Engineering students and junior engineers across the UK are being called upon to find radical ideas to tackle the nation’s growing water crisis as part of the Water Futures Challenge.

The competition, run by global plumbing and drainage solutions provider, Wavin, and held in partnership with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), outlines four urgent challenges for entrants to address. The brief offers them the opportunity to apply their skills to create game-changing solutions that could prevent the UK’s water infrastructure from reaching breaking point.

The four challenges are:

  • How can we better address man-made pollution across our rivers and waterways?
  • How can we rethink the way the UK protects urban areas against flooding?
  • How can we use the increasing levels of rainfall and stormwater to our advantage?
  • How can we make high-rise buildings more efficient when it comes to heating and water reuse?

The Water Futures Challenge is open to all engineering students and professional engineers with less than 3 years’ experience. Entries, in the form of written submissions, are now open, with shortlisting taking place in March.

Shortlisted entrants will have the opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of industry experts at a showcase event at the ICE headquarters in Central London on 3rd May 2022. Their ideas will be brought to life by digital artists and will go on display at the headquarters at Number One, Great George Street.

The engineer who creates the winning idea relating to each challenge will receive £1,000 towards their studies and career goals. The overall grand winner will become the first ICE Water Futures Ambassador. As well as winning another £1,000 on top of their initial prize money, the Water Futures Ambassador will be invited to join ICE’s Flooding Community Advisory Board, which meets regularly through the year. This position will give them the opportunity to sit in at the top table and discuss major water issues and solutions, while networking with other professionals driving engineering forward.

The Water Futures Ambassador will also be invited to attend all ICE Knowledge Live Events throughout the year and write blogs for the ICE website, acting as an integral part of the ICE Knowledge Community.

Mike Ward, Wavin Managing Director UK and Ireland, commented: “The issues we’re outlining in the Water Futures Challenge: flooding, water pollution, increased rainfall, and water conservation, are getting more urgent and are impacting a growing number of people.

“We need to start thinking radically, and this means identifying and fast-tracking ideas from this uniquely creative generation before it’s too late. This new brief will give student engineers and junior engineers the opportunity to showcase their talents and help build strong relationships between them and the wider industry. These relationships will be key to ensuring that we continue to create healthy, sustainable environments where future generations can thrive.”

To find out more about the Water Futures Challenge, including details on how to enter, visit www.wavin.co.uk/water-futures-challenge.

The phrase ‘modern slavery’ is becoming ever more familiar. But what exactly is modern slavery?  An acknowledged definition is ‘the exploitation of people who have been forced, deceived, or coerced into a life of labour and servitude’[1]. To many of us, this definition seems like something that is happening a long way away and that is of no relevance to the water industry. You may have heard of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 or read about the need for large organisations to publish a Modern Slavery Statement each year- but somehow it may seem like someone else’s problem. Not so – it is as much our problem as that of anyone else.

It is estimated that up to 136,000 people in the United Kingdom are trapped in modern slavery[2]. Some are British citizens. Others have come to our country in the hope of a better life. All are united by an inability to control their own lives. Like many other industries, utilities may provide access to slave masters often via lower skilled activities such as digging, reinstatement or property maintenance. Alternately, we may be indirectly employing forced labour through our worldwide supply chains. It is incredibly difficult to assess the global number of people living in conditions of slavery, but academics estimate the total is in excess of 40.3 million people[3].

How can we make a difference? A group of utilities asked this question a couple of years ago. Supported by the Slave-Free Alliance (SFA), our answer has been to establish the Utilities Modern Slavery Working Group. It started with six members, and there are now 25 utility providers in the group from the water, gas and electricity sectors. We virtually met for the first time in March 2020 and have continued to do so on a regular basis. We have the goal of eradicating modern slavery from the utilities sector.

What have we achieved? We are developing a consistent approach to procuring goods and services. Working with the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS) we have developed training material to inform colleagues and our supply chain. We have supported members to develop meaningful Modern Slavery Statement Registry submissions. We share developments in legislation and case law and feedback from other sectors impacted by slavery.

If your company is already a member of the working group, learn more about what you can do from your modern slavery lead. If your organisation isn’t a member, we would love you to join us.

If we can get the whole utility sector united against this abhorrent practice, we can make our sector a ‘no-go’ area for criminals who exploit the vulnerable. What a success this would be. Membership of the group is free of charge. You don’t need to be a member of the SFA or SCSS – although there are benefits to membership of both organisations.

If you want to find out more, please email info@slavefreealliance.org. We greatly appreciate your support.

Peter Thompson

Chair, Utilities Modern Slavery Working Group

[1]https://safeguardinghub.co.uk/modern-slavery-an-introduction/

[2] https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/united-kingdom/

[3] https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/highlights/

 

Water Resources East (WRE) has announced Daniel Johns – currently Head of Public Affairs for Anglian Water – as the new Managing Director, taking over from Robin Price.

He will start work with WRE on 17th January 2022 and there will be a short period of handover and transition with Robin.

Before joining Anglian Water, Daniel was a senior civil servant at Defra where he worked on water, agriculture, and environment policy. Before that, he spent four years at the Climate Change Committee as their Head of Adaptation. Daniel is a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Water Environmental Management and Chair of the National Flood Forum Board of Trustees.

Robin – Vice President Science at the Institute of Water – is leaving WRE to take up the role of Director of Quality and Environment with Anglian Water.

We wish both Daniel and Robin success in their new roles.

Winners receive a £50,000 cash prize.

Deadline: 5pm, 31 January 2022

The Award is the UK’s longest running and most prestigious prize for engineering innovation. It recognises outstanding engineering innovation combined with proven commercial success and tangible societal benefit.

Winners receive a £50,000 cash prize, gold medal and national acclaim.

Applications are welcomed from right across the breadth of engineering, from small to large companies, as well as newcomers and those well-established in their industries. We encourage applications that showcase the diversity of talent supporting UK engineering innovation.

Details on how and why to apply for the 2022 Award can be found on our website here.  Applications close on 31st January 2022.

Previous winners include the inaugural joint winners of 1969 Freeman, Fox and Partners, for the Severn Bridge and Rolls-Royce for the Pegasus engine; EMI Ltd in 1972 for the CT Scanner; Buro Happold in 1999 for the roof structure of the Millennium Dome; Touch Bionics for their i-LIMB prosthetic hand in 2008, Raspberry Pi in 2017 for its inexpensive credit card-sized microcomputers and in 2020 JCB for developing and manufacturing the world’s first volume produced fully electric digger.

Last year’s winner was DnaNudge Ltd, awarded for the development of its pioneering consumer genetics technology, pivoting and adapting the technology to deliver a rapid, lab-free RT-PCR COVID-19 test to NHS hospitals.

If you have any queries, please contact the Academy team at macrobert@raeng.org.uk or call 0207766 630.

The OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate aims to inform the definition and implementation of policies aimed at improving the current state of science in the UK as well as its impact on British society.

Carried out since 2015, the OECD international surveys on science are conducted to enable the community’s safe use of information for strict statistical research purposes.

This 2021 edition seeks to provide better international comparisons about the professional situation of researchers in the UK – helping the OECD to map careers and understand how questions of engagement and impact apply to individuals in different contexts and situations.

The new survey focuses on the working conditions experienced by scientists, their engagement with their social and economic environment, and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their work and careers.

Whilst there have been regular surveys covering these issues within the UK, so far, a clear international picture for benchmarking is lacking. This study therefore aims to address this gap.

As in previous editions, the data are processed confidentially and once anonymised will be available for scientific use. The previous ISSA edition focused on the digitalisation of science, gathering more than 12 thousand researchers in 60 countries. The results were published last year and have since contributed to the OECD council recommendation on access to research data and a recent report on the need to reduce the precarity of research careers.

The survey will remain be open until Tuesday 30 November.

The Society for the Environment has welcomed the launch of the new Environment Act as a critical step in the right direction in our collective efforts to address the climate and environmental emergencies, but implementation is the biggest challenge and opportunity.

 Registered environmental professionals from the Institute of Water and across sectors are key to successful implementation.

The Environment Act has now officially passed into UK law, which puts legally binding environmental targets in place for the UK and introduces the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to hold government and public bodies to account.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said, “The Environment Act will deliver the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth.”

Chief Executive of the Society for the Environment, Dr Emma Wilcox CEnv, said:

“This legislation is a critical step in the right direction in our collective efforts to address the climate and environmental emergencies in the UK and beyond. But this is a steppingstone on our journey towards a greater goal. The next step is collective, sustained, expert-led action.

Achieving the ambitions set out in the Act will require those with proven environmental competence and dedication to evidence based good practice and innovation, to be at the forefront of implementation. Registered environmental professionals within the Institute of Water and across all sectors are therefore well placed to collaboratively lead on the actions needed.”

The Society for the Environment holds the register for over 7,600 registered environmental professionals who have achieved one of three registrations:

  • Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv)
  • Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP)
  • Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech)

 

For more information about the new Environment Act, including details of what it aims to deliver, view the Defra press release here.

When Ofwat published its Time to act, together strategy in 2019 it stated: “Companies will need to be run with a clear purpose, adding wider public value for customers and communities as well as for shareholders.”

To conclude our ‘Social Purpose’ week we invited Ofwat to contribute: here is what Jenny Block, (General Counsel at Ofwat) had to say.

_______________________________________________________________________

Understanding purpose is a critical issue for the water sector, and it was great to see Dr Stephanie Brown’s thoughtful piece on Social Purpose in the Autumn issue of the Institute of Water Magazine.

In our strategy ‘Time to act, together: Ofwat’s strategy‘ we outlined Ofwat’s ambition for water companies to provide greater public value, delivering more for customers, society and the environment and Ofwat’s regulatory regime reflects the importance of social and environmental value to companies and other stakeholders in a number of ways.

On purpose in particular, our Board Leadership, Transparency and Governance (BLTG) principles set out that a company’s purpose, strategy and values should reflect the needs of all those it serves, as doing so will ultimately deliver better outcomes for all: the company, customers, the environment, and investors. We are pleased to see that all companies now have a clearly stated purpose and explain the importance of their purpose in delivering an essential public service.

In December 2020, we published A discussion paper on public value in the water sector which we followed up in July 2021 with A supporting set of principles to underpin how water companies can deliver greater public value. Our principles-based approach aims to provide a framework for the activities and behaviours we want to see companies adopting, whilst allowing for the flexibility that will be required to help deliver practical approaches tailored to regional and local circumstances. One of the principles, which references the mechanisms used to guide activity and drive decision-making, recognises social purpose as one of the primary drivers of company activity in this area.

The draft principles published in July looked to explore a number of areas that we were pleased to see are also touched on in Dr Brown’s article.

Our principles consider:

  • the scope of public value, focused on environmental and social impact
  • delivering social and environmental benefits that are measurable, lasting and important to customers and communities
  • transparency of information and insight on performance
  • ensuring public value outcomes do not come at greater cost to customers without clear customer support
  • collaboration with others to optimise solutions and maximise benefits, and leveraging a fair share of third-party funding
  • not displacing other organisations who are better placed to act and deliver public value
  • taking account of capability and circumstances in the delivery of additional public value

Following further engagement over the summer (and broad endorsement of our approach) we are currently reflecting on the comments received and aim to finalise Ofwat’s Principles on Public Value in the new year. In the meantime, we’re working to consider how best to integrate the principles across all of Ofwat’s work, including in the context of PR24.

The UK water sector delivers the most fundamental public service: it provides reliable, resilient, safe and good quality water and wastewater services for everyone.

Now, as the sector faces the challenges of climate change and greater demand from population growth, it is also expected to do the right things for customers and the environment.

When Ofwat published its Time to act, together strategy in 2019 it stated: “Companies will need to be run with a clear purpose, adding wider public value for customers and communities as well as for shareholders.”

One aspect of our Business Plan at the Institute of Water is to improve the brand of the water industry, particularly its social purpose. We recognised that a number of organisations had already made statements on social purpose and we agreed to showcase what has been done, with the aims of raising awareness, sharing best practice and challenging members to find out more about their own company.

MOSL’s Pledge:

MOSL is the market operator for the non-household retail market in England, operating in a market of over 1.2 million customers who use almost one third of the water consumed in England.

Their purpose is to advance simple and effective water markets to unlock value and choice for customers.

Their vision is to use their collective expertise and independent insight to deliver the best customer outcomes.

They are delivering on these through four strategic priorities:

  • Service excellence – simple and effective services that are easy to access
  • Data insight – Evidence based decisions, driving value for customers
  • Market improvement – a successful market that is continually improving
  • Organisational capability – a high performing team

When we invited CEO Sarah McMath to explain the Social Purpose of MOSL, she opted for an inclusive approach to show how the purpose and values are embedded in their culture and throughout the team. You can watch the MOSL Social Purpose video HERE.

You can hear from:

  • Sarah McMath (CEO)
  • Abu Rashid (Senior Market Design Analyst)
  • Lyvia Nabarro (Head of Market Engagement & Communications)
  • Liz D’Arcy (Head of Data Analytics & Insight)
  • Anna Heal (Chair of the MOSL Board)

Explaining their understanding of Social Purpose in a video produced specially for this series.

Halfway through the Institute of Water’s Social Purpose week we hear from Lila Thompson, CEO of British Water

As water companies strive to fulfil the commitments of their individual social purpose pledges and the sector-wide Public Interest Commitment, I am seeing positive changes in how they collaborate with the supply chain.

This shift is encouraging but it must continue to build, so that the skills at all levels of our sector are combined and utilised, maximising the benefits for customers, the environment and wider society.

In setting out what public value means, Ofwat said companies should “look for ways to deliver more social and environmental value by conducting their core activities differently”. Its 2019 Time to Act Together report highlighted using nature-based solutions rather than hard infrastructure in water and wastewater treatment processes, as just one example of a new approach that could be taken. Harnessing the expertise of the supply chain in the delivery of such projects is key to driving the creation of a socially purposeful industry.

The supply chain itself will be examining water company social commitments as they look to incorporate similar values into their own organisations if they haven’t already. Speaking at an Indepen 2019 conference about the creation of a social contract for water, I challenged water companies to create space for their staff to think and act differently about how they procured, as a race to the bottom on price was far from the value-based thinking that a public purpose demands. My recent conversations with the supply chain tell me that much still needs to be done in this area and to engage suppliers as early as possible at the design stage and keep them updated on project pipelines.

Seeking to lead by example, British Water is passionate about its inhouse initiatives that positively impact society, including campaigns to support and mentor women in water. Our Women on Water campaign has been running successfully since 2018 and we are proud a partner of the 30% Club cross-company mentoring programme which this year will offer opportunities to those from underrepresented groups under the ‘Mission Include’ programme.

On Day Two of the Institute of Water’s Social Purpose week we are featuring CCW and the views of their CEO, Emma Clancy, on Social Purpose.

Water is one of life’s essentials, and the services offered by water and sewerage companies are an essential part of our everyday lives. But these aren’t services that we can choose, and how we experience them depends on where we live.

Because of this, water companies have an important role to play, not only in the practical sense of keeping the taps running and taking away our waste, but also in the broader sense of protecting the communities they serve as well as the environment on which the water depends.

The role of water companies as custodians of the natural environment looks set to continue as a priority for customers. Our recent Public Views on the Water Environment research revealed that future customers (that is, those who had not yet paid a water or sewerage bill) were likely to prioritise the environment more highly than current bill payers.

But what we also know is that there’s a lack of connection between people and their water. 41% of people living in parts of England where water resources are under the most pressure told us they think that water is plentiful where they live. That’s despite more regions than ever before being classed as seriously water-stressed by the Environment Agency.

As such, the water sector has a crucial role to play in helping people make that link between their water use and protecting the wider environment that depends on it. There are many good regional initiatives, but what we need to see is a stronger effort from the industry as a whole to take a joint, consistent and sustained approach to raising awareness of water efficiency across England and Wales.But what we also know is that there’s a lack of connection between people and their water. 41% of people living in parts of England where water resources are under the most pressure told us they think that water is plentiful where they live. That’s despite more regions than ever before being classed as seriously water-stressed by the Environment Agency.

The collective, industry-wide effort we’re currently seeing in tackling water poverty is a great example of where working together to tackle a common problem can help the water industry to earn public trust, proving our ability to collaborate where it really counts.

And as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. In 2019, water companies signed up to a common Public Interest Commitment, pledging to do more, “not just to improve services, but also to play a full role in tackling wider social and environmental challenges”. In holding ourselves accountable for delivery and taking meaningful action to make a tangible difference, we as an industry can show the people we serve that we’re serious about delivering true social value.