Environment

Waterways are great places to visit with more that 2,200 miles (3,540km) of unique historic environment, located on most peoples' doorsteps across the UK. A great deal of our time goes into ensuring they are managed sustainably.

In a world where global warming and the over use of scarce resources has become a critical issue, we recognise that we must do more to reduce our impact on the environment. We are well placed to make a positive contribution. We can do more to change the way we operate, and the waterways can offer opportunities to help others.

Our first challenge is to understand, measure and monitor our impact on the environment across the whole range of our activities. Some of these are positive such as our work on biodiversity and habitat management, others less so, like our use of carbon fuels and primary aggregates. As detailed in our most recent Annual Report & Accounts 2006/07 we buy most of our electricity from renewable sources and have reduced business mileage by 10% since 2003/04, but we know we can do more.

The waterways are an important environmental resource for everyone, for wildlife and for the future. We work closely with the Environment Agency, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales, and local environmental groups in our efforts to deliver the best possible environment to our customers and stakeholders.

Whilst attracting new boaters, anglers and visitors to the waterways is a priority, we are very conscious that this must be achieved in harmony with the environment.