The Sustainable Growth Agreement (SGA) provides a focus for priority areas for both organisations on the environmental and economic opportunities of a circular economy, as well as building on Scottish Water's work to recycle over 115 thousand tonnes of organic material from waste water for use as a fuel, soil conditioner or fertiliser.
Under the agreement, SEPA and Scottish Water have pledged to develop, trial and deliver ways of;
• Managing rainwater and waste water drainage to help protect the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of Scotland's towns and cities in a changing climate
• Helping generate wealth not waste by maximising the recovery of resources from Scotland's sewage and cycling them back into a circular economy
• Making choices about how to invest in protecting the quality of Scotland's water environment that minimise energy and resource use and maximise social and economic benefit now and for the future
Overall, the partnership will contribute to the Scottish Government's Energy Strategy objective of decarbonisation of energy by 2050, and will also help towards achieving the carbon emissions reduction target of 80% by 2050.
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Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced the signing of the SGA at the Institute of Water 'Shaping the Future' Conference' in Glasgow.
She said: "I am pleased to welcome this agreement which will see two public bodies work in partnership to tackle the challenges of delivering a cleaner and greener Scotland in the 21st Century. It will look for innovative ways to deliver more sustainable wastewater services, and to recover and recycle the resources that are contained within Scotland's sewage."
Douglas Millican, Chief Executive of Scottish Water, said: "Scottish Water contributes significantly to the country's wider economic landscape in a number of ways. Innovation and being as sustainable as possible to ensure we maximise our resources to benefit customers underpins our activity as an organisation. We manage almost a billion litres a day of waste water through our sewage network and in our treatment works. We believe there is significant potential to release further economic value from that and will work with SEPA to understand how it can be delivered.
"By being forward thinking in our approaches to achieving further value from waste water, smartly managing rain water flows into our sewer networks and protecting and harnessing our water environment, we can look ahead to the future with confidence. As we deliver services for customers, we want to do so by making ever more sustainable choices for society and the environment and to reduce our reliance on resources, maximise the recovery of value where possible and minimise our environmental impacts."
Terry A'Hearn, SEPA's Chief Executive, added: "We are committed to helping all Scottish businesses to meet the environmental laws in Scotland, and we want to help as many Scottish businesses as possible go even further by helping them find profitable ways to go beyond what the law requires in reducing their use of energy, water and materials and the amount of waste they produce.
"This Sustainable Growth Agreement is an example of our commitment and a milestone for environmental management in Scotland. We will support Scottish Water to find and take opportunities to comply with regulatory requirements and to go beyond compliance in ways that enhance the environment, minimise resource use and maximise long-term social and economic benefits."
(Image (L - R): Douglas Millican, Chief Executive of Scottish Water, Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham, and Terry A'Hearn, Chief Executive of SEPA (credit: Paul Watt).
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