YTL Enterprises (YTLE), the commercial innovation arm of YTL Construction UK, has partnered with Swiss technology group Hypercube that built and operates the first global water credit system to open the UK market. For the first time in the UK, treated wastewater will be converted into tokenised credits that businesses can purchase to offset their residual water footprint while funding local water resilience at scale.
With pressure on freshwater supplies increasing through population growth, climate change, and rising industrial demand, the UK is seeking scalable, verifiable pathways to manage water more responsibly. YTLE’s partnership with Hypercube advances this agenda by introducing in UK a new class of sustainability asset and one that recognises and rewards organisations that invest in water reuse.
This landmark initiative uses treated and recycled wastewater from YTLE’s Water Recycling Facility in Avonmouth, converting every 1m³ of recycled water into a verified digital water credit. These credits can be used by organisations seeking credible, measurable and transparent solutions to address hard-to-abate water impacts and progress toward water-positive strategies.
The Hypercube system has quickly emerged as a global standard as it draws on lessons from both voluntary carbon markets and mandatory compliance frameworks and global initiatives. While carbon markets aim to record environmental benefit, they have at times been challenged by inconsistent verification, complex baseline methodologies, and opaque registries, which can expose companies to greenwashing and fraud risks. Hypercube technology addresses these challenges head on through end-to-end, blockchain-backed traceability of each credit from origination to retirement, combined with direct measurement of each unit of water being reclaimed over impact estimation: this data-first approach to impact assessment and tokenisation provides strong assurance to water credit buyers.
Another unique feature of the Hypercube model is a direct reinvestment mechanism. A significant share of every credit sale is reinvested into local water projects – supporting initiatives such as wetland restoration, river health programmes and community water resilience projects. This ensures that each credit not only represents reduced freshwater abstraction but also creates real, local, additional long term environmental value for the Bristol region and beyond.
Richard McCluskey, Head of Commercial and Customer: “Every litre of water we reuse reduces pressure on the natural environment. By turning this into a verified, transparent credit, we can demonstrate our impact with integrity, support businesses on their sustainability journey, and reinvest in the health of our water environment.
We’re delighted to have partnered with Hypercube and together we can mark a step change for water stewardship in the UK.”
Pietro Gorgazzini, Managing Director of Hypercube: “Opening up UK’s water credit market together with YTLE is a particularly important move for our group because it sends a strong message: the UK is widely known as a rainy country, certainly not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about water shortages, however, water has now become a strategic resource which, when abundant, must be protected and managed efficiently with the same priority as when it is scarce.
The partnership forms part of YTLE’s broader ambition to pioneer new solutions that protect resources, strengthen environmental resilience and support the transition to a low-carbon, water positive, circular economy.