Water companies in England have agreed a series of pledges which form part of a new Public Interest Commitment, published today, strengthening their ongoing commitment to working in the public interest and placing wider good at the heart of everything they do.

Announcing the Commitment, Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, said:

“The sector will champion measures through which water companies can enshrine what it means to operate in the public interest within their business purpose, in line with best practice among leading socially-responsible businesses.”

As the industry looks ahead to the next 30 years companies recognise that customers and stakeholders expect them to do more, the industry body continued. The aim of the sector is to work together, and with independent external bodies, to meet these high expectations.

As part of the Public Interest Commitment water companies have also agreed to work together towards five challenging goals:

• Triple the rate of leakage reduction across the sector by 2030
• Make bills affordable as a minimum for all households with water and sewerage bills more than 5% of their disposable income by 2030 and develop a strategy to end water poverty
• Achieve net zero carbon emissions for the sector by 2030
• Prevent the equivalent of 4 billion plastic bottles ending up as waste by 2030
• Be the first sector to achieve 100% commitment to the Social Mobility Pledge

A programme of work to help achieve each of the goals will be led by a member of the Water UK board and an independent panel will be established to report annually on how well the sector is performing collectively.

Commenting on the publication of the Public Interest Commitment, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of Water UK, said:

“The water industry takes its responsibility very seriously, because we play a unique role in running a vital public service for the public good. Water companies individually have set out proposals to improve services over the next 5 years in their business plans, and the Public Interest Commitment is about companies working together to build on those ambitions. It commits us to reinforce the public interest at the heart of everything we do, and to strive towards a set of challenging sector-wide goals which will benefit customers and the environment.”

The Public Interest Commitment has been created by the water industry following companies’ ongoing dialogue with customers, which revealed that they would like the water industry to do more, not just to improve services, but also to play a full role in tackling wider social and environmental challenges.

Based on the feedback from communities and national stakeholders, the ambition for the sector is to represent the best in responsible business practice. Water UK said that meant going beyond regulatory compliance to demonstrate long term stewardship of the environment, deliver social good and give people a meaningful say as companies decide their priorities.

The initiative comes at a time when Ofwat is preparing shortly to set out how all players in the water sector can come together to create a shared vision for its future.

Commenting on Twitter, Ofwat Chief Executive Rachel Fletcher said:

“@WaterUK’s initiative to develop a public interest commitment is a welcome first step. We look forward to seeing how the companies embrace this and make the changes needed to bring it to life.”

Click here to download the Public Interest Commitment