Scottish Water Shortlisted for Prestigious Nature of Scotland Award

Scottish Water is proud to announce it has been shortlisted for the 2025 Nature of Scotland Awards, recognising its sector-leading commitment to protecting and enhancing nature and biodiversity while ensuring the delivery of its essential water and waste water services across Scotland.

Organised by RSPB Scotland and headline sponsor NatureScot, the awards celebrate the individuals, businesses, and organisations making a real difference for Scotland’s natural environment. 

Scottish Water has been shortlisted in the Business for Nature category for its ambitious, whole-business approach to supporting nature and tackling the climate emergency.

The organisation provides services to more than five million customers in over 2.6 million households and serves over 150,000 business premises throughout Scotland. These services are delivered through thousands of treatment works and pumping stations, as well as a network of pipelines that extends for over 100,000 kilometres across the country.

Elise Cartmell is the Net Zero General Manager at Scottish Water, she said: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award. Our services rely on healthy catchments which are under increasing pressure from climate change.

“The effects of climate change mean it's vital that we manage and enhance our natural assets alongside built infrastructure and embed nature in how we operate.”

The publicly owned utility has undertaken a comprehensive programme to baseline and target nature enhancements across 23,000 hectares of land, using this data to inform future investment in nature alongside its traditional business metrics.

Since 2021, more than 800 hectares of peatland have been restored, including over 550 hectares delivered in 2024-25 at key sites such as Loch Katrine, Afton and the Western Isles. 

This work supports carbon capture, improves water quality at source, and strengthens ecosystem resilience.

Alongside this, Scottish Water has created over 500 hectares of new woodland, focusing on native and biodiverse planting as well as natural regeneration. Many of these projects have taken place at strategically important catchments, including Loch Katrine with Foresty and Land Scotland, helping to enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity.

The company has also carried out biodiversity improvements on more than 60 hectares across 30 operational sites, introducing measures such as wetland habitat creation, wildflower meadows, hedgerows, bird and bat boxes, and hibernacula to support a richer and more resilient natural environment.

To ensure this work can be embedded and scaled up across future projects, Scottish Water has developed its own “Biodiversity Standard Product” guidance, providing clear, practical measures that can be adopted consistently by project teams, operational colleagues and contractors.

Headline sponsor NatureScot's Chair, Professor Colin Galbraith said: "At this critical time for nature and people, these nominees reflect the exciting diversity of talent caring for nature in Scotland's communities and businesses. 

“Each project nominated demonstrates that we all need to work together to help nature recover and to protect our precious environment for the future."

The winners of the 2025 Nature of Scotland Awards will be announced at a celebratory event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 20 November 2025.

Scottish Water is honoured to be recognised alongside other inspiring finalists working to secure a nature-rich and climate-resilient future for Scotland.