David Dowson MSc FIEMA CEnv

£88bn expenditure planned for UK #water sector between 2025-2030 This morning, Ofwat published its Draft Determinations on water company allowances for the #AMP8 regulatory period (2025 to 2030), representing a substantial increase in investment when compared to the current regulatory period. The headline numbers include significant efficiency challenges for water companies to meet, with the £88bn total 16% below the level companies had sought. Of the £88bn, £10bn is set to tackle storm overflows with a target to reduce spills from storm overflows by 44% from levels in 2021. This should deliver welcome progress in an area of public concern, but demonstrates that totally solving this challenge will take multiple price control periods. At a glance, performance targets will be tough for the industry to achieve, especially in wastewater. When compounded with higher incentive rates, and fewer caps and collars than at PR19, this looks set to be another tough outcomes settlement. Elsewhere Ofwat has sought to reduce risk to the sector through the use of approval 'gates' for large investment schemes, greater risk mitigation for changes in the costs of labour, energy and plant and material costs and high sharing rates for much higher outperformance. Based upon these plans, customer bills will increase by 23% on average, from £436 in 2024/5 to £536 in 2029/30 for the median combined water and wastewater bill. Water companies now have until 28th August to respond to Draft Determinations and Ofwat will publish Final Determinations in December 2024. What is already clear is that the period from 2025 to 2030 will be very busy for the water sector with important delivery targets and a need to rebuild trust after a challenging few years. Get in touch for some expert help!

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Rising energy costs, the climate emergency and increasing consumer pressure continue to impact businesses. Find information, resources, events and local support to help you on your journey to #NetZero...

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Members of the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) , and many others interested in Air Quality are quite rightly raising concerns about this decision. Trying to improve a fund is one thing, but it’s another thing when local authorities, many of whom have been supported by EIC members, have invested time and public money to navigate the application process. Our response to the news, and letter to government, available to all in the link below ⬇️ #AirQuality #LocalGovernment #CleanAir #Funding

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It is incredibly concerning to see yesterdays report that Scottish Water has seen an increase in illegal dumping of high levels of pollutants which will harm biodiversity and public health. We are sure Scottish Water will tackle this problem as they are experts in the field however new regulations and enforcement of existing laws should have more resources to help the water companies tackle this increasing problem head on! https://lnkd.in/ePRMeZ98

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*Green Enterprise Grants* Mid Devon District Council has launched a new capital grant scheme to help SMEs to save energy and carbon. Capital grants £500 to £5k for up to 50% of eligible costs, with a maximum project budget of £25k. Projects should be fast to deliver and ready to go. *Applications for the Green Enterprise Grants are open until midday on 10 June 2024.* Details and bid guidance: https://lnkd.in/e-r9wq9t Councillor Natasha Bradshaw, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: “We know that Mid Devon businesses want to take positive action on climate change, this grant scheme supports them in achieving this.” Councillor Steve Keable, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Regeneration, added: “Reducing carbon emissions is good for the planet and for business. Through this scheme we will demonstrate that small changes really do lead to big impacts in terms of reducing a business’ carbon footprint.” #grants #SustainableMidDevon Devon Climate Emergency Mid Devon Network - Business Networking

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Currently the team at Guidehouse are working with one of the UK’s gas networks on their Net Zero roadmap; effectively the work needed to deliver low carbon infrastructure ahead of their corporate targets and the legally binding 2050 target. When discussing the roadmap with the leadership team, the two central topics of conversation were economics and policy: 💷 Economics: which is the optimal pathway (balancing affordability, resilience, and sustainability), what investment is needed to get there, and how can it be financed in an equitable way for current and future generations? 🏛️ Policy: what policy decisions are holding back investment, when are they going to be made, how can the business prepare to act as soon as there’s direction? The conversation led me the question, how can we value the cost of policy instability/indecision? There will clearly be both a financial and environmental cost of dragging our heels on investment into the energy transition, but can we quantify it? Given the probable change in government in July (characteristically awkward picture of Ed Miliband for context, the Telegraph seems to have a vault of them) - are we likely to get the decisive and long term policy required to get back on track? Or are we in for a few more years of flip flopping? Interested in your thoughts Sian Conway-Wood and Christine Quigley. #Policy #Energytransition #Labour #Netzero

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For both nutrient neutrality and biodiversity net gain, local planning authority and Natural England resources are not sufficient to meet demand... I spoke to ffinlo Costain about how The Labour Party can start to make Nutrient Neutrality work. Link in the comments

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Want to be a supplier with the NHS? Then you'll need a Carbon Reduction Plan. Don't have one? Ecologi has got you covered with Ecologi Zero. Since April 2024 the PPN 06/21 policy means that all NHS suppliers are required to adopt Carbon Reduction Plans (CRPs) to mitigate their environmental impact and align with the NHS net zero ambition through to 2030. Book a FREE consultation meeting in with Joshua Rayner in our team today to get your business in shape

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This week's #ricsapc quiz is about a favourite of mine (and I think it should be mandatory to Level 2 to meet RICS Rules of Conduct 3)...... it's of course on the mandatory #sustainability competency. https://lnkd.in/e4BVeNM3

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🏭 With nearly a thousand locations in Scotland alone producing waste heat totalling 1.7TWh which could potentially be captured and reused within heat networks, it is imperative that the means and methods on how to take meaningful steps towards accessing this huge resource are communicated. 🔦 With this mission statement, it was a privilege to play our part in shining a light into this slightly hidden corner of the energy transition solution through the publication of a waste heat guidance note. 📒 The guide takes the user through various key topics including the engineering technicalities, technology options, commercial considerations, procurement methods, contractual arrangements and financial supporting mechanisms. Scottish Enterprise The Scottish Government Fife Council Glasgow City Council Zero Waste Scotland Scottish Futures Trust #arup #lowcarbonheat #heatnetworks 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUhaExvW 👉 https://lnkd.in/eaXmSSBx

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💥🍃An absolutely staggering figure from a new report published by the Green Finance Institute. Key points: 📉 Nature depletion will cost the equivalent to 3% of UK GDP loss 💣 As climate-change impacts become more acute this could rise to 6% loss of UK GDP - equivalent to the 2007/08 financial crash 🌳 The new *Nature-Related* Risk Inventory will help assess physical, transition and litigation ⛓️Illustrates the link between finance and #biodiversity 📊 Highlights necessity of #NatureRestoration and importance for businesses to analyse their risks and dependencies on #nature, and mitigate against them https://lnkd.in/eFZfzU_u University of Oxford UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Encore WWF-UK #NaturePositive #NetZero #NatureFinance #NatureRelatedRisk #TNFD #CSRD

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This week, MSPs vote on the final changes to Scotland's circular economy bill. There have been some big improvements to the bill since it was introduced in June 2023 but there are still some gaps to be closed. One of those gaps relates to the precious materials used in electronic items. These materials have to be mined, which destroys nature, creates conflict with local communities and emits harmful pollution, including carbon emissions. We can reduce these impacts by making it as easy as possible for people to reuse and repair the electronic products they buy. The circular economy bill must recognise Scotland's role in reducing the impacts of international supply chain damage and support people in Scotland to reduce, reuse and recycle more. https://lnkd.in/eNdwe7RN

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Today is the last day to submit responses for the Future Biomethane Framework Call for evidence. This will help determine what will follow the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) and is an important step to set the level of UK ambitions for biomethane production. The consultation is investigating biomethane production that was not eligible under the GGSS such as small scale/on-farm AD, landfill gas and gasification as well as considering options to reuse old plant by allowing conversions and expansions. This inclusion has been very welcomed. The consultation has broached the subject of a production target, something that will be needed to provide a clear message to industry on the value government believes biomethane can play to decarbonise heating, transport and industry. It also focusses on how the sector can be sustainable into the future, with effective feedstock and digestate management. This has already been widely recognised and supported by operators who are keen to push the benefits. The decisions from this consultation could determine how well the sector can flourish or how it may merely trickle on, so its important we get this right. The REA response is nearing completion at a mere 32 pages!!! I am feeling very positive. https://lnkd.in/e342uG5s

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The newly elected Labour government in the UK has outlined a bold sustainability agenda in response to the climate crisis, with a main focus on clean energy and circular economy. Successfully implementing these policies could transform the UK's environmental landscape and become a global model for climate action. #CleanEnergy #CircularEconomy #ClimateAction #Sustainability

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All the UK water companies are under pressure to meet new discharge permit levels in place for AMP8 (Asset Planning Period starting April 2025) set by the Environment Agency. Discharge Permits for many Sewage Treatment Works have been tightened over recent years and are expected to continue tightening due to the effects of climate change, population increase and public pressure. Both Phosphorus and Nitrogen are recognised as pollutants in rivers and other water bodies as they are nutrients that encourage the growth of algae leading to depletion of oxygen in the water. The ‘Oxidation Ditch’ was a popular design of activated sludge plant for a period in the second half of the twentieth century so there are many of these in use in the UK. However, many of these are not meeting the new required consent levels. Alternative processes for removal of Phosphorus and Nitrogen require chemical dosing. The problems with chemical dosing are: · Chemical dosing is costly · The chemicals themselves present health and safety risks, which have to be mitigated · The chemical dosing increases the quantity of sludge produced that needs to be further treated and disposed of · Where iron/aluminium is dosed to remove phosphorus the Environment Agency will set limits for the amount of iron/aluminium in the treated water · There are sewage works that achieve the required level of phosphorus by dosing metal salts, but then fail their discharge permit by exceeding the permitted level of iron or aluminium The Solution – CONVOX® Plantwork System’s CONVOX® is the conversion of an existing activated sludge sewage treatment works to Biological Nutrient Removal. Using CONVOX® we can remove phosphorous without any chemical dosing. Biological Nutrient Removal in activated sludge plants is a recognised way to remove both Phosphorus and Nitrogen. There are many continuous flow activated sludge treatment plants in the UK and PWS can offer the experience we have gained developing and operating our NUTREM BNR solution, to design upgrades for these existing activated sludge works. The Results At our first installation, the resulting performance very comfortably exceeds the permit level for Phosphorous and is based on an oxidation ditch. The principles of CONVOX can be applied to all types of activated sludge plants.   CONVOX® offers huge benefits: * Where existing plant is in good working condition, additional building work is minimised and the process goes through a clearly detailed upgrade installation with limited extra plant * Preliminary treatment if suitable is retained * No chemical dosing requirements * Effective in all seasons (i.e. including weak sewage strengths) * Lower capital expenditure and operating costs * Meets AMP 8 consent levels where low levels are set for Phosphorous and Nitrogen Let Plantwork Systems help you meet your AMP8 targets…get in touch! #climatechange #wastewater #sustainability #BNR #BiologicalNutrientRemoval

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This morning, Ofwat published its Draft Determinations on water company allowances for the #AMP8 regulatory period (2025 to 2030), representing a substantial increase in investment when compared to the current regulatory period. The headline numbers include significant efficiency challenges for water companies to meet, with the £88bn total 16% below the level companies had sought. Of the £88bn, £10bn is set to tackle storm overflows with a target to reduce spills from storm overflows by 44% from levels in 2021. This should deliver welcome progress in an area of public concern, but demonstrates that totally solving this challenge will take multiple price control periods. At a glance, performance targets will be tough for the industry to achieve, especially in wastewater. When compounded with higher incentive rates, and fewer caps and collars than at PR19, this looks set to be another tough outcomes settlement. Elsewhere Ofwat has sought to reduce risk to the sector through the use of approval 'gates' for large investment schemes, greater risk mitigation for changes in the costs of labour, energy and plant and material costs and high sharing rates for much higher outperformance. Based upon these plans, customer bills will increase by 23% on average, from £436 in 2024/5 to £536 in 2029/30 for the median combined water and wastewater bill. Water companies now have until 28th August to respond to Draft Determinations and Ofwat will publish Final Determinations in December 2024. What is already clear is that the period from 2025 to 2030 will be very busy for the water sector with important delivery targets and a need to rebuild trust after a challenging few years. Get in touch for some expert help!

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Check out my latest BLOG for the #efwnetwork as i reflect on the state of #plastics in the media and on the policy agenda and what this might mean for #decarbonisation & #resourceefficiency SUEZ UK - https://lnkd.in/e62mMd_Y

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