Home - United Utilities - Year in Review 2024

Providing

great water…

Why we are here

Our purpose is to provide great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West and highlights how environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are integral to everything we do.

Chair's review

Committed to delivering our purpose – now and for the long term

While the water industry continues to be the subject of public and media attention, United Utilities remains focused on delivering its purpose of providing great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West.

CEO's review^*

Delivering for customers now, and building our plan for a stronger, greener and healthier North West

It has been an extremely busy year, in which we have submitted a high-quality and ambitious business plan for the 2025–30 period (AMP8) while continuing to deliver for customers and the environment in the face of challenging weather conditions.

* Since our integrated annual report was signed off, the date of the draft determination from Ofwat has been changed as a result of the general election being called, and it is now expected on 11 July.

For a

stronger…

Our strategic priorities

We deliver an essential service, help customers in vulnerable situations, invest in local communities, and support jobs and the economy, giving the North West resilience in a changing world.

Strategic priority:

Spend customers’ money wisely

Colleague in protective uniform looking at camera

98%

Delivery against our capital programme delivery incentive

98%

Delivery against our capital programme delivery incentive

Our metric for measuring the performance of our capital programmes places a strong emphasis on efficiency as well as reducing carbon impact, and we have improved our performance further this year.

Strategic priority:

Contribute to our communities

colleagues helping community by litter picking

£3.99m

Investment made this year in North West communities

£3.99m

Investment made this year in North West communities

We have increased our investment this year, and are on track to deliver direct community investment across AMP7 that is 10% higher than the average between 2010 and 2020.

Case study:

Stronger

Compliance committee ensures robust scrutiny of regulatory submissions

greener…

Our strategic priorities

We protect and enhance urban and rural environments, and adapt to the challenges of climate change, allowing people, wildlife and nature to thrive, making the North West a better place to live now and for the future.

Strategic priority:

Improve our rivers

man walking through a river with water proof high boots

100%

Delivery of this year’s Better Rivers commitments

100%

Delivery of this year’s Better Rivers commitments

All of this year’s programme milestones have been delivered, including ensuring 100 per cent of our storm overflows are monitored, which was completed by December 2023.

Strategic priority:

Create a greener future

high drone shot looking over River Bollin

3* or 4*

Consistently in the Environment Agency’s environmental performance assessment

3* or 4*

Consistently in the Environment Agency’s environmental performance assessment

We have been rated either 3* ‘good’ or 4* ‘industry leading’ in every year since records began, and are on track for the maximum 4* rating for 2023, which will be published in July 2024.

Case study:

Greener

Acting now to improve the North West’s rivers

healthier…

Our strategic priorities

We provide great quality drinking water and safely remove and recycle used water for more than seven million customers, while taking care of the beautiful landscapes in the North West every day.

Strategic priority:

Provide a safe and great place to work

two colleagues looking toward the camera

81%

Colleague engagement, in line with the UK high performance norm

81%

Colleague engagement, in line with the UK High Performance Norm

We achieved another strong result in our annual colleague survey this year, and our two highest scoring areas were wellbeing and safety.

Strategic priority:

Deliver great service for all our customers

a young girl helping her dad with the dishwasher

Highest

Listed company on Ofwat’s customer measure of experience (C-MeX)

Highest

Listed company on Ofwat’s customer measure of experience (C-MeX)

We are consistently strong performers for customer satisfaction, ranked fourth out of the water and sewerage companies this year, and sixth out of all 17 including water-only companies.

Case study:

Healthier

Delivering what matters for the North West’s five counties

North West…

Five counties

Each of the five diverse counties across the North West is unique. In order to help shape and adapt our AMP8 business plan, we’ve been working with stakeholders and customers to better understand the needs, challenges and opportunities of each county.

Our operational KPIs

Delivering our purpose is about more than just providing customers with water and removing wastewater. Our operational key performance indicators (KPIs) provide an overview of how we are creating a stronger, greener and healthier North West.

Our financial KPIs

Strong financial performance facilitates delivery of our purpose. Our financial KPIs include income statement, balance sheet, regulatory and investor return metrics to provide a snapshot of our performance for the year.

Delivering value for a
broad range of stakeholders

We engage with all of our stakeholders, including the six key groups for whom we create value, highlighted in green, and others that influence our activities, highlighted in pale green: