South West Water Green Recovery investment creating 500 new jobs

15th July 2021

South West Water is pleased to welcome the decision of its Green Recovery Initiative by the regulator Ofwat.

This is positive news for the South West as we invest further in the region. The plan will create up to 500 new jobs, support the wider supply chain and help the region’s economy recover and protect the environment.

As one of the largest companies in the region, South West Water’s Green Recovery Initiative is focused on opportunities to make an even bigger and more societal contribution, with projects focused on what matters most to customers and those that improve public health, protect the environment and address climate change.

Some of the key focus areas of the Green Recovery Initiative are to:

• take action to eliminate harm from storm overflows
• trial improvements to river quality to match standards of bathing waters
• deliver low carbon water treatment works to contribute to an ambitious Net Zero commitment

The initiative will also focus on restoring more of the South West peatland to reduce carbon emissions and work to create smarter, healthier homes, helping customers with water efficiency to reduce usage and bills.

The Green Recovery Initiative was developed with input from customers who, when surveyed, strongly endorsed the proposals. Support was also given by the independent WaterShare+ Customer Advisory Panel, whose role includes holding the company to account in delivering for customers.

Susan Davy, Pennon’s Chief Executive Officer said: “Our Green Recovery proposals are focused on opportunities to make an even bigger environmental and societal contribution to the South West for the longer term than we already do today.

"Alongside our current business plan, we are confident in the delivery of these initiatives which will see much needed green investment across our region.”

Notes to editors

Sharing our success: WaterShare+ is our way of sharing rewards with customers when our performance is better than the targets agreed with our customers and our regulators.

Thanks to our performance between 2015 and 2020 we were able to share approximately £20 million with customers under WaterShare+, meaning that each eligible customer received £20 from us.

If we continue to outperform our current business plan to 2025, we will continue to share benefits with our customers under WaterShare+.

A greater say: A WaterShare+ Advisory Panel has been established to advise on the interests of our customers by providing independent review on elements of our business plan commitments and Board Pledges.

You can find out more about the Panel on our website, where we’ll also keep you up-to-date with details of forthcoming meetings including how you can get involved and have a greater say: www.southwestwater.co.uk/watershareplus