Background
The importance of the value of water in the UK is accelerating, and its public profile is continuing to increase as water supply and environmental challenges accelerate due to climate change.
The workstream aims to improve long-term approach to infrastructure investment decisions that integrate wider sustainability considerations, alongside economic and social outcomes.
This approach will improve trust with the public by better reflecting the views of citizens and communicating how the water industry is providing clean, resilient, and sustainable water supplies for the future. To improve this requires companies to work together to respond to the challenge of creating a comparable process, that is robust, and sufficiently broad, and integrates environmental and social impacts into business case methodologies. The workstream enables UKWP members to work collaboratively to achieve this.
The project builds on existing work carried out by UKWP and aims to establish a comparable process that is robust, sufficiently broad, and integrates environmental and social impacts into business case methodologies.
Future Aims
The workstream aims to conduct a desktop research study, resulting in a report published to UKWP members in May 2023. The study will include a survey of UKWP members, to establish the current level of understanding and usage of the Greenbook wellbeing guidance.
An initial investigation into sources of potential innovation funding has been started with the objective of securing £50,000 of funding by October.
The workstream aims to publish two to three case studies and hold two events to share outputs of the research.
