Severn Trent Plc Climate Change Action Plan

24 March 2021

Severn Trent Plc

Severn Trent to seek shareholder approval for climate change action plan

The Severn Trent Plc Board today announces its intention to put its climate change action plan before shareholders and seek a non-binding advisory vote on the Company's approach at its AGM on 8 July 2021.

In recent years Severn Trent has increasingly considered how we can both mitigate our own impact on climate change and adapt to the challenges we face in bringing the sustainable provision of services to our customers. We believe it is important that shareholders have the opportunity to engage with the plans we have developed, which we will set out in full ahead of the AGM.

Severn Trent has made a number of key commitments which lie at the heart of our climate change plans:

·    In May 2019, we made our Triple Carbon Pledge - committing to net zero carbon emissions, 100% renewable energy and an all-electric vehicle fleet, by 2030.

·    In March 2020, to support our climate change plan and broader sustainability agenda, we announced £1.2 billion of investment by 2025 in environmental initiatives including planting 1.3 million trees and boosting the biodiversity of 5,000 hectares of land in our region.

·    In January 2021, we submitted several project proposals to Ofwat to invest hundreds of millions of pounds as part of the Green Recovery initiative which, if approved, would enable us to deliver new low carbon water sources, create thousands of new jobs and enhance river quality and flood resilience in our region.

·    This week, we submitted our proposed Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions targets to the Science Based Targets Initiative, committing us to deliver significant reductions in our Greenhouse Gas ('GHG') emissions by 2030. We look forward to finalising these in the coming months.

Our Net Zero Pledge

Severn Trent has been accredited by the Carbon Trust since 2009 and during that time we have consistently reduced GHG emissions from our operations, leading to a total reduction of 57% to the end of 2019/20. Over the same period, we have increased our generation of renewable energy to the equivalent of 491 GWh per year, or 51% of our own energy consumption.

As part of our commitment to credible reduction in GHGs, consistent with a 1.5 degree global warming scenario, we will:

·    Reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2¹ emissions by 46% by 2030, in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative's guideline; and

·    Reduce our Scope 3 emissions by engaging with over 70% of our supply chain to take action on their own emissions.

Working in partnership with the Commonwealth Games

Earlier this month we were pleased to announce our partnership with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to support its ambition to create the most sustainable games yet. We are proud to lead on making it the first carbon neutral games, through a range of nature enhancing offset initiatives, including planting 2,022 acres of forest in the Midlands and 72 mini forests representing each competing nation. Like us, the Games has an ambition to leave a lasting legacy for future generations and we look forward to working with the organising committee in the exciting months to come.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Plc CEO, said, "As a water company we take care of one of life's essentials, so a healthy environment is vital to the long term sustainability of our business. Taking positive action to mitigate climate change and ensure we are resilient to its impact is at the core of that goal. We have set ourselves bold ambitions which we believe will benefit all our stakeholders over the long term, which is why we're pleased to offer this engagement opportunity to our shareholders at our upcoming AGM."

Severn Trent will provide updates on our climate change action plan throughout 2021, starting with the Annual Report and Sustainability Report to be published in June ahead of our AGM on 8 July 2021. At a Capital Markets Day on 24 September 2021, we will also outline our detailed roadmap to Net Zero. The Company will seek an advisory vote every three years on any material changes made or proposed to the climate change action plan.

Annual Results change of date

Severn Trent Plc will now present its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2021 on 19 May 2021 (previously scheduled for 26 May 2021).

Enquiries

¹ Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions calculated in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Scope 1 targets include Biogenic emissions in line with methodology set by Science Based Targets Initiative.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

This document contains statements that are, or may be deemed to be, 'forward-looking statements' with respect to Severn Trent's financial condition, results of operations and business and certain of Severn Trent's plans and objectives with respect to these items.

Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'could', 'may', 'will', 'would', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'projects', 'potential', 'reasonably possible', 'targets', 'goal', 'estimates' or words with a similar meaning, and, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. Any forward-looking statements in this document are based on Severn Trent's current expectations and, by their very nature, forward-looking statements are inherently unpredictable, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and no assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements in this document will be realised. There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond Severn Trent's control that could cause actual results, performance and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: the Principal Risks disclosed in our latest Annual Report and Accounts (which have not been updated since the date of its publication); changes in the economies and markets in which the group operates; changes in the regulatory and competition frameworks in which the group operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against or which affect the group; and changes in interest and exchange rates.

All written or verbal forward-looking statements, made in this document or made subsequently, which are attributable to Severn Trent or any other member of the group or persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements in this document will be realised. This document speaks as at the date of publication. Save as required by applicable laws and regulations, Severn Trent does not intend to update any forward-looking statements and does not undertake any obligation to do so. Past performance of securities of Severn Trent Plc cannot be relied upon as a guide to the future performance of securities of Severn Trent Plc.

Nothing in this document should be regarded as a profits forecast.

This document is not an offer to sell, exchange or transfer any securities of Severn Trent Plc or any of its subsidiaries and is not soliciting an offer to purchase, exchange or transfer such securities in any jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered, sold or transferred in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act of 1933 (as amended).