We aim to provide an outstanding level of service to our customers and communities, while protecting the environment and creating value for our shareholders.
South West Water and Bournemouth Water – water and wastewater services
We are focused on providing water and wastewater services in the most efficient and sustainable way possible. Innovation, new technologies, and the pioneering of a holistic approach to water and wastewater management are delivering service improvements and long-term value.
Raw water reservoirs/ water resources
Surface water catchment
Upstream catchment
Wastewater mains network
Water treatment work
Wastewater treatment works
Drinking water mains network
Sewage sludge/ bioresources
Customer support
Improved bathing and shellfish water quality
Pennon Water Services – water retail services
Business water specialists providing water retail services for all business customers’ water management needs.
UK-based customer service centre
Bristol Water – water and water retail services
On 2 June 2021, Pennon approved the acquisition of Bristol Water Holdings UK Limited, including its subsidiaries Bristol Water plc, which provides water only services to c.1.2 million customers in the Bristol region, and water2business Limited, which provides water retail services through a joint venture arrangement with Wessex Water Limited. The acquisition will complete on 3 June 2021 and will be reviewed by the Competition and Markets Authority.
I am delighted and honoured to have been given the opportunity to chair Pennon at such a pivotal time for the Group.
I believe that the best businesses are those that value people and promote teamwork. This in turn drives innovation, agility and a passion for doing what's right - for the environment, customers and each other.
We have realised substantial value from the sale of Viridor, enabling further investments in UK Water, repayment of Group debt, additional contributions into our pension schemes and returns to our shareholders.
Our ESG strategy continues to deliver during a year of significant change. Highlights over the past year include the creation of our new ESG Capitals Strategy and Framework including new ESG targets. We showed strong performance across external ESG ratings, demonstrating our commitment and management of risk across the ESG agenda. And in a year of critical climate action we have made significant progress in implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
As part of a world first national sector-wide commitment of its kind, we have made a commitment to Net Zero Carbon by 2030. Additionally, we have signed the Race to Zero pledge through which we will extend the activities in our Net Zero boundary towards a 2045 target, enabling us to transform into a different kind of water company. Our approach to Net Zero is aligned to our purpose and values as a responsible business.
Our businesses supply water and wastewater services to around one million household customers and over 160,000 business customers.
We engage regularly with our customers on service quality, cost of service, value for money and our strategy. This includes regularly conducting customer satisfaction surveys, holding focus groups, co-creation workshops and convening forums, providing ongoing feedback to our teams to recognise good service and make improvements where needed. With the introduction of WaterShare+ as part of the New Deal 2020-25 business plan, customers now have a tangible stake and a say in the business, including the opportunity to participate in a customer Annual General Meeting, the first of which will be held in the autumn of 2021.
We also engage with key trade and customer bodies, including CCW(1) – the voice for water consumers. We have a well-established independent WaterShare customer panel which reviews and challenges our performance against our business plan commitments and, to support the development of our five-year business plan, we have established an independent WaterShare+ advisory panel.
(1) CCW – previously known as the Consumer Council for Water.
Our employees are our greatest asset. We provide the opportunity for them to be engaged at multiple levels of the business and through a variety of two-way dialogue and feedback channels.
We continually engage and communicate with our people on their health, safety and wellbeing, our organisational culture, promoting diversity and inclusion, training and development. We use our annual employee trust and engagement survey as a mechanism to measure progress and obtain feedback. Our senior leaders meet monthly with established engagement forums where staff representatives discuss business challenges. We also recognise trade union partners in our operational business within the Group and maintain an open dialogue with them. We hold weekly Big Chat video calls with employees, providing them with the opportunity to hear directly from the Pennon Executive and ask any questions they wish. Employees can also directly email the Chief Executive with comments and questions via an ‘Ask Susan’ facility in addition to speak face to face during regular site visits.
Our businesses operate in the heart of local communities, so we work closely with these stakeholders through regular liaison meetings and community events. Our education facilities and outreach programmes support environmental learning and our charity donation schemes support hundreds of good causes in communities where we operate.
We engage regularly with our communities on local projects and initiatives and host regular community liaison groups at our sites. We also engage with our communities through print, digital and social media and use these channels to great effect with our behavioural change campaigns including Love Your Loo, and Think Sink! South West Water holds a Conservation and Recreation Forum twice a year to get input from a range of stakeholders including South West Lakes Trust, National Farmers Union, Dartmoor National Park and the Royal Yacht Association.
We also work closely with the South West Lakes Trust to support access to our land and sites for recreation in the South West.
We work closely with a range of environmental partners including South West Lakes Trust, Westcountry Rivers Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, Natural England and various conservation and environmental interest groups and charities to help ensure we deliver our environmental commitments.
We meet regularly with our environmental stakeholders on natural capital stewardship and other areas of focus. This includes regular meetings and liaison with the Wildlife Trusts in our operational areas and with the Westcountry Rivers Trust, both of whom are partners in our catchment management projects.
We also hold a twice-yearly BeachWise Forum with key stakeholders to discuss matters relating to bathing water quality.
Our supply chain partners play a vital role in supporting sustainable growth and cost base efficiency across the business. We are committed to ensuring our supply chain partners align with the same values, standards and behaviours we expect of ourselves and share the principles set out in both our Code of Conduct for Supply Chain Partners and Sustainable Procurement Policy.
We have formal contracts and framework agreements with all supply chain partners that meet the appropriate balance between commercial, quality and sustainably focused delivery whilst our e-procurement platforms support a structured, fair and transparent approach to supplier engagement. As a signatory to the EU Skills Accord, we work collaboratively to support skills development and investment throughout the supply chain and as part of our Sustainability and Net Zero strategy we will engage our supply chain so that we can better understand and manage our collective environmental impact through collaboration.
We run an extensive investor relations programme ensuring debt and equity investors, shareholders, analysts and financial media are informed of our business strategy and key developments.
We engage regularly with our financial community including equity investors and debt providers on financial performance, strategy, risks and opportunities and macro themes. We hold roadshows across the UK, Europe and the USA each year in addition to conferences, investor and analyst briefings. In September, we hosted an event for analysts focused on the detailed financials following the sale of Viridor – a standout theme within the year. We also hold twice-yearly results presentations and Group Finance Director updates and we continue to provide trading updates between results.
We have an open dialogue and meet regularly with our regulatory bodies: Ofwat, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency, Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ensure that our business plans address their priorities and concerns.
We engage regularly with all our regulators on our business plans, strategy, performance, risks and opportunities and delivery for customers. We attend regular meetings, provide reports and reviews, respond to consultations and join workshops, to ensure trust and transparency within these relationships.
We do the right thing for our customers and stakeholders
We keep our promises to our customers, communities and each other
We forge strong relationships, working together to make a positive impact
We are always looking for new ways to improve and make life better
Our people: Supporting the lives of people and the places they love for generations to come.
At Pennon, we believe our people are our best asset. The wellbeing and safety of everyone is our number one priority. However we strongly believe that if we all live by our values, with humility, care and compassion, we can achieve anything.
This is the first year of our K7 period (2020-2025) and South West Water has made a strong start in delivering its ambitious New Deal business plan, remaining resilient despite the global pandemic.
Pennon Water Services demonstrated its resilience during a year of significant economic uncertainty by engaging proactively with its customer base whilst continuing to win new contracts and delivering against its strategic priorities, prioritising the safety of its employees, customers, and the communities it serves.
Our Neighbourhood Fund builds on our work to support communities with funding available for community groups which inspire physical activities, education, health and wellbeing and deliver positive environmental outcomes. Community groups supported to date include:
The Hugs Foundation – offering therapeutic and supportive interventions for those suffering from mental ill health, social exclusion, disadvantages and disabilities, and the Cornwall Accessible Activities Programme – supporting families and children with additional needs to access activities during the school holidays.
Registered in England & Wales
Registered Number: 2366640
