Working in partnerships to accomplish more together

Working together for water, nature and people.

We cannot change the water environment on our own. Only by working in partnership with others can we deliver for water, wildlife and local communities. This year, we have committed to two major partnerships aimed at improving the environment of the North West.

Our ground-breaking strategic partnership with The Rivers Trust aims to tackle the big challenges facing rivers in the region. It is the first time a partnership has set about designing a framework to bring together everyone with an interest in the health of rivers from source to sea. It will build better competence for more urgent action to tackle challenges that are increasingly important to society, such as pollution, flooding and water abstraction and help deliver adaptations and resilience to combat the extremes of climate change.

The partnership formalises the existing strong relationship between the water company and the non-governmental organisation, which is the umbrella body for one of the fastest growing environmental movements in the UK.

Both parties expect the new partnership to facilitate longer-term planning of investment priorities, beyond the current water sector five-year regulatory cycle, allowing faster adoption of nature-based solutions and other collaborative ventures.

A new shared vision with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) builds on joint work at our Haweswater estate over the past ten years. This has demonstrated that nature-based solutions make a very real contribution to meeting the challenge of a changing climate and the economic pressures facing upland farmers.

We already work together at Bowland in Lancashire, Dove Stone Reservoir near Oldham, and Lake Vyrnwy in North Wales. The memorandum of understanding signed in 2021 commits us to explore areas of opportunity by working together, such as helping farming tenancies, creating and managing new wetland, peatland and woodland, and working to improve the visitor experience. Together we intend to tap into natural capital markets including green finance initiatives and the Environmental Land Management scheme to fund beneficial land management projects.