Scottish Water supplies drinking water and waste water services to cities, towns, villages and farms all over Scotland.  We have a unique role to play in Scottish society as we touch the lives of most of the people of Scotland.  This brings with it a heavy responsibility to work with communities and our regulators to uphold the principles of sustainable development and integrate these into our day to day operations.

We have developed a Sustainable Development Policy setting out how we aim to carrying out our business operations in a sustainble way to meet the requirements of our customers, the comunities we work in, the evironment and the economy.

What is sustainable development?
The goal of sustainable development is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations.

Sustainable Development Duty
Scottish Water has a statutory duty to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in carrying out our operations. 

Our main contribution to achieving sustainable development will be to deliver the Ministerial Objectives within the charge caps set by the Water Industry Commission.  Our Business Plan will set out how the objectives will be achieved taking into account economic, social and environmental considerations.

Although we can directly influence several aspects of sustainable development through our functions, for the most part, we will work in partnership with other organisations which have relevant expertise.  In particular, we are working with developers, local authorities, enterprise companies and regulators to ensure that sustainable economic development is delivered effectively for Scotland.

Please use the links on the left under Sustainable Development to see how we are meeting our these commitments.