Supporting our communities
Our Social Impact Strategy
Improving Social Mobility
We use data such as the governments indices of multiple deprivation to ensure that our social impact work is focused on the areas where the need is greatest within the communities we serve. As a result, there is a huge focus on improving social mobility recognising that the barriers people in our communities most in need face can be endemic and span across many generation.
Our commitment to improving social mobility in the Midlands has been recognised for the sixth year running, with Severn Trent been named as one of the country’s top performing companies for improving social mobility, coming in 9th place out of 75 companies. The Social Mobility Employer Index ranks UK employers on the actions they’re taking to ensure they’re open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds.
At Severn Trent, we believe in supporting our customers, especially those who are struggling to pay their bills. This financial assistance is crucial, but we know there's more we can do. To truly make a lasting impact, we need to address the root causes of water poverty and help our communities thrive.
In November 2022, we launched our social impact strategy with a heartfelt pledge to support 100,000 people facing or at risk of water poverty over the next decade. We're working hand-in-hand with local community groups, charities, and businesses to tackle the deep-rooted issues affecting the most deprived areas in our region. Our focus is on areas within the top 10% of the government's indices of multiple deprivation, including East Birmingham, Derby, Coventry, and more recently, Leicester.
A key part of our mission is to enhance skills development and employability. We know that providing support in these areas can significantly boost an individual's social mobility and long-term prospects. Our efforts span four main areas: community employability support, school engagement, opportunities for new talent at Severn Trent, and support for marginalised groups.
Employability
One of our proudest achievements over the past year has been our 'Big Boost' Jobs Fairs, which have helped over 3,000 people search for job opportunities across our region.
In 2024, we also launched the West Midlands Employer Alliance in collaboration with the social purpose charity ReGenerate.
This alliance brings together some of the region's largest companies to collectively support young, unemployed, and overlooked individuals in finding work.
The alliance was born out of the 'Good Jobs Project,' a research initiative by ReGenerate, funded by Severn Trent, and unveiled at a stakeholder event at Birmingham Council House in October 2024.
Community Partnership
Our ability to engage directly with our communities is aided by working in collaboration with community organisations and charities that support local citizens on a regular basis and understand their unique needs.
These partnerships are vitally important to us, as there is an established trust that can help bridge the engagement gap and provide additional wraparound support after the engagement with our teams.
In addition, partnerships with local authorities and government agencies allow us to play a convening role, something that has been incredibly beneficial in starting our own job fairs to support members of our communities to find employment opportunities.
Engaging with Schools
We are currently partnered with 17 schools and colleges within the three focus areas of our Societal Strategy: eight in Birmingham, three in Derby and six in Coventry
For each school, we tailor our approach according to their needs. Sessions are designed to inspire, equip and support pupils in their career journeys.
Work experience
Our work experience offering has grown over the last year!
We continue to offer meaningful work experience opportunities for young people at school, but have now expanded to create programmes and opportunities for people in our communities who would benefit from experiencing the world of work.
We are passionate about supporting and enabling meaningful and good careers education, and our work experience offer has been designed to create engaging experiences for young people to explore the world of work.
In 2024/25, we hosted 505 work experience placements for young people at school, which included providing discovery days and face-to-face placements, 36 paid summer placements and a further 925 individuals completing virtual work experience.
Social Value
In 2024 we began to measure the social value attributed to the social impact interventions undertaken at Severn Trent. We adopted the Government’s Themes, Outcomes, Measures (‘TOMs’) Framework. It is the most widely used and trusted framework for measuring and reporting social value.
The TOMs has helped guide the work we undertake, helping us find a balance between impact and reach as we look to support 100,000 people over 10 years, and in doing so, making as big a difference as measurably possible in the communities we serve. Since 2022, we have generated nearly £7 million of Social Value by supporting more than 26,000 people.
In 2025, we've seen tremendous success from our support activities, helping 15,400 people through our social impact strategy. Our employee volunteering programme gives all employees two paid days per year to participate in voluntary work in our communities.
The impact across all aspects of our strategy for 2024/25 is worth over £4.6 million in social value for the year.
Our Community Fund
In 2020, we launched our Severn Trent Community Fund, which is another means of offering support to the region we serve. On the fifth anniversary of the Fund, we are proud to have donated an accumulated total of over £11 million to 896 organisations over the 5-year period, supporting local organisations that make a profound difference to the communities they serve.
You can read more on our latest Community Fund Annual Report to get the true flavour of the impact made and the stories of the people that have benefited
For the next five years, there will be two funding streams available to help charitable organisations support community wellbeing - one for core funding (up to £20k) and one for new project funding (up to £100k). For organisations interested in applying for funding, please visit our dedicated Community Fund webpage.