Biodiversity

This performance measure tracks the positive impact we are making on local ecosystems. We look at the net change in "biodiversity units" per 100km² of land in the company’s area.

A biodiversity unit is a measure used to value land for wildlife. It takes into account:

• Size: How much space wildlife has to roam.
• Quality: How healthy and diverse the habitat is.
• Location: Whether the land is in a critically important area for nature conservation.

By 2030 we have a target to improve biodiversity to 40.71 units on our company land by 2030.

How have we performed?

We have made significant progress in the first year of the AMP8 Ofwat Biodiversity Performance Commitment, which aims to deliver 40.71 Biodiversity Units (BU) by 31 March 2030.

This initiative is heavily reliant on a strong partnership approach, and we have successfully collaborated with external stakeholders to finalise our plans. We developed six Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans (HMMPs) for our initial nominated sites with input from the Woodland Trust, the RSPB, and two local farmers.

A major milestone was reached on March 19, 2026, when Natural England formally agreed with our proposed management plans. The organisation confirmed that the plans were positive, achievable, and "provide a clear pathway to delivering a biodiversity net gain at each site," with no changes requested.

In Year 1, we also completed essential assurance work to demonstrate no deterioration of biodiversity across the rest of our estate. This included re-surveying seven AMP7 sites using the original metric, with all sites showing a positive increase in their biodiversity score due to management actions taken in the previous AMP. We are continuing active habitat management on the 214 AMP7 sites that cover 77 per cent of the company estate which makes up 1,673 hectares of land.