UN SDGs

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

We actively engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to shape our ESG approach and evaluate our impact on global sustainability outcomes. As we set new ESG targets for 2025–2030, we have mapped each target to the SDGs it most directly supports, ensuring our strategy aligns with international priorities. Our most significant contribution continues to be to SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, which reflects our core purpose as a water and wastewater services provider. This commitment is further reinforced through our Double Materiality Assessment, which ensures our targets focus on the ESG topics most material to both our stakeholders and our business.

UN Global Compact

In support of the SDGs, we became a signatory of the UN Global Compact last year, joining the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. We are currently preparing our first Communication on Progress (CoP), which outlines how we are upholding the Compact’s Ten Principles across human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. This step further strengthens our ESG governance and accountability, embedding these core principles across our operations and reporting. As part of this commitment, we will report annually on our progress, reinforcing our ambition to lead with integrity, build trust, and enhance transparency.

Our Priority Goals

We support many of UN SDGs throughout our work providing clean water and wastewater services through our businesses. Whilst we map each of our ESG Targets to the UN SDG they support, our position as a water and wastewater service provider has a significant impact upon UN SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation.


 
  • 6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
  • 6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
  • 6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
  • 6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
  • 6.5 By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
  • 6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
  • 6.a By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
  • 6.b Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management

Aligning our goals with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 6 IN ACTION: Clean Water and Sanitation

What are we doing?

6. 5 Investing in the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) partnership with Exeter University to help safeguard future water supply.

  • 6.3 Improving our impact on river quality by 1/3 by 2025
  • 6.4 Reducing leakage with ambitious targets throughout K8 across each of our drinking water businesses.
  • 6.6 Maintaining our excellent bathing water quality standards all year round

6.1 & 6.2 & 6.a WaterAid is one of our most important partners, in 2024/25 we leveraged over £600,000 in donations to WaterAid to help reach 28,497 people with clean water, and help address water accessibility, quality and sanitation in developing countries.

6.b We are supporting our communities to increase their water efficiency through our Water Saving Community Fund whilst also running primary school education programmes that reached over 13,000 children in 2024/25 across our regions.