Public First have conducted a report into the impacts of water deficits on business operation and expansion.
Methodology
For the first section, we carried out trend analysis on Water Company Annual Return data submitted to and published by the EA. Additionally, we conducted polling of 586 business decision makers in England to understand their attitudes to water scarcity.
Key Findings
- Despite there being progress in reducing non-household (NHH) water usage in line with the government target of a 9% by 2038, it seems that across businesses, water usage has not been decreasing in recent years. In fact, when extrapolated, it suggests that NHH water usage has been increasing since 2024 and the 9% target will not be met. If this trend continues, up to £10.1 billion of economic growth by 2035 could be blocked.
- Around half of businesses have increased their usage of water, with over a third planning to increase water usage (and nearly half of businesses in the South of England planning to).
- Most businesses believe that water shortages pose a risk to their business, with 31% of all businesses not feeling prepared for handling water-related challenges. There is a willingness to reduce water intensity though, with 62% of firms are interested in reducing their water usage. However, 1 in 5, especially smaller companies, do not know how to.