united-utilities-annual-report-2015

UNITED UTILITIES GROUP PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2015Stock Code: UU.unitedutilities.comDirectors’ report:other statutory informationCarbon emissions for2014/15473,708tonnes CO 2equivalent19 per cent below our 2005/06baselineRenewable energy144GWhof renewable generationOur highest ever renewable energygeneration, equivalent to 19 percent of our electricity consumptionOur directors present their management report and the audited financialstatements of United Utilities Group PLC (the company) and its subsidiaries(together referred to as the group) for the year ended 31 March 2015.Business modelA description of the company’sbusiness model can be found within thestrategic report on pages 14 to 18.Greenhouse gas emissionsWe measure our emissions over thefinancial reporting year against afootprint covering the operationalactivities of the water and propertyservices businesses in the UK. Allfigures stated are in line with the latestUK Government carbon reportingguidance. Our reporting is compliantwith the international carbon reportingstandard ISO 14064, Part 1 andassured to a reasonable standard bythe Certified Emissions Measurementand Reduction Scheme certification.In 2010 we stated our short-termtarget to reduce our emissions by 21per cent by 2015, against a 2005/06baseline. As stated in the performancereport, last year our emissions were473,708 tonnes of carbon dioxideequivalent (tCO 2e), 19 per cent belowour 2005/06 baseline, so narrowlymissing our short-term target. Missingthis target is extremely disappointingas we purchased less electricitythan in any of the last 10 years andgenerated our highest ever amount ofrenewable energy. However, we couldnot counteract the impact of the 11 percent increase in the carbon content ofthe UK’s electricity supply.Our carbon footprint over the last 10 yearsTonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e)650,000600,000550,000500,000450,000400,000350,000300,00005-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 12-13 13-14 14-15Gross carbon footprintTarget carbon footprint in 2015Overall emissions trendThe trend in our overall emissions continues to be downwards even though theyhave fluctuated over the past few years – as they can be affected by weather,operational conditions and the carbon content of the UK’s electricity supply. Weare currently assessing what our next carbon targets should be, covering ouremissions up to 2020 and beyond, taking both our plans and the impact of UKenergy and carbon policy into account.We expect the trend in our emissions to remain downwards reflecting our effortsto use less energy and increase renewable energy generation, alongside projecteddecreases in the carbon content of the UK’s energy supply. It is likely there will besome fluctuation as a result of operational responses to weather conditions andwider trends in the energy market affecting the carbon content of UK electricity.104