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Severn Trent hosted a climate change event in Coventry this week, as part of a nationwide campaign to get people talking about the environment. 

The water and waste company welcomed local government, business, civil society groups, and students to its head office on Tuesday 12th October, to discuss the region’s collective response to tackling climate change.

Tuesday’s event forms part of a wider ‘Walk2COP26’ campaign – which will see a small team walk 500 miles from London to Glasgow, to highlight the power and potential of local climate change action at COP26 and beyond.

Throughout the 26-day journey, organisers will have 500 conversations with people along the way, running eight inclusive events and showcasing 200 high-impact, low-carbon initiatives from around the UK.

Severn Trent’s Head of Corporate Strategy, Sustainability & Group Transformation, Rich Eadie, spoke at the event. He said: 

“With COP26 just weeks away, it’s the perfect opportunity to put climate change into the spotlight. It’s been an honour to host one of these events and play our part in driving awareness regionally, around this most important issue. 

“Our support for this campaign builds on the commitments we’ve already made to combat the effects of climate change. This includes our triple carbon pledge of net zero carbon emissions, 100% renewable energy and a fleet of vehicles that are entirely electric by 2030. 

“We're also embarking on one of the biggest nature projects across the UK, by planting over one million trees and boosting biodiversity across 5000 hectares of land across the Midlands.”

Throughout 2021, Severn Trent has announced a series of ambitions and commitments to help tackle climate change and boost the environment across the Midlands. These include:

• The publication of a new report called ‘Caring for Our Environment’, which outlines the company’s environmental approach;
• A pledge to invest £565million as part of a Green Recovery programme to support the UK’s green economic bounce back and create 2,500 new jobs in the Midlands;
• The global Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approves Severn Trent’s greenhouse gas emission targets - consistent with reductions that are required to keep warming to 1.5°C - the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement, and
• Named official nature and carbon neutral supporter of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (the first ever carbon neutral games).
  

For more information about Walk2COP26, please visit www.walk2cop26.com