Common Value Framework Consultation – Capturing and valuing the benefits of NbS in a robust, consistent and comparable way  

We are delighted to share our Water Industry Common Value Framework (CVF) created to enable consistent and comparable best value investment planning for PR29 and beyond. The CVF provides a repository of monetary values for investment outcomes common to the UK water sector with a clear and robust audit trail. A common approach to defining value can support comparability between companies, support company and regulatory decision making and help to prioritise nature-based and innovative solutions.

The framework is aimed at technical leads on value assessment in water companies and is intended to be implemented using a decision-support tool, although this is not a prerequisite for application.

With the aim to support a common definition of “best value” in the water sector, the CVF will enable a fair assessment of the key role that nature-based solutions have in addressing multiple pressures, while delivering multiple benefits and providing resilience to our water systems in order to incentivise their long-term investment and delivery.

The development of the Common Value Framework over the last 18 months has been a collaborative process, driven by the Ofwat Funded Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions Programme and guided by a cross-company Practitioner Group of industry experts and a Regulatory Check and Challenge Group. We have engaged with a diverse array of stakeholders including Decision Support Tool providers, local authorities, and NGOs who have provided insights into their perspectives and approaches in assessing value.

Our efforts have been rigorously challenged and refined by the Mainstreaming NbS Technical Working Group, Project Board and Policy and Implementation Board, consisting of representatives from other groups and sectors, to increase the framework’s robustness and credibility.

It has been designed to meet the requirements of the regulatory framework including Price Reviews and statutory planning where possible and specifically to align with the Environment Agency’s approach to Natural Capital including the recently released NCEM (Natural Capital Evidence Metrics).

We are now welcoming wider feedback on this draft of the CVF and, in particular, welcome your thoughts on the following key areas

• The breadth of service measures
• The impact pathway mapping
• The sources of valuation
• Adoption by your organisation
• Impact on the prioritisation of NbS

Please provide your views by 15^th September 2025 via this form.

On release of the final version (Autumn 2025) , we are planning further engagement. In the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions please get in touch with the team via this mailbox and one of the team will get back to you.

The CVF team would like to thank you so much for all your support and enthusiasm so far. We are very excited for the next stage of development and look forward to working with you on this.

Best wishes, The CVF Team

(Luke McLaughlin, Katie Ward, Lu Yang, Louise Ellis, Rose Jenkinson, Jack Keighley, Louisa Rhodes, Adrian Rees, Thomas Sagris and Celia Austin)