UK water utility Northumbrian Water Group has released its first yearly report incorporating measures of its overall impact as a business, going beyond the much narrower financial measures contained in standard annual reports.

The report has the title ‘Our Contribution’ and is based on use by NWG of the Total Impact Measurement and Management framework of consultancy PwC. It covers the five capitals NWG relies on as a business for its good and services: financial capital, manufactured capital, natural capital, human & intellectual capital, and social capital.

According to the company, the initiative represents an innovative new approach to annual reporting and provides a perspective on the company’s influence and impact in the wider economy, environment and society. It says that it will be working over the coming year to develop more detailed metrics to measure its impacts and their value to society.

As well as using the PwC framework in making the assessment, NWG took advice from PwC and consulted inside and outside of its business.

The group provides water and sewerage services to 2.7 million people in the north east of England and water services to another 1.8 million people in the east of England.

In a statement from the company, NWG CEO Heidi Mottram commented: ‘Our work in this area is ambitious and ground-breaking, and we are excited to see this developing and contributing to achieving our vision of sustainably leading our sector.’

‘Our contribution – Northumbrian Water Group’s environment, social and economic impact report for the year’ can be downloaded at: www.nwl.co.uk/_assets/documents/NW_Our_Contribution_report_final.pdf