Last year, Environment Agency Chief Executive, Sir James Bevan warned that the country is facing an “existential threat” and that within 25 years we could reach the “jaws of death – the point at which, unless we take action to change things, we will not have enough water to supply our needs”.  In their 2017 risk assessment, the Committee on Climate Change confirmed that, under high climate change and population growth scenarios, demand for water could exceed supply in many catchments by 2050.

The WSBF are currently undertaking an inquiry to develop the concept of a Property Resilience Certificate.  In this session we will explore the measures and behaviors that drive down Per Capita Consumption and how credit should be awarded for water efficiency within a certificate.  In order to achieve this, we would like to address the following questions:

• Following last year’s DEFRA consultation and anticipated review of building regulations, where should a minimum PCC target be set?
• How could this be underpinned by mandatory labelling for water using products and how can water labelling be tied to credit within a PRC?
• What other measures that drive efficiency could be incorporated into a PRC (such as adoption of smart meters, in-home audits, rainwater harvesting, greywater re-use) and how should these be prioritised?
• What opportunities are there for policy change in 2020 (Building Regulations review, Environment Bill, Future Homes Standard)?

This roundtable will be chaired by Shadow Environment Secretary, Luke Pollard MP and guest speakers will include:

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering 

Rob Scarrott - Head of Water Resources and Water Efficiency, South West Water

Professor Louise Bracken, Durham University

Lydia Makin - Policy and Projects Manager, Waterwise

For information on how to attend this event please contact WSBF Policy Manager, robert.allen [at] policyconnect.org.uk (subject: Water%20efficiency%20) (Rob Allen)