Over 700 Hectares Enhanced as Emissions Fall by 10,000 Tonnes
Scottish Water’s net zero programme has enhanced land equivalent to more than 1,000 football pitches, delivering benefits for biodiversity, water quality, and climate resilience. During 2025/26, large-scale peatland restoration and woodland creation projects at key locations like Loch Katrine and Backwater Reservoir supported nature recovery across 733 hectares. This work also helped protect important water sources from climate change impacts.
Alongside renewable energy initiatives, these projects have helped avoid 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, which is comparable to over 2,700 return flights between Glasgow and Tokyo. Scottish Water’s latest Net Zero Routemap annual update details how climate action is being integrated across its operations, infrastructure, and land management activities.
The update highlights continued progress in operational efficiency, with approximately 4.5 GWh of energy savings and 3.88 GWh of renewable electricity generated during the year. This renewable generation is sufficient to power around 3,000 homes for a year. The organisation also expanded its use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a lower-carbon diesel alternative, by installing dedicated fuelling stations in Glasgow, Inverness, and Edinburgh to support vehicles and equipment.
Elise Cartmell, General Manager for Net Zero at Scottish Water, stated: “Our net zero programme is continuing to deliver benefits across the environment, our operations and the communities we serve. From restoring peatlands and expanding native woodland to generating more renewable energy, we’re helping tackle climate change while supporting biodiversity, improving water quality and strengthening resilience to the impacts of a changing climate. These projects demonstrate that climate action can deliver multiple benefits for Scotland, both now and in the future.”
The annual update also acknowledges the increasing complexity of the journey to net zero. Future reductions will increasingly depend on addressing emissions that are more difficult to eliminate, including those associated with water and wastewater treatment processes, treatment chemicals, and wider supply chain activities.
Cartmell added: “The next phase of the journey will be more challenging as we focus on emissions that are harder to abate. We’ve already demonstrated that meaningful reductions can be achieved across our operations, our land and the way we invest in new infrastructure. Since 2021, we’ve substantially lowered the carbon intensity of our investment programme, with lower-carbon design, materials and construction methods now embedded across project delivery.
“The challenge now is to build on that progress by tackling emissions associated with treatment processes, chemicals and wider supply chains. Reducing these emissions will require new technologies, continued innovation and close collaboration with partners across the sector, but we’re continuing to build the knowledge, capability and partnerships needed to meet that challenge.”
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Scottish Water continues to invest in research, innovation, and low-carbon solutions to accelerate progress towards net zero and deliver broader environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Cartmell concluded: “The transition to net zero is about much more than reducing carbon emissions. It’s about helping create a more resilient, sustainable and flourishing Scotland. The benefits we’re already seeing across our land, assets and communities show why this work matters and why we must continue to build on that progress.”
