CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Transcription

1 CORPORA RESPO

2 Corporate Responsibility Scottish Water aims to deliver one of the best value for money packages in the water industry to over 5 million customers. Central to achieving this is a commitment to corporate responsibility. This means considering the interests of society and taking responsibility for all our activities which involve or could impact on our customers, employees, stakeholders and the wider environment. Scottish Water is committed to take action and improve the quality of life for our customers, their families and local communities across Scotland. Sustainability Scottish Water makes decisions now which will benefit Scotland today and in the future. Running a sustainable business on behalf of our customers is one of our main aims. Our investment programme will help improve public health, provide economic benefits by supporting thousands of construction jobs across Scotland and ensure we have a cleaner environment for the people who live in Scotland and our millions of visitors. Our performance is continually monitored by an advisory group on sustainable development which reports to the Board of Scottish Water.

3 Greener Our investment programme is one of the biggest in the UK, delivering a cleaner environment and ensuring that we play our part in a healthier Scotland. Scottish Water is committed to working with environmental groups where appropriate to ensure that any project we carry out has as little impact on the natural environment as possible. For example: Plans to upgrade the water treatment works for the villages of Cannich and Tomich were altered to avoid disturbing the habitat of the red squirrel, a species in decline in Scotland. A project to improve the River Nith found evidence of an endangered otter population. Work was stopped and suitable measures were put in place to minimise any potential impact. Scottish Water is committed to Ethical Trading initiatives. Our suppliers are continually evaluated on their environmental responsibility, race relations and equal opportunities policies. Scottish Water is reducing its own energy consumption and carbon footprint through a number of initiatives: Using energy saving devices such as motion sensitive lighting and encouraging employees to turn off PCs and laptops when not in use. Reducing vehicle use through teleconferencing, car sharing and cycle2work schemes. Sourcing supplies locally to reduce the impact of transporting materials to our sites. Scottish Water encourages our customers to use water wisely in and around the home, which will also help to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint.

4 Volunteering Scottish Water supports employees across the business who give up their time to different fundraising ventures particularly our supported charity, WaterAid. To raise awareness of the work that WaterAid carries out, employees have visited some of the poorest regions of the world including Burkina Faso, India and Northern Kenya. Education Scottish Water works with schools, colleges and universities throughout Scotland. Support for primary schools includes a special pack which has been designed to help educate pupils on all aspects of water from information about the water cycle to simple but effective ways that we can all use water wisely in our daily lives. Learning is made fun through diverse materials including a board game, interactive computer game, posters and postcards. Access We encourage recreational access to our land and watercourses across Scotland, both for local communities and to benefit tourism. These resources are used for many activities from bird watching and horse riding to fishing and canoeing. We provide practical tips and advice so that you stay safe and enjoy your visit when accessing any of our reservoirs for water-based activities.

5 Communicating Scottish Water is dedicated to providing open and honest communication with our customers and our employees. We want to make it easy for our customers to contact us 24/7 through our Customer Helpline. Our Press Office handles enquiries around the clock to keep communities across Scotland informed. With such a large and widespread workforce, effective communication with our employees is vital. Our Internal Communications team works closely with our Human Resources Department to keep staff fully informed and trained. Scottish Water is keen to get involved in our customers lifestyle choices. We run a range of awareness campaigns throughout the year to provide information and tips which will benefit them. This ranges from protecting against burst pipes to bogus callers. Our Community Affairs team attends local meetings and is available to give advice and information about what is happening in their area. Similarly, our Corporate Affairs team works closely with MSPs to ensure we keep our customers up to date; dealing with constituency enquiries and advising the Parliament on our activities. Each year we hold 4 open public meetings in different regions of the country, giving us the opportunity to listen to our customers directly. They can ask our Directors questions and find out what projects are planned or taking place in their area.

6 You can write to us at: Scottish Water, PO Box 8855 Edinburgh, EH10 6YQ Alternative formats of this leaflet can be made available free of charge. Textphone users please call For information on Braille, large print, audio tapes and variety of languages, please call We record all calls for quality and training purposes. For more information on Scottish Water and our services call our Customer Helpline on or visit our website at SWCR1 04/09