Corporate report

Environment Agency corporate scorecard 2024 to 2025 - quarter four

Updated 31 July 2025

Applies to England

The corporate scorecard 2024 to 2025 quarter 4 (Q4) starts 1 January 2025 and ends March 2025. The year end is 31 March 2025.

1. Number of properties better protected from flooding

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
115,815	113,272	113,272	Green

Commentary

During quarter 4 of 2024 to 2025, there were 20,913 properties better protected from flooding and coastal erosion by schemes including:

• Pevensey Defences (Solent and South Downs Area): 3,225 properties
• Team 2100 Programme - Thames delivery (Kent, South London and East Sussex area): 2,126 properties
• Deal Beach management (Kent, South London and East Sussex area): 1,333 properties

A total of 27,543 properties were better protected in 2024 to 2025. The cumulative total since April 2021 in now 115,815 properties. This exceeds the target of 113,272. The 5 year programme target is 140,272.

The 27,543 properties are 53% of the 52,000 target set by Defra Secretary of State for 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026.

Properties protected

2024 to 2025 programme cumulative target = 113,272

Number of properties protected

Quarter	Total
Q1 2023 to 2024	61,228
Q2 2023 to 2024	67,734
Q3 2023 to 2024	71,563
Q4 2023 to 2024	88,272
Q1 2024 to 2025	91,433
Q2 2024 to 2025	94,055
Q3 2024 to 2025	94,902
Q4 2024 to 2025	115,815

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
We will ensure projects receive approval for full business case to enable them to begin construction as planned.	project executives and managers	31/03/2027

2. We maintain our flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
92.8	94.5%	94.5%	Red

Commentary

Environment Agency owned and maintained high consequence asset condition for quarter 4 is 92.8% at target condition. This is an increase of 0.6% at the end of quarter 3.

The start of quarter 4 was wet with 2 named storms. However, the remainder of quarter 4, particularly during March, was drier and warmer than average. This more stable weather allowed our teams to undertake asset repair work on site to address asset condition.

Our target this year was to stabilise asset condition at around 92% with additional funding (£36 million), being provided from the capital programme to support the maintenance program and asset repair.

Percentage of our flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition

Quarter	% Actual (rounded)	% Target
Q1 2022 to 2023	91.8%	98%
Q2 2022 to 2023	93.9%	98%
Q3 2022 to 2023	94%	98%
Q4 2022 to 2023	94.5%	98%
Q1 2023 to 2024	93.8%	94.5%
Q2 2023 to 2024	93.5%	94.5%
Q3 2023 to 2024	93.3%	94.5%
Q4 2023 to 2024	92.6%	94.5%
Q1 2024 to 2025	92.2%	94.5%
Q2 2024 to 2025	92.1%	94.5%
Q3 2024 to 2025	92.2%	94.5%
Q4 2024 to 2025	92.8%	94.5%

Number of high consequence assets passing

At or above required target condition (Environment Agency)	Below required target condition (Environment Agency)
37,515	2,900

3. Innovation actions delivered in flood and coastal resilience to adapt to a changing climate

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
94%	80%	80%	Green

Commentary

This measure tracks provision of adaptation and resilience actions through the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation programmes. The programme overall is on track with this quarter’s performance figure unchanged from the previous quarter.

The figures are based on project performance as of quarter 3 2024 to 2025. Development assessments are based on detailed one to one project feedback and quarterly reporting from all projects:

• 2 Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation programme projects are off track out of a total of 25
• 1 is due to a reduction in project scope due to the construction aspect no longer being achievable within the project lifetime (Project Groundwater: Lincolnshire)
• 1 is for significant ongoing uncertainty around a critical aspect of the Tee Tidelands project - this is primarily related to a Biodiversity Net Gain market mechanism being developed as part of their innovation project which the council has declined to adopt.

For both projects, the programme team is working closely to monitor, support and mitigate as necessary. We expect both projects to be resolved by quarter 1 2025 to 2026.

Percentage of actions completed or on track

Quarter	% Actual	% Target
Q1 2024 to 2025	88%	80%
Q2 2024 to 2025	91%	80%
Q3 2024 to 2025	94%	80%
Q4 2024 to 2025	94%	80%

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Continued engagement with project sponsors to ensure project priority.	programme executive	31/03/2027
Ongoing project monitoring via quarterly reporting and project one to ones.	programme manager	31/03/2027

4. Resilience in our capacity to respond to incidents

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
Amber	Green	Green	Amber

Commentary

This measure demonstrates the Environment Agency’s capability to respond appropriately to flooding and other environmental incidents with sufficient resources in a timely and effective way.

Each day, if we are in incident mode, response cells around the country indicate their resilience based on availability of response staff and equipment:

• a green response denotes a specific cell has the staff and resources available and doesn’t compromise the health, safety and wellbeing of those involved - an example would be staff are able to get enough rest between overnight shifts
• an amber indicates partial resilience, with critical roles covered
• a red indicates the cell cannot function to the standards required to provide an effective response to the incident

Between January and March 2025 (quarter 4), there were 856 instances of response cells being scaled up across the country due to wet weather and subsequent flooding. This was a 20% decrease from quarter 3 (1,070 instances). There was one named storm reported during this period compared to 4 in quarter 3.

Our performance is amber due to the proportion of cells that were amber (13.79%) and red (2.22%). The overall performance is similar to last quarter, with a slight decrease in the amount of amber cells, and a slight increase in the number of red cells scaled up. This follows the trend experienced last quarter and suggests that periods of low resilience are becoming more frequent.

Not all areas activated cells. Of those that did, some common issues experienced include:

• problems rostering for the Communications and Engagement (C&E) cell - noting that those with these roles often have other operational incident roles which are a higher priority to fill
• difficulties in filling enhanced rosters, especially during the Easter holidays when staff availability is limited
• challenges in recruiting, training, and retaining volunteer staff for incident roles, with many responders having more than one designated role

5. Air quality is improving

5.1 A reduction in priority air pollutants: (Sulphur oxides, SOx; nitrogen oxides, NOx; fine particulate matter, PM2.5 and non-methane volatile organic compounds, NMVOCs)

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
4 out of 4	4 out of 4 pollutants showing a reduction	4 out of 4 pollutants showing a reduction	Green

Commentary

This outcome measure tracks emissions of 4 key pollutants from 6 significant industry sectors.

The measure gives an indication of the effectiveness of our regulatory work on air quality, principally the review of permits. This is in line with emerging best available techniques/standards, as well as compliance and enforcement activity and engagement with industry

The 6 sectors have recently undergone permit reviews in the last few years, and we therefore predict improvements in emissions.

The permit reviews, conducted over a 4 or 5 year cycle, introduce tighter and more innovative emission control measures on operators. This results in lower atmospheric emissions. Effective and timely reviews will lead to lower emissions for individual sectors over time. In addition, our audits and site visits ensure that operators are complying with permit condition. Our advice and guidance to sectors and operators will support the downward trend in emissions, reflected in the measure. The shutdown or process changes of some installations, in part caused by our increased regulatory requirements, also contribute to emission reductions.

Data for the air quality measure is reported yearly, based on annual returns from the industries being monitored, now available at the end of quarter 4 for 2024 to 2025. The data for the 4 pollutants for the 6 sectors indicate that the ongoing downward trend in pollutant emissions has continued in 2024.

The Environment Agency’s work across the reporting sectors, including compliance visits, monitoring audits, and sector-wide focus on emissions reduction, will continue to support the downwards trend in emission reductions. However, we recognise that the effects of the new technologies and abatement techniques applied at permit review may now be embedded. The downward trend in emissions will eventually start flattening out.

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Sector Leads for the 6 industry sectors included in the measure, to continue focusing on air quality improvements as part of the yearly sector priorities.	Sector leads (E&B)	Q4 2025 to 2026
Air quality leads to review corporate scorecard measure in view of its slow ‘flattening out’ and consider a more activity focused measure to reflect air quality trends.	Monitoring and Assessment Manager	Q2 2025 to 2026
Area Installations Officer to concentrate on compliance visits and audits on the facilities resulting in the greatest pollutant emissions, to determine possibility of decreased emissions.	Installation Officers (areas)	Q4 2025 to 2026

6. Hectares of habitat created or restored delivering environmental net gain

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
730	1,250	1,250	Red

Commentary

We have fallen significantly short of our target for creating or restoring wildlife rich habitat this year. This is the result of serious delays caused by late budget confirmations and the absence of major schemes achieving conclusion.

While we did not meet our target for habitat restoration and creation this year, we still completed 285 projects. These created or restored 730 hectares of wildlife rich habitat, out of a 1,250-hectare target. This was achieved through the combined efforts of our:

• biodiversity teams
• Environment Programme
• fisheries, and flood and coastal risk management teams

These projects have made a significant contribution to nature recovery, supporting vital habitats such as:

• coastal saltmarsh
• mixed woodland
• wet floodplains

They have also benefited significant species including:

• water voles
• brown and sea trout
• European eels

In addition, we:

• planted over 230,000 trees
• enabled around 400 water body improvements
• opened up approximately 260 km of river for fish passage
• completed 48 projects targeting invasive non-native species such as:
  • mink
  • Himalayan balsam
  • giant hogweed
  • floating pennywort

These efforts provide wider benefits beyond biodiversity – enhancing climate change resilience, regulating environmental hazards, and improving air, soil, and water quality.

Much of this work was carried out in collaboration with partners including:

• Rivers Trusts
• local authorities
• Wildlife Trusts
• Natural England
• water companies

Hectares of priority habitat created or restored

Year	Hectares created	Target
2020 to 2021	1,897	1,200
2021 to 2022	1,111	620
2022 to 2023	823	660
2023 to 2024	1,912	1,350
2024 to 2025	730	1,250

7. We protect people and the environment through effective regulation - permit compliance

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
97%	97%	97%	97%

Commentary

This measure shows the percentage of permitted sites that are compliant with their environmental permits.

We are dedicated to being a trusted and respected regulator. Measuring permit compliance with environmental permits provides an indication of our effectiveness as a regulator. It shows how well the environment, and our communities are protected from pollution caused by regulated sites. Of the waste and installation permitted sites assessed in 2024, 97% were compliant, matching the target that was set this year. There are 15 industrial sectors in scope including a range of industry types such as:

• landfill
• Non hazardous waste
• chemicals
• combustion
• food and drink
• metals
• biowaste
• intensive farming
• incineration

Non-compliant operators attract additional fees and regulatory focus and are brought back into compliance using our regulatory tools and powers. Our regulatory compliance activities are targeted according to risk and priority. We have tools and guidance in place to enable officers to make decisions on the most suitable compliance activities on a site by site basis. We are continuing to improve our regulatory guidance, publishing 20 Regulatory Position statements since January 2025. We have plans to update important guidance in 2025 to 2026 to better support permit compliance. We are investing in our regulatory training offer to ensure our officers have the skill set to enable compliance. In January 2025, 3 accredited courses were introduced concentrating on the principles of regulation, and waste and water management. There are further courses in development for quarter 2 2025 to 2026.

We work in an open and transparent way with those we regulate so they understand what’s expected of them. The Compliance Assessment Report forms published on line aim to enhance access and transparency . Reports for waste and installations will be rolled out in summer 2025. Intensive agriculture is due in winter 2025, improving visibility of the Environment Agency’s regulatory role and regulated site’s performance.

We continue to invest in digital systems and technology, so our staff have the tools they need, so:

• it’s easier for businesses to deal with us
• for the public to find out about their environment

The Chief Regulator’s Group will work across regulation, to review, set and assure standards and performance across our regulatory portfolio. Poor compliance remains an issue in the refineries sector, with recurring asset failures and poor maintenance. Interventions are underway to address primary containment losses. Within the energy from waste sector, we will continue to prioritise our compliance activities to ensure that:

• 2024 sites that are rated D,E and F receive a higher frequency of visits
• remedial actions have been completed
• any residual compliance issues are resolved

The chemicals sector has seen an increase in poor performing sites. This has prompted engagement with trade bodies and a planned high level review to identify root causes and improvement options. An in depth root cause analysis in the food and drink sector is underway to develop a sector strategy for reducing incidents.

Percentage of compliant regulated sites

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q4 2022 to 2023	97.6%	97%
Q4 2023 to 2024	97%	97%
Q4 2024 to 2025	97%	97%

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
We will onboard new external training providers to enable an improved training offer for our regulatory officers given in a more efficient way. We will continue to establish the new Chief Regulator as a head of profession for regulation, supported by a new Chief Regulator’s Group.	Deputy Director, Regulatory Resilience	31/03/2026
We will develop and pilot new ways of working to target and assure the effectiveness of our regulatory interventions.	Deputy Director, Regulation Operations Portfolio and Deputy Director, Regulatory Resilience	31/03/2026
We will continue to use and identify a range of regulatory interventions to deal with root causes of noncompliance. We also identify where they may be best used to gain compliance within a sector or regime.	Deputy Director Waste and Resources, Deputy Director Energy and Manufacturing Industries and Deputy Director Agriculture and Land	31/03/2026
We will continue to invest in new and improved systems. For example, our Regulatory Systems Programme, as well as ongoing support for the legacy systems on which our regulatory teams rely to enable effective regulation.	Deputy Director, Future Regulation	31/03/2026

8. Reduce incidents from sites we regulate

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
164	150	<150	Amber

Commentary

This measure sets a ceiling target for incidents from permitted sites and activities. It concentrates on activities we regulate directly through permit and regulatory compliance. The ceiling target is based on average serious incident numbers from 2018 to 2022 and has been set as the baseline. Since the ceiling target was set the number of permits has increased by over 7%. This makes our ceiling target harder to achieve as there are more sites and activities that can contribute serious and significant incidents to the total. We are assessing what this change may mean for our ceiling target in the future.

The number of serious (category 1 and 2) environmental incidents from permitted sites and activities, has stayed above our ceiling target until year end. Incidents from the biowaste treatment sector are slowly falling and incidents from metals recycling, food and drink remain low.

In the second half of 2024, there were higher numbers of incidents originating from:

• landfill sites
• non-hazardous waste sites
• water companies

Prolonged wet weather in spring and summer 2024 affected these sectors, resulting in increased incidents. Increased rainfall caused high numbers of odour reports from landfill sites, where rain affects gas and leachate generation, and non-hazardous waste sites. Higher rainfall also led to increased incidents from sewage treatment works, contributing to storm overflows and pump issues.

Incident numbers fell again as January to March 2025 had below average rainfall across much of England. The highest numbers of incidents continue to originate from landfill sites, non-hazardous waste sites and water companies.

Our work to reduce incidents from landfill sites concentrates on prioritising operational improvements through:

• proactive regulation
• managing gas
• challenging waste misdescription

This is to ensure sites only accept the right waste, minimising the risk of odour problems. We support teams with specialist advice on technical, regulatory, and enforcement matters.

The most frequent incidents from non-hazardous waste sites affect amenities, commonly involving odour and smoke. There has been a rise in fires at non-hazardous waste sector premises during 2024 to 2025. This is a priority for the coming year.

The number of serious pollution incidents from water companies remains high. The sector won’t meet the requirements in the water industry strategic environmental requirements (WISER) guidance and its commitment to trend to zero serious incidents. The Water Industry Regulation Transformation Programme is enabling the aim to significantly increase inspections of water company sites. The target of 4,000 compliance inspections has been exceeded for this year (since 1 March 2024). We have more regulatory officers inspecting waste water assets and attending pollution incidents. We require water companies to report on actions to reduce incidents in their pollution incident reduction plans (PIRPs). Our increasing compliance inspections and use of improved digital and data tools is improving our understanding of risk and leads to further incidents being recorded.

We have reviewed our ongoing actions against the work we are doing to concentrate on regulatory effectiveness. We are developing a plan across all sectors to understand risks and reduce the likelihood of incidents.

Number of incidents against target

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q1 2023 to 2024	133	150
Q2 2023 to 2024	127	150
Q3 2023 to 2024	130	150
Q4 2023 to 2024	142	150
Q2 2024 to 2025	135	150
Q3 2024 to 2025	165	150
Q4 2024 to 2025	164	150

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
External facing guidance: Appropriate measures for landfill odour management and battery storage are being drafted. Biological treatment appropriate measures guidance published.	Regulatory Deputy Directors	Ongoing programme
Internal support for regulatory and permitting officers - transfer and storage of food waste guidance, this has been shared with trade associations, relating to simpler recycling reforms. Sector group meetings to discuss technical aspects of compliance and permit review conditions.	Regulatory Deputy Directors	Ongoing programme
Internal training ongoing - landfill specific odour training, biowaste training being developed.	Regulatory Deputy Directors	Ongoing programme
Developing work: Regulatory position on waste acceptance criteria for high sulphate bearing waste. Increase to 10,000 water company inspections during the financial year 2025 to 2026.	Regulatory Deputy Directors	Ongoing programme
Ongoing permit work: Completed permitting for all sewage sludge anaerobic digestion installations. Biowaste permit reviews. Metals recycling permit reviews to implement BAT standards and relevant appropriate measures guidance.	Regulatory Deputy Directors	ongoing programme
Use evidence to prioritise our work: Causes of fires at non-hazardous waste sites, Root cause of food and drink incidents investigation.	Regulatory Deputy Directors	Ongoing programme
Developing work to improve the data quality of recorded incident data and ensure it is trustworthy.	Chief Regulators group Deputy Director and Strategy Transformation and Assurance Deputy Director	Ongoing programme

9. Sewage treatment works brought into compliance

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
83%	90%	90%	Amber

Commentary

This measure reports on the number of failing water company permitted sites that have been returned to compliance. There were 105 failing sites identified in 2023 to 2024, of which 87 sites were brought back into compliance during 2024 to 2025. This equates to 83% of failing sites being returned to compliance, an amber score against a target of 90%. This is in line with our predicted end of year performance for this KPI.

In the first 6 months of this financial year, 81 of the 105 failing sites (77%) had been brought back into compliance. There were a further 6 sites in the second 6 months. The remaining 18 sites not brought back into compliance are those that require significant investment and infrastructure changes. Achievement of the target of 90% of sites reaching compliance is dependent on water companies undertaking that significant investment.

Compliance inspections have been prioritised in line with our increased scrutiny of water companies, with an emphasis on those sites that pose the highest risk to the environment. To support this, we have recruited new water industry regulatory officers and during 2024 to 2025 completed 4,626 inspections of:

• waste water treatment works
• sewage pumping stations
• combined sewer overflows

This is over 3 times more than the 1,300 carried out in 2023 to 2024.

This extra scrutiny has identified further non-compliances and so the number of failing sites for this KPI will be higher for 2025 to 2026. Revisions to this measure for next year will better demonstrate how we are utilising our full range of regulatory powers to drive compliance across the Water Industry. This includes, compliance action plans (CAPs) and investigation and enforcement activity into the measure.

We are working with government on the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 which will increase the powers of our regulatory officers. This will enable us to act faster and with greater effect, and ensure the water companies are accountable for improved performance.

Number of sewage treatment works

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q2 2024 to 2025	81	105
Q4 2024 to 2025	87	105

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Increased inspections and data analysis are identifying more permit breaches at water company waste water discharge sites. We are taking action to require them to rectify the breaches including compliance action plan, compliance notices and other enforcement options. Also, we will soon be able to use new Water Special Measures Bill powers to deter offending and increase compliance.	Compliance, Incidents and Enforcement Manager - Water Industry Regulation	Ongoing

10. Water company compliance inspections

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
4,626	4,000	4,000	Green

Commentary

This corporate scorecard measure reports on the number of onsite inspections completed at:

• permitted waste water treatment works
• sewage pumping stations
• combined sewer overflows operated by water and sewerage companies

The target number of inspections for 2024 to 2025 was 4,000, which is a threefold increase on around 1,300 inspections completed last year. The increase has been funded by the uplift in subsistence charges for water company wastewater discharge regulation.

Compliance inspections have been prioritised in line with our increased scrutiny of water companies. This can be seen in the consistent high performance towards our target throughout the year. These regulatory inspections are part of a package of measures to increase regulatory scrutiny to drive improvements to water company environmental performance.

We completed a total of 4,626 inspections against a target of 4,000, a strong performance, finishing the year at 116% of target. Individual water company contributory targets were all met without exception, demonstrating a consistent collaborative effort from all areas towards this priority work.

For 2025 to 2026 the target is increasing significantly again, this time from 4,000 to 10,000 inspections, a 2½ times increase. This will be a challenging target for the Environment Agency to achieve, especially alongside the ongoing training and upskilling of newly recruited officers.

Water company inspections completed against target

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q2 2024 to 2025	1,932	686
Q3 2024 to 2025	3,246	1,828
Q4 2024 to 2025	4,626	4000

11. Local authority planning applications influenced

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
97%	97%	97%	Green

Commentary

Performance in quarter 4 was 96%, which has ensured that the performance for the whole year is 97% and green. In this quarter there were 51 decisions recorded that weren’t in line with our advice:

• 40 where we had raised objection
• 11 where a condition we had requested wasn’t included in the final decision

There were 3 objections made due to unacceptable risk to groundwater/water quality and one objection raising concerns over detrimental impacts on nature conservation. All the other objections related to flood risk concerns:

• 23 on the basis of none or inadequate flood risk assessments - or the development proposed was incompatible with the flood zone
• 1 objection related to concerns regarding culverting of a watercourse
• 5 objections were due to the proximity of the proposed development to main river watercourses - which would hinder our ability to maintain and/or improve those rivers thereby increasing flood risk

The final objections related to unacceptable risk to life and property and a failure to demonstrate that the Sequential Test. This steers development to the areas of lowest flood risk, had been adequately conducted. The conditions that weren’t included in the final decision related to land contamination/groundwater protection and implementation of mitigation measures identified in flood risk assessments.

Most planning decisions are made in line with our advice. Where we do have to raise objections, we work hard with developers and the local planning authorities to try and resolve issues. Of the decisions recorded in quarter 4 there were 234 planning applications where we’d initially raised objections, but by engaging with developers we managed to resolve our concerns. Thereby facilitating the creation of 19,253 new residential units should all these planning permissions be implemented. These residential developments, if built, would help contribute over £3.2 billion to UK economic output. While we are one of several consultees who provide planning advice, this appears to represent an excellent return on the Environment Agency’s £3 million quarterly spend on this vital work.

Percentage of decision notices where local planning authorities have accepted our representations

Quarter	Total
Q1 2023 to 2024	97%
Q2 2023 to 2024	97%
Q3 2023 to 2024	97%
Q4 2023 to 2024	97.4%
Q1 2024 to 2025	96.4%
Q2 2024 to 2025	97.8%
Q3 2024 to 2025	97.4%
Q4 2024 to 2025	97%

12. Percentage of development consent orders (DCOs) for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) that we successfully influence

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
100%	97%	97%	Green

Commentary

In quarter 4 there were 6 development consent order (DCO) decisions made by the Secretaries of State. We had requested the inclusion of 35 requirements to prevent the development from adversely affecting the environment and all 35 were included in the final decision. We have therefore been successful in ensuring that in all the DCO decisions made this year they included the requirements necessary to ensure they would not have unacceptable detrimental environmental effects. By engaging early and working with the promoters of these large projects we can help provide the nation’s crucial infrastructure and at the same time ensure the protection of the environment.

In total for 2024 to 2025, we have had 61 applications and all 61 have had the requirements we have recommended.

Percentage of DCOs

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q1 2024 to 2025	100%	97%
Q2 2024 to 2025	100%	97%
Q3 2024 to 2025	100%	97%
Q4 2024 to 2025	100%	97%

13. Industry compliance reduces carbon emissions

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
87%	80%	80%	Green

Commentary

The Environment Agency serves as both the regulator and administrator for important UK regulatory frameworks. These are designed to encourage reductions in carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency across business and industry. Compliance with these regulatory requirements is the primary indicator of how effectively these schemes contribute to the drive to net zero.

The measure shows our performance on our critical net zero regimes / measuring compliance with important statutory deadlines provides an indication of our effectiveness as a regulator.

We launched a proactive campaign to support compliance efforts making sure that businesses already involved understand their responsibilities. We’ve also reached out to those who haven’t yet engaged, working closely with:

• sector associations
• trade bodies
• other partners

To help companies stay informed, we’ve encouraged them to sign up for our newsletter, which provides updates on important compliance deadlines, guidance on setting up accounts, and where to find support.

After the compliance deadline passed, our team began using a new digital system to track and manage compliance. We’ve been working through the process step by step, categorizing companies based on their status and helping them meet the necessary requirements.

Quarter 4 performance includes compliance rates from the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme and UK Emissions Trading Scheme, as well as our regulation of fluorinated gases and ozone depleting substances.

Percentage of compliant returns

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q1 2024 to 2025	95%	80%
Q2 2024 to 2025	74%	80%
Q3 2024 to 2025	79%	80%
Q4 2024 to 2025	87%	80%

14. Number of farm inspections

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
4,540	4,000	4,000	Green

Commentary

It has been a great effort to successfully achieve the 4,000 national farm inspection target. Despite a challenging backdrop the agriculture regulatory taskforce is now moving into its fourth year with a stable and skilled workforce. This helps it stay on track to achieve the target. It support the aspiration of clean and plentiful waters through:

• improving behaviours
• increasing compliance
• reducing the number of pollution incidents

This year, we have issued 6,889 improvement actions to farmers and 6,195 actions were confirmed as completed in this period. We continue to prioritise following up overdue actions to ensure farmers take measures necessary to protect the environment. We have issued 827 enforcement responses and completed 2 prosecutions.

As the number of farm inspections increases, we also expect to see an increase in enforcement actions. To minimize disruptions to inspections, additional resources have been allocated to support agricultural officers. Further work is being done to determine the balance of inspection, follow up compliance and enforcement work to enable best environmental outcomes with the resources available. We are working across areas to standardise this approach.

Number of farm inspections

Quarter	Actual	Target
Q1 2024 to 2025	1,028	977
Q2 2024 to 2025	2,302	1,984
Q3 2024 to 2025	3,394	3,103
Q4 2024 to 2025	4,540	4,000

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
Continue to ensure that agriculture farm inspections are prioritised and that any Agriculture Regulatory Inspection Officer vacancies are prioritised for backfill.	Area directors	31/03/2026
Ensure that actions issued to farms during inspections are completed in a timely manner.	Area directors	31/03/2026
Understand the balance of inspection, follow up compliance and enforcement work to enable the best outcomes with the resources available. Work across areas to standardise this approach.	Area directors	31/03/2026

15. We stop high risk illegal waste sites

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
143	90	90	Green

Commentary

The Environment Agency stopped 143 high risk illegal waste sites during 2024 to 2025.

This metric helps measure the Environment Agency’s action to prevent and stop waste crime by targeting illegal waste sites that pose the greatest risk to communities, the environment, and legitimate businesses. We continued to identify new sites operating illegally.

We met our target, demonstrating strong operational performance. This work supports the government’s resource and waste strategy, sustainable development goals, and the ambition to eliminate waste crime and illegal sites by 2042.

The Environment Agency’s crime priorities include:

• the misdescription of waste
• responding to illegal dumping
• closing waste illegal sites
• preventing the illegal exports
• responding to producer responsibility fraud and organised crime

We know that waste crime is currently underreported and we should always remain cautious interpreting the data.

Number of high risk illegal waste sites stopped

Quarter	Total	Target
Q1 2022 to 2023	188	195
Q2 2022 to 2023	180	190
Q3 2022 to 2023	190	185
Q4 2022 to 2023	175	180
Q1 2023 to 2024	167	164
Q2 2023 to 2024	167	161
Q3 2023 to 2024	134	154
Q4 2023 to 2024	141	151
Q1 2024 to 2025	28	17
Q2 2024 to 2025	65	41
Q3 2024 to 2025	111	62
Q4 2024 to 2025	143	90

16. Net zero carbon by 2030

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
261,414	250,697	<250,697	Amber

Commentary

At the end of 2024 to 2025, total greenhouse gas emissions from Environment Agency activities were above target at 104%. Notably, air travel to Europe (a Greening Government Commitment target) has increased despite the availability of Eurostar alternatives. While emissions decreased by 3% compared to last year, they remain 5% higher than our 2019 to 2020 baseline. Targeted actions in construction activities have improved the deployment of low carbon technologies and data quality. A similar systematic approach will be needed across other sectors to drive innovation and achieve both our operational and sustainability goals.

Construction

Construction activities account for 62% of total emissions. Although emissions are within budget, they are not aligned with the glide path needed to achieve a 45% reduction by 2030. However, carbon emissions per £10,000 spent have reduced by 22%. This is driven by incentivised performance targets with partners and the rollout of low carbon technologies through the Decarbonisation Technology Acceleration Programme. Examples include use of eco sheet piling at Littleborough and 3D machine control at Eastbourne and Pevensey. Notably, 30% of reported construction data is now based on actuals, up from 3% at the start of the year.

Fleet, travel and offices

Electrification of the vehicle fleet remains a priority to meet the government’s 100% EV target by 2027, with 72% of lease vehicles now electric. Car travel has decreased, with more employees shifting to train travel. Emissions from office use have increased by 10%, largely due to higher gas usage from a colder winter.

Computers

Carbon emissions in this category are driven by both our cloud computing demand and emissions associated with the embodied carbon in the devices we purchase. We currently have 2.7 devices per person with an upward trend. The opportunity to drive down cost and reduce carbon can be realised through device rationalisation.

Other Emissions (inc pumping, air travel, survey boats and train travel)

Pumping related emissions have decreased, likely due to a drier winter compared to 2023 to 2024. Conversely, emissions from LIDAR planes and survey boats increased by 26% and 3%, respectively, influenced by program size and weather conditions. Similarly, indirect emissions from train and air travel have risen by 30% and 36%, with most of the air travel directed towards Europe for external meetings and conferences.

Quarterly Carbon dioxide equivalents emissions

Quarter	Total (tonnes)
Q1 2022 to 2023	53,901
Q2 2022 to 2023	121,056
Q3 2022 to 2023	181,032
Q4 2022 to 2023	295,832
Q1 2023 to 2024	100,031
Q2 2023 to 2024	139,658
Q3 2023 to 2024	171,387
Q4 2023 to 2024	269,339
Q1 2024 to 2025	78,658
Q2 2024 to 2025	126,176
Q3 2024 to 2025	181,434
Q4 2024 to 2025	261,414

Actions	Owners	Deadlines
The actions in the net zero roadmap should be refreshed. All relevant directors responsible for different emissions areas will need to engage with the Sustainable Business team (to update their actions) to coordinate this refresh. This is in line with the recommendations from the recent internal audit on net zero.	Executive Director, Strategy, Transformation and Assurance (STA)	End of quarter 2 2025 to 2026
International travel forms should be scrutinised more closely to ensure Eurostar train travel is taken.	All Executive Directors	31/03/2025
Commission a project to investigate low carbon alternatives to our monitoring programmes for survey vessels and LIDAR planes.	Director Environmental Monitoring in conjunction with Sustainable Business.	Quarter 1 commission/Report quarter 4
Rationalise IT devices to reduce cost and carbon associated with them - as per net zero roadmap action. Scope project to rationalise devices by quarter 2.	Deputy Director DDTS	End of quarter 2 2025 to 2026

17. Efficiency savings – Combined: cash releasing grant in-aid and charges

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
£35.084 million	£23.6 million	£23 million	Green

Commentary

The Environment Agency committed to achieving the full £23.6 million GiA reductions set out by SR21.

By year end, the Environment Agency:

• quantified £34.096 million in monetisable non cash releasing productivity gains
• an additional £0.988 million in cash releasing savings was also identified

This exceeded the final target by 149%. These efficiencies were realised through a combination of:

• project delivery
• prioritisation
• optimisation of personnel, financial and material resources

During 2024 to 2025 all the directorates improved tracking of change projects and benefits management and start collaborating to consistently monitor and assure benefits. Strategy, Transformation and Assurance (STA) has instigated 12 ‘hub and spoke’ reviews looking across the organisation. This is to remove duplication of activities that are provided through centralised services and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service provision. These efficiencies form part of an organisational efficiency programme overseen by the Executive Directors team sub committee on transformation.

Several IT solutions are being proposed to release efficiency, which also need to be prioritised alongside increasing costs of digital systems and services.

In 2025 to 2026, further work on transformation is planned, which will result in improved efficiency identification and quantification.

18. We have a diverse workforce

The percentage of our staff who are from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
6.5%	7.6%	7.6%	Red

Commentary

We have an in year target of 7.6% ethnic minority representation. As of 31 March 2025, 6.5% of our workforce (884 individuals) has declared that they are from an ethnic minority background (excluding white ethnic minority backgrounds). This marks a 0.4% point increase compared to quarter 4 of the previous financial year (2023 to 2024). This is the highest number of staff from an ethnic minority background that we have had in the organisation. It is worth highlighting however, that the rate of increase has notably slowed compared to recent years and we are still far from our long term goal of 18%. This is in line with the diversity of the total population in England and Wales recorded in Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census 2021 data. We continue to set in year stretching targets to build on development.

In quarter 3 and quarter 4, 38 leavers were from an ethnic minority background. Of those leavers, 50% (19) completed an exit questionnaire. Based on the questionnaire data, the top reasons for leaving the organisation for colleagues from an ethnic minority background were:

• end of contract (26%)
• job dissatisfaction (26%)
• career change (21%)
• lack of progression (21%)

There are some broad similarities in the top reasons for all staff who completed the exit questionnaire during this period. The most common reasons for all leavers were:

• career change (24%)
• lack of progression (21%)
• job cissatisfaction (18%)
• lack of career opportunity (18%)

Nevertheless, ‘End of Contract’ stands out as both the most common reason among leavers from an ethnic minority background and the only protected characteristic where it ranks within the top 3 reasons for leaving. This has emerged as a contributing factor for ethnic minority leavers over a number of years. This suggests the need for further analysis to determine the factors contributing to the high prevalence of ‘End of Contract’ as a reason for leaving among this group.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic background staff as % of all staff

2024 to 2025 target = 7.6%

Quarter	Total
Q4 2022 to 2023	5.3 %
Q2 2023 to 2024	5.7%
Q4 2023 to 2024	6.1 %
Q2 2024 to 2025	6.4%
Q4 2024 to 2025	6.5 %

The percentage of senior staff who are female

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
48%	50%	50%	Amber

Commentary

We have a target of 50% female representation at executive manager level. Based on the information as captured in the single operating platform (SOP) as of 31 March 2025, 48.39% (60 individuals) of our executive managers were female. This is an improvement of 2.7%points from 45.69% (53 individuals) a year ago. This is the highest individual number of female executive managers we have had. However, the representation rate has remained somewhat static over the past 3 years, with a peak of 48.54% in quarter one of 2023 to 2024. While absolute parity is typically defined as a 50:50 split, a differential of 1.61% points is statistically very close, especially given the small population size at this level. From a data analytics perspective, this level of representation can be considered functionally equivalent to parity. Attention going forward therefore should be on ensuring that the conditions that enabled these improvements (eg support for staff with caring responsibilities) remain embedded. We continue to support our inclusive recruitment practises to support diversity at senior levels.

As of 31 March 2025, 41.83% (274) of our grade 7 managers were female, a slight increase from 41% (262 individuals) a year ago. This is the highest number and representation rate of grade 7 managers we have seen. That said, our grade 7 cohort represents a substantial management population where there is still significant room for improvement in achieving balanced gender representation. Moreover, the wider organisational grade profile highlights the importance of understanding our development pipeline from grade 3 through to grade 7. We are pleased that our gender pay gap for the past 2 years has been very small, slightly favouring women. The advancement highlighted here could indicate an opportunity to shift our strategic attention to more nuanced analyses. While headline gender parity may have essentially been achieved at the executive level, this masks other disparities, especially when gender is viewed alongside other characteristics such as:

• ethnicity
• sexual orientation
• disability
• socio-economic background

Percentage of senior staff who are female

2024 to 2025 target = 50%

Quarter	Total
Q4 2022 to 2023	48%
Q2 2023 to 2024	47.2%
Q4 2023 to 2024	45.7%
Q2 2024 to 2025	46%
Q4 2024 to 2025	48%

19. Minimised time lost to work related injuries

Q4 Actual	Q4 target	2024 to 2025 target	Q4 Status
0.09	0.11	<0.11	Green

Commentary

This quarter there were 5 lost time incidents (LTIs) relating to Environment Agency employees:

• 2 events related to slips, trips and falls at the same level
• 2 related to manual handling
• 1 related to a broken strap on a sprayer knapsack.

The 2024 to 2025 total of 22 LTI’s is lower than the 2023 to 2024 total of 25. The LTI rate ended at 0.09, but has remained fairly steady over the year at 0.11. Therefore, minimal improvements are being seen to reduce the incidents that result in lost time. Looking back over the last 4 years limited success has been made to a downwards move.

For the new financial year, a broader definition of LTI is being used (i.e. including road traffic accidents), making it more challenging to meet the LTI frequency rate target of 0.11.

Lost time incident frequency rate per 100,000 hours

12 month rolling average

Quarter	Number
October 2022	0.06
November 2022	0.08
December 2022	0.08
January 2023	0.10
February 2023	0.10
March 2023	0.10
April 2023	0.09
May 2023	0.10
June 2023	0.09
July 2023	0.10
August 2023	0.10
September 2023	0.11
October 2023	0.10
November 2023	0.10
December 2023	0.10
January 2024	0.09
February 2024	0.10
March 2024	0.10
April 2024	0.11
May 2024	0.11
June 2024	0.11
July 2024	0.11
August 2024	0.11
September 2024	0.11
October 2024	0.11
November 2024	0.10
December 2024	0.10
January 2025	0.10
February 2025	0.11
March 2025	0.09

Number of LTIs

Quarter	Number
Q1 2023 to 2024	3
Q2 2023 to 2024	7
Q3 2023 to 2024	6
Q4 2023 to 2024	8
Q1 2024 to 2025	3
Q2 2024 to 2025	6
Q3 2024 to 2025	8
Q4 2024 to 2025	5