Water Plus received a “National Silver” trophy, in November, after their work helping organisations cut water waste and impacts on the environment – along with raising awareness around water use. The company was up against more than 500 other nominations in the International Green Apple Awards.
One hundred extra trees are being planted in 2022 to mark being Ambassadors – and Water Plus is also now a Finalist in The Green World Awards, for its work with organisations to increase water efficiency and engagement with water, along with their awareness-raising approach.
Scott MacIndeor, Head of Advanced Services at Water Plus, collected the Green World Ambassador trophy at a presentation ceremony in London. The event – and guest travel – was carbon neutral, organisers The Green Organisation said.
The work between the Water Plus Advanced Services team and organisations in the UK – including installing data loggers on water meters in the last year, which feed information into a smart online portal, has resulted in around £4 million of additional water waste being stopped in the space of just 17 months (and a billion litres of water stopped from being lost unnecessarily).*
Through its engagement with organisations around water use and continually gaining efficiency, Water Plus has an even higher market performance on meter reading-related activity – in the top three water retailers in market performance (MPS) scores at the start of this financial year.** Boosting the amount of meter reads in the market data help to update customer bills on actual water use, reduces bills based on estimated use and help organisations to budget and, in some cases, save energy where less hot water is used.
Andy Hughes, Water Plus Chief Executive, said: “It’s great to be recognised amongst other leading organisations as we take additional action as an organisation – and encourage others to take steps to reduce impacts on the environment, including boosting water efficiency and saving water.
“Our technical water expertise and customer information and support is helping cut water waste across England and Scotland and identifying issues early that may cause disruption, which also helps keep running costs low. Plus, less water waste means less carbon created, so less Scope 3 emissions, helping towards environmental targets and Net Zero.”
“We’re committed to making sustainability and minimising our environmental impact core to our business, our people and our customers,” he added.
It follows Water Plus supporting the restoration of peatland in the last year, preventing 400 tonnes of carbon being released, helping towards the UK’s Net Zero target.
A large tree-planting initiative involving an extra 500 trees in the UK is also continuing this year after Water Plus, which has a base in Glasgow and one in Staffordshire, started increasing green coverage across England and Scotland in 2020. Suggestions for UK planting sites can be made by emailing [email protected] . Brief details on how planting would benefit the area should be included in emails, which should have the subject heading #NominateforTrees. Water Plus will review all suggestions.
Renewable energy projects have also been supported by Water Plus in 2022, including hydro power and a solar panel farm, which have prevented 500 tonnes of emissions.
Water Plus is also ranked in the top 30% of companies across the world for its approach around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The EcoVadis sustainability rating looks at the integration of CSR principles in an organisation and focuses on 21 issues, which are grouped into 4 themes: Environment (ENV), Labour Practices & Human Rights (LAB), Fair Business Practices (FBP), and Sustainable Procurement (SUP). 2022 is the fourth year running the water retailer has secured an EcoVadis rating.
Water Plus is also shortlisted in the Water Industry Awards 2022 for Water Retailer of the Year, Water Efficiency Project of the Year and Skills and Workforce Initiative of the Year.
Additional notes
**Amongst water retailers with 5,000 or more Supply Points, Water Plus was joint second for its overall performance (data published in April 2022).
Water Plus is a Finalist in the Green World Awards, which is run by The Green Organisation, and winners will be announced during 2023 for the awards.
* From 1st January 2021 to 26th May 2022, estimated water loss totalling 1333399.46 m3 at an approximate cost of £4m – has now been stopped due to Water Plus engagement with organisations (statistic based on actual water meter readings for water loss that has been stopped). There are 1,000 litres in a cubic metre of water. Estimate based on if water loss ran for 12 months.
