Scottish Water has been re-accredited by the British Standards Institution (BSI) for its compliance levels.
To achieve certification, BSI assessors looked at Scottish Water’s energy efficiency projects, energy performance at water and waste water treatment works and how energy is used in its workplaces – including LED lighting and electric car charging points.
Accepting the certificate from BSI Director Andrew Launn, Scottish Water’s Chief Operating Officer, Peter Farrer, said:
"This can help us systematically reduce energy use which has an obvious and tangible link to our ambition to go beyond net zero emissions by 2040.
“I'm delighted to receive this on behalf of everyone who is involved in managing energy in Scottish Water. We will maximise on this to help us meet our emissions target."
The certification – ISO 50001:2018 – provides evidence that Scottish Water’s approach to managing energy use drives performance in achieving emissions reductions at the same time as delivering services effectively to customers.
Colin Duguid, of the Lean Management Systems team, which works with teams across Scottish Water to drive improvement, commented:
"Achieving this standard demonstrates we are managing energy use effectively, reducing emissions, and working to meet environmental targets.
“We developed an Energy Management Standard over the last couple of years, working with Waste Water and Water Operations, Waste Water energy efficiency as well as the Energy and Property Maintenance Teams.
The scheme initially looked at the Top 10 energy-consuming waste water treatment works, as a pilot, and now covers 90% of energy use across Scottish Water – including energy sources, energy purchasing, billing and consumption.
The publicly-owned water and waste water services organisation is one of the largest electricity consumers in Scotland and requires 442 Gigawatt hours (GWh) each year .
In 2018/19 Scottish Water achieved two important milestones:
- Delivery of renewables and energy efficiency regulatory target of 17.5 GWh two years ahead of plan and under budget
- Self-generated power increased to its largest volume ever
The water company takes a four pronged approach to energy management and development:
- Reducing consumption by improving the capability of its assets and operations
- Increasing self-generation
- Hosting private renewables investment on our land
- Optimising its energy purchasing strategy to maximise benefits for customers, communities and local businesses
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