Sensitive investment

Our vision

We aim to integrate sustainability into our capital programme.

What does this mean?

We believe we need to:

• identify and understand the potential impacts of our development and maintenance schemes at an early stage
• choose construction methods and materials on the basis of appropriate life-cycle analysis
• learn from best practice to minimise whole lifecycle environmental impacts of assets
• use environmental and sustainability appraisals for individual capital schemes
• work with other interests to devise standards and process technologies that lead to sustainable solutions
• discuss lower impact, more sustainable options with regulators as an alternative to heavy-engineered, end-of-pipe solutions

Where are we now?

Our capital developments are subject to environmental screening by our environmental services team to identify whether they may have any impact on a wide range of environmental issues.

• Building on this initial screening, a range of environmental mitigation and enhancement options may be required to minimise any adverse effects of our work.
• A set of environment standards and guidance is used for the design and construction of new infrastructure.