Severn Trent will provide £10 million to fund community projects that benefit local people and improve the water cycle as it puts public service at the heart of business.
More than 300 projects and charities have already expressed an interest in the fund, which launched this week and will run for five years.
The fund was created after the company asked its customers what they wanted to see their water company doing.
Daisy Powel, the company’s community fund manager told Utility Week: “The key thing customers wanted from a fund was to improve well-being – that’s why we came up with people, places and environment.
“The overall key theme is to improve community wellbeing and it’s exciting to make a real difference in the communities we serve.
“As a water company we encourage applicants to include water in some way, such as river restoration or creating sustainable drainage. It’s not essential for an application but we encourage the connection,” Powell said.
The categories include projects that help people lead a healthier life and gain new skills; projects that help to create better places to live in and use; and projects that will protect the environment as well as giving people better access to it, or to help care for it.
Last year ST released a social purpose report that committed the company to a number of social and environmental pledges.
The community fund further builds upon ST’s amendment to its constitution made in November and reflects a shift across the sector to make social purpose central to business, as supported by Ofwat.
Powell said this ethos is important for the company: “It’s the reason we are doing this. Our business-as-usal activities are to provide water and take away waste but we wanted to think how we can make a difference and be more visible in our communities. This is where we ended up, we can be more than a water company and can provide financial support to the communities that we provide the water to.”
The fund has been set aside by the company from profits and money will be allocated by an independent panel made up of ST customers to projects and charities that improve community wellbeing.