewer flooding• Reducing odour from wastewater treatment works• Extending wastewater network into rural areas• Improving bathing water quality

Focus: Customers / Environment• Improving recreation facilities at reservoirs

Focus: Environment• Developing employees’ skills

Focus: Customers / Local Authorities• Keeping customers’ bills low

Focus: Customers / Environment / Local Authorities• Dealing with impacts of climate change• Accommodating growth• Maintaining high-quality drinking water• Increasing resilience of water networks• Encouraging water efficiency• Reducing leakage• Improving environmental water quality• Reducing our impact on global warming• Helping vulnerable customers• Increasing innovation• Increasing community involvement

Focus: Environment / Local Authorities• Extending metering• Improving biodiversity

The following pages highlight some of our efforts tocollaborate with others including customers andcommunities, employees and suppliers.

Environment

Local Authorities

Customers

Expert opinion panels: common priorities

Source: Anglian Water Strategic Direction Statement 2010–2015


19Consulting with others

Case studyFeedback

During the year we have talked to anunprecedented number of interested partiesin the region about what they think AnglianWater’s priorities should be during the next 25years. This included surveys of 1,500 domesticand business customers and focus groups with80 domestic customers.

The feedback from this process, which isongoing, was a vital part of the thinking thatwent into creating Anglian Water’s 25-yearstrategy. This is contained in our StrategicDirection Statement 2010–2035.

What we all can doWe welcome your feedback on this report.Please send your comments [email protected].

“The consultation process was a genuineattempt to find out what people thought andI felt that the conclusions we reached werevalued and respected by Anglian Water’semployees. I felt that it was a privilege to beinvited to participate and hope Anglian Waterwill continue to involve their customers in thisway in the future.”

Nigel Tansley ThomasRegional Director ENCAMS andChair of Domestic Customer Panel

Expert opinion panel representatives discussing findingsat Anglian Water’s Price Review 2009 (PR09) event.


20 A year in ourcommunities

A year in ourcommunities

Joint Environment Agencyand Anglian WaterRiverCare group.

With CC Water andDefra at launch of theGovernment’s newWater Strategy.

Collecting Green Appleawards for our climatechange and fats, oils andgrease (FOG) work.

Official launch of Anglian Water’s Mobile EducationCentre in Norwich by Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP.

The Martin’s care homeresidents took part inourWater for Healthpilot study.

Signing the WaterPartnership Charter withBarbara Follett, Ministerfor the East of England.

Winning the Hunts PostSustainable BusinessAward.

Employees raised£247,000 for WaterAidduring 2007/8.

The Mobile EducationCentre visits St FrancisSpecial School in Lincoln.

Co-sponsoring HRH ThePrince of Wales’ May DaySummit since 2007.

Supporting customersfollowing weather-relatedflooding in June 2007.

21


A year in ourcommunities

Sir David Attenboroughlaunching a majorinvestment scheme atRutland Water.

Employees’ childrenparticipating in the11 Million Takeoverscheme.

The Mobile EducationCentre at the two-weekWorld Scout Jamboree.

Award-winning RiverCareproject run in conjunctionwith ENCAMS (see above).

An English-hatched ospreybred for the first time atRutland Water.

The new Coulam 16 Wheelyboat, launched atRutland Water.

Supporting the YoungEnterprise Scheme.

Employees at our annualBusiness ExcellenceAwards dinner.

Employees receiving theirlong-service awards.


22 Working in thecommunities we serve

Working in thecommunities we serve

Anglian Water’s goal is to provide customer service thatcompares favourably with any other major service provider,not simply other water companies.

What we are doingImproving customer serviceWe continually measure our customer service against anumber of performance indicators. In November 2007,Ofwat rated us as the leading water and sewerage companyin its overall performance assessment (OPA) for 2006/7.We scored 413 points out of 438.

Our focus on customer service has led to a significantimprovement in performance in 2007/8, compared to theprevious year. Results from our quarterly survey of customersshowed that the average satisfaction score for overall servicein the year was 86 per cent, however we achieved 92 percent, the highest score to date, in the third quarter of the year.

In addition we also monitor a suite of customer serviceindices that we term the Customer Service Index (CSI).Our overall score has improved by 21 points during the reportyear. We are pleased with these results, but recognise thatthere is still room for improvement.

In 2007/8, money owed to us by customers continued torise but, unlike other utilities, water companies are not legallypermitted to withdraw their services from domesticcustomers. For customers who find it difficult to pay theirbills, Anglian Water has created a range of speciallydesigned tariffs.

We also fund an independently run Trust Fund, which helpssupport customers who are having genuine difficulty payingtheir utility and other household bills. During the year we madea payment of £1.0 million (2007: £1.0 million) to the fund.

AnglianYorkshireWessexWelshSouth WestUnited UtilitiesNorthumbrianSevern TrentThamesSouthern

385389392408

413

364362

342342

408

The OPA, issued annually by water industry regulatorOfwat, assesses a wide range of activities from waterand wastewater to customer services.

Source: Ofwat data



Keep bills atcurrent affordability

Meter installation – 220,000 additionalmeters to be installed by 2015 givingcustomers the option to switch

NEW 19,936 (Jan 06–Mar 08) Survey 10,300properties with viewto fitting meters

Business customer water audits –conduct 200 water audits per year, fordomestic use by business customers toencourage water conservation

NEW 212 200 water audits

Improve our efficiencyand flexibility

Customer satisfaction – overallsatisfaction from service provided

NEW 86% 83% targetor higher

Increase number of volunteer hoursdonated year on year through thegive me five programme

17,148 hours 10% increase on2007/8 performance


23Working in thecommunities we serve

Increasing community involvementWe are taking a lead in educating young people and thewider public about water issues, water conservation, healtheducation and the environment, making a real commitmentto giving something back to the community. Business in theCommunity (BITC) has recognised this by awarding theAnglian Water’s education programme a Big Tick, which isgiven to companies who demonstrate the positive impact oftheir responsible business practices.

During 2007/8, more than 24,000 young people and 4,600adults took part in education sessions at our two established,purpose-built classrooms at wastewater treatment works inEssex and Bedfordshire, and our Mobile Education Centre(MEC). We have had an overwhelming response to the MECsince its launch in 2007 enabling us to reach more youngpeople across the Anglian Water region.

The Anglian Water give me five volunteering programmeencourages employees to use their skills and talents to givesomething back to the community. Currently more than400 employees are registered.

Looking aheadIn 2008, we will extend our education programme with anew education and community centre at our wastewatertreatment works in Corby, Northamptonshire. A newcampaign using water pipes as musical instruments willhighlight some of our key messages about water (includingconservation and water for health) with primary schoolchildren around the region.

We will also be launching our Health on Tap campaign foranyone working with, or caring for, older people in theAnglian Water region.

What we all can doFind out more about Anglian Water’s communityinvolvement and education programme by visitingour website anglianwater.co.uk.

“This kind of educational initiative[Mobile Education Centre] is very welcome andI congratulate all of those involved in making ithappen. Water use and climate change areamong the greatest challenges which we facefor the future and our children’s understandingof these issues is essential.”

Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP

Case studygive me five employeevolunteering programme

A group of volunteers from Anglian Waterhelped to create an outdoor classroom at aschool in Boston, Lincolnshire, with the aimof increasing appreciation of the environment.

It will especially help those with English as asecond language, encouraging them to talkabout what they see and feel around them.

A plan was devised by Anglian Water’sBiodiversity Scientist, which included creatinga path for the children to walk on, hedgerows,a bog area, a bird-feeding station and log pilesfor insects to have an ugly bug ball of a time.

Anglian Water's educationprogramme superhero,Captain Splosh.


2008/9commitment

Employee engagement index – achieve 70% by 2010 69% Ongoing

Health and Safety – accident frequency rate of 0.34

Absenteeism – days lost per employee: 2.80%

0.37

2.88%

0.34

3%

Licence to Operate (LTO) – 52% of operational employees to havebeen assessed by end of March 2009

NEW 12% Ongoing to achieve100% by March 2010

Employee wellbeing – 65% of employees reporting a positive work/life balance NEW 64% Maintain targetor above


24 Engaging our employees

Engaging our employeesAfter last year’s employee survey, we have launched newinitiatives aimed at improving health and safety anddeveloping the skills of our people.

What we are doingImproving our Occupational Health and Safety

Health and Safety is our number onepriority, and in recognition of ourcontinued high standard of OccupationalHealth and Safety (OH&S) performance,we were awarded a RoSPA (Royal Societyfor the Prevention of Accidents) GoldAward in May 2007 and again in 2008.

Last year we launched our new safe and well OH&S systemwhich updated many of our policies and reinforced ourcommitment to behavioural safety. This process is animportant step towards external verification and theachievement of OHSAS 18001 certification, theinternationally recognised quality assurance system.

We publicly report our OH&S performance through CHaSPI(Corporate Health and Safety Performance Index), an onlinebenchmarking database. We have improved our score to7.4 during the year, which exceeds the CHaSPI average of6.7 for 87 companies. We were pleased to be one of thefirst companies to sign up to CHaSPI and remain the onlywater company to report in the index.chaspi.info-exchange.com

Engagement with employeesSeven questions from our annual employee survey have beenidentified as being of key importance to our employees. Theresults from these, monitored closely year on year, form ourEmployee Engagement Index score. This rose to 69 per centthis year, just short of our 2010 target of 70 per cent(see table opposite).

Employee wellbeingSince our first employee survey in 2006, the perception thatAnglian Water is genuinely interested in the wellbeing ofits employees has increased by five per cent. In 2007/8,we provided 5,352 days of health and safety training, and2,195 days of technical training. The survey also shows that87 per cent of employees are satisfied that they work in asafe working environment.

We are particularly pleased with the five per cent increasesince 2006 in employees who believe that they can generallyachieve the correct balance between their work and homelives. This result puts us in the Ipsos MORI top 10 benchmarkcompanies for this area.

Job satisfactionJob satisfaction has declined in the past two years to 62 percent. The fact that we are now just below the Ipsos MORInorm of 63 per cent is of concern to us and is somethingwe will be working to improve.

Measure 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8

Accident 0.48 0.42 0.39 0.39 0.37frequency rate1

Percentage 3.90 3.34 2.85 2.81 2.88time lost2

CHaSPI 7.1 7.3 7.4

1 Number of reportable accidents per 100,000 hours worked.2 Based on 260 working days per year, due to accidents, injuries and ill health.


25Engaging our employees

Employee Engagement Index

Consistency with what the company wants to beWe have seen the biggest increase in our performance in thisarea: up eight per cent from 2006/7. The survey also showsthat 65 per cent of our employees feel proud to work forAnglian Water, compared to the MORI norm of 53 per cent.

Two out of three employees responded to our survey andthe results are widely available and communicated to allemployees via business unit presentations and briefings.Action plans to address any key issues identified from thesurvey are devised.

Developing the skills of our peopleThe company actively supports individuals through tailoreddevelopment and education with programmes such asapprenticeships, graduate trainee schemes, Institute ofLeadership and Management programmes, and seniorand executive development programmes.

Looking aheadRecognising that employees are the basis of our success,we are constantly looking for new ways to develop andmotivate them. Leadership skills will continue to be akey focus for us in the coming year, along with realisingthe benefits to the individual and the company from theLicence to Operate programme.

2006 2007 2008% % %

Overall Engagement Index Score 66 68 69

I believe Anglian Water is genuinelyinterested in employee wellbeing 51 59 56

I feel that Anglian Water providesgood value for money for its services 52 58 58

Job satisfaction 66 64 62

I think Anglian Water acts consistentlywith what the company wants to be 56 61 69

Overall I understand how my workcontributes to the team’s aims 88 87 89

I have a responsibility (either directlyor indirectly) in delivering outstandingcustomer service 82 83 84

I feel I play a part in thecompany’s success 67 66 67

What we all can doEmployees have your say – take part in the annualemployee survey and get involved in the think energyand why travel? employee initiatives.

Case studyLicence to Operate

Our Licence to Operate programme is aleading-edge initiative that aims to recogniseand accredit the expertise, and support thedevelopment, of employees. Nearly a third ofthe workforce will take part over the comingtwo years. This programme sets new standards,gives recognised vocational qualificationsand has been recognised by our regulatorsas the way forward in improving customerservice standards.

“I’ve been doing this job since I leftschool and have done many NationalVocational Qualifications over the years,but getting this City & Guilds certificate makesme feel like I have a trade, which is great.”

Dave Nutt, Network Technicianafter qualifying from the Licenceto Operate programme


2008/9commitment

Suppliers – increase awareness with our top 50 suppliers (by turnover) to:–calculate their carbon emissions–draft a climate change adaptation plan

NEWNEW

March 2009March 2009

Suppliers – 95% of companies submitting tenders to have completedenvironmental impact questionnaire

Maintain target

Suppliers – 95% of high- and medium-risk contracts and mainstreamhigh-risk contractors to have completed Achilles’ verification process

Maintain target

Enabling our suppliersto play their part26

Enabling our suppliersto play their part

We are midway through our £1.9 billion investmentprogramme for 2005–2010. We rely heavily on our suppliersand partners to undertake this programme, and typically60 per cent of our annual turnover is spent with them.The table below highlights our progress and commitmentswith regard to working with our suppliers.

What we are doingCollaborative workingAs a single company, there is only so much we can do tocombat the effects of climate change. By working closelywith our suppliers and partners, we believe we can havemuch more impact. We have formed a virtual company calledthe @One Alliance which is a model for delivering our capitalinvestment programme collaboratively with six of our partners.In March 2008, we appointed a Sustainability Manager withinthe @One Alliance to coordinate sustainability activities withinthe Alliance.

Since 2006, we have been operating a Supplier RelationshipManagement Programme with a number of our largestsuppliers. This aims to ensure their agendas align with ours,and this improved collaboration generates additional valuefrom existing relationships through the elimination of waste.We are now extending the programme to other suppliers.

Anglian Water uses the Achilles UtilitiesVendor Database (UVDB) as the basis ofour supplier selection process. The databaseconsists of a number of criteria whichsuppliers are scored and rated against.

Looking aheadWe will continue our work with Achilles to develop the UVDBby including criteria around the measurement and reductionof suppliers’ carbon footprints, along with working towardsa corporate responsibility grading system. Anglian Water ispart of the steering committee for both this and the carbonfootprint work.

We will work with our suppliers and partners to help themachieve the pledges they made at our summit – ClimateChange: the Supply Chain Challenge.

More than 500 pledges were made by suppliers including:

• 97 per cent of delegates pledged to raise employeeawareness around climate change, empowering themto take action.

• 92 per cent of delegates pledged to measure emissions.• 84 per cent of delegates pledged to identify a Board-levelclimate change champion.

We also aim to establish a Corporate Responsibility BestPractice Group, with our key suppliers and partners.

During 2008/9 a full review of our ethical and corporateresponsibility guidelines will be undertaken and issuedlater in 2009.



27Enabling our suppliersto play their part

What we all can doWe have set a challenge to our largest suppliers tocalculate their carbon emissions and draft a climatechange action plan by March 2009. However, this isnot limited to our largest suppliers and we wouldencourage all existing and potential suppliers to dothe same.

Case studySuppliers and climate change

In January 2008, we held a climate changesummit for our suppliers. At the event we askedour suppliers to calculate their direct carbonemissions and draft an adaptation plan byMarch 2009. These actions have formally beenincorporated into targets (see table on oppositepage) which we will use to monitor suppliers’performance against.

“A tremendously positive day.It’s encouraging to see clients lookingproactively at climate change. Anglian Wateris leading the way and it’s demonstratedby the number of senior Anglian Waterpeople at the event.”

Ian Findlater, May Gurney (participantat supplier summit in January 2008)

An on-site meeting between Anglian Water,representatives of the Alliance and the developer

AssuranceStakeholders


28 Assurance statement

Verification statementAcona Ltd has been asked to undertake an independentreview of Anglian Water’s Community and EnvironmentReport for 2008 in accordance with the Institute of Socialand Ethical Accountability’s AA1000 Assurance Standard.The report has been assessed against the Standard’s threeprinciples of Materiality, Completeness and Responsiveness.

Responsibilities of Anglian Water and Acona LtdThe information and statements contained within the reportare the responsibility of Anglian Water. This statement is theresponsibility of Acona Ltd and represents our independentopinion of the content of the report and is addressed toAnglian Water’s management. We do not therefore accept orassume any responsibility to any other person or organisation.

Scope and processThe review covered Anglian Water’s operations for the periodspecified in the report. Information subject to verification byother third parties – such as financial data included withinthe Annual Report and Accounts and other regulatedinformation – including that presented to Ofwat – wasoutside our scope. However, we have relied on it in formingour conclusions.

In performing our work we adopted the following approach:

• Investigation of management procedures to provide acontext in which to review the data.

• Desk-top evaluation and detailed analysis of the raw dataused to construct the report. This included tracing samplesof reported data back to source to check the integrity ofthe data gathering process.

• Review of internal and external documents relating tocorporate responsibility management, including policies,procedures and stakeholder comments, particularlyensuring that evidence was made available to supportsubstantive comments and claims made in this report.

• Detailed interviews with employees involved incompiling the report to test the accuracy of the dataand underlying processes.

We also drew upon our knowledge of reporting within thesector and corporate responsibility reporting more broadly.

In addition to the process described above, we continued thedialogue initiated last year with three strategic stakeholdersof Anglian Water to get their feedback on the report. Thisprocess is explained in more detail (see opposite page), alongwith their comments on the report.

OpinionIn line with the remit agreed with Anglian Water ourconclusions against each of the AA1000 Assurance StandardPrinciples areas follows:

Materiality – does the report cover all the relevant issues inenough detail to enable your stakeholders to make aninformed judgement of your performance?

Based on our review:• The report provides a balanced and comprehensiveaccount of the company’s sustainability performance.

Completeness – does the company have in place the systemsand processes to measure its sustainability performance andare the outputs presented accurately in the report?

Based on our review:• The company has established the necessary systems andprocesses to identify the company’s material social andenvironmental impacts and to report upon them.

• Data, and inferences drawn from them, and substantivestatements are materially accurate and are supported by arange of evidence from internal and external sources. Anyinaccuracies identified during the verification process wereof a minor nature, were readily rectified and the report wasamended accordingly.

Responsiveness – has the company responded to stakeholderconcerns and communicated these responses in the report?

Based on our review:• The report includes information on the company’sapproach to stakeholder dialogue and engagement andaccurately represents the outputs from them.

• Stakeholders’ views were canvassed during thedevelopment of the company’s Strategic DirectionStatement and the priorities from the latter are nowclosely aligned with the company’s corporateresponsibility reporting.

• The stakeholders whose views we sought on the reportacknowledge the progress made both in the content andits presentation.

Additional commentsThis is Anglian Water’s second standalone corporateresponsibility report and, in our opinion and that of thestakeholders whose views are given opposite, representssignificant progress both in terms of the increasingcomprehensiveness of the data and the way it is presented.Specifically, and following on from our comments last year,the report contains much greater coverage of the challengesposed to the business by climate change and how thecompany is managing its own carbon footprint. The report

29Stakeholder feedback

Stakeholders Community and Environment Report 2008anglianwater.co.uk

also includes a much more extensive suite of performanceindicators and other supporting data. In line with ourprevious recommendations, the report now explains clearlyand with reference to appropriate qualitative andquantitative information how the fundamental businessaim is aligned with the seven priorities contained within thecompany’s Strategic Direction Statement and what activitiesare being undertaken to deliver each of them.

Recommendations for future reportingNotwithstanding the progress made since our last review,we believe that the quality of the report would be furtherenhanced by the inclusion of more information on how thecompany balances the competing interests of differentstakeholders, especially in relation to providing a high-quality product in an environmentally responsible mannerwhile ensuring its continued affordability.

Paul Burke Neil EverettSenior Partner Partner31 July 2008

Acona LtdAcona Ltd is an independent consultancy, based inLondon but with staff all over the UK. We have broadexpertise and advise large, mainly corporate, clients onthe full range of social, environmental and ethicalmatters. The team members who undertook this workhave extensive experience of both assurance and CRreporting and biographical information can be found onour website – www.acona.com/cr

With the exception of this work, Acona has nocommercial relationship with Anglian Water and/orits subsidiaries. The total fees payable in respect of thiswork accounted for less than 10 per cent of Acona’sannual turnover.

Our teamThis work was undertaken by individuals with expertisein and knowledge of both the water sector and ofsustainability reporting and assurance.

Assurance

Stakeholder feedbackLast year, Acona Ltd selected and contacted three of AnglianWater’s strategic stakeholders to canvas their opinion ofthe Anglian Water Community and Environment Report.

We repeated the exercise this year and what follows is asummary of their comments:

“The report has clear links to the Strategic DirectionStatement and provides clarity of priorities andmessages. It gives clear targets and reports on whetherthese are being met (which they are in the main).We particularly welcome Jonson Cox's aspiration tobe the most water efficient region in the UK and hisdetermination that AWG will play a leading role inaddressing climate change, through clear targets toreduce emissions by 20 per cent by 2010, and thedemands of economic growth by strengthening thecompany’s partnerships across the region both now andin the future. The report also recognises the company’sresponsibility to protect the species and habitats withinits region through its Biodiversity Action Plan.”

Graham Wilson,Strategic Environmental Planning Manager(Anglian), Environment Agency

“Overall, this is a very good report that gives a balancedaccount of social and environmental performance: whatis described accords well with my own knowledge of thecompany. Its scope has broadened considerably fromprevious years and it reflects the main issues highlightedin the company’s Strategic Direction Statement, whichhave been identified as a result of extensive stakeholderconsultation. It includes a wide-ranging set of indicators,which recognise the importance of the naturalenvironment. The clear design, especially the use ofsymbols to denote progress against objectives, andexcellent diagrams, complements the text and makesit easy for the reader to find points of interest.”

Shaun Thomas,Regional Director (East of England), Natural England

“The report is a significant improvement on previousversions. Its great strength is that it contains a coherentnarrative thread, which makes it easy to read anddemonstrates a clear understanding of the various issuesthat confront the company. Moreover, it is fair andhonest about the company’s successes and failures, itdoes not attempt to gloss over areas of weakness andthis is a powerful indicator of a willingness to be bothtransparent and balanced.”

Sir James Perowne, Chairman, Eastern & Central,Consumer Council for Water

We would like to thank the Environment Agency, NaturalEngland and the Consumer Council for Water for theirfeedback on this report.

Anglian Water Services LimitedAnglian HouseAmbury RoadHuntingdonCambridgeshirePE29 3NZ

Tel 01480 323000Fax 01480 323115Doc. Ref. No. AW096/07/08

Design and production by Flag Communication

This report is printed by Cousin on FSC certified paper under Chain of Custody SA-COC-1654 AK.The paper is Revive 50:50 Silk containing 50% recovered waste and 50% virgin fibre.Both the paper mill and printer involved in the production support the growth of responsibleforest management and are both accredited to ISO14001.

Want to know more about Anglian Water?Visit www.anglianwater.co.uk

50%

Anglian Water Services Limited is owned by Osprey Acquisitions Limited,which comprises CPP Investment Board, Colonial First State,Industry Funds Management and 3i.

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