Water Plus was amongst just 30 organisations from the UK recognised in the Green World Awards 2023, with winners from a range of business sectors and the public sector covering areas including carbon reduction, waste management, sustainability, conservation and biodiversity.
Water Plus also won Gold for Water Management in the Green Apple Environment Awards, in November 2022, for work by its water experts and teams with organisations around their water use.
One hundred extra trees are being planted in 2023 to mark being Ambassadors – and Water Plus is also now a Finalist in The Green World Awards 2024, for its work with organisations to increase water efficiency and engagement with water, along with their awareness-raising approach. It means 200 extra trees have been planted since 2022 through The Green Organisation, as Water Plus continues its Green World Ambassadorship.
Ellie Shufflebotham, a Water Plus Account Manager that works with customers in England and Scotland, visiting sites to share expertise and raise awareness around water use, joined Tim Sewell, Brand Manager at Water Plus, to collect the Green World Ambassador trophy at a presentation ceremony in London. The event – and guest travel – was carbon neutral, the organisers The Green Organisation said.
Water saving results in 2022, through Water Plus work, included a rugby club making a 36% saving in water use, at peak times, after installing water efficiency devices – along with other engagement seeing an estimated £2.9 million of additional water waste being stopped in the space of 12 months (and an estimated 976 million litres of water stopped from being lost unnecessarily)*, through the work between the Water Plus Advanced Services team and organisations in the UK.
The work by the Water Experts at Water Plus, included installing data loggers on water meters in the last year, which feed information into a smart online portal. In December 2022 alone, 50 organisations with data loggers were alerted by the Water Plus Advanced Services team to sudden increases in water use, indicating an issue with site pipes, following low temperatures.
Andy Hughes, Water Plus Chief Executive, said: “It’s great to be Green World Ambassadors again, along with other leading organisations, as we take additional action as a business – and encourage others to take more 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 – and carbon emissions, linked to water use – across England and Scotland, along with identifying issues early that may cause disruption at sites, which also help keep running costs low. As water is under Scope 3 emissions, the work with organisations, by our teams, is helping towards environmental targets across sectors, including Net Zero.”
Through its engagement with organisations around water use and continually gaining efficiency, Water Plus has increased its market performance on meter reading-related activity, with its scores consistently above industry averages and amongst the top sector leaders.**
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.
In November 2022, Water Plus won Gold in the Water Efficiency category at the Green Apple Environment Awards 2022 – and three Silvers, including in the Partnerships category, along with a Carbon Reduction award and an award for supporting habitats and biodiversity in the UK – and further afield.
Water Plus is also the only water retailer to be a Finalist in three categories in the Water Industry Awards 2023 for Water Retailer of the Year, Water Efficiency Project of the Year and Customer Initiative of the Year – after it was the only water retailer to be shortlisted in three categories in 2022, including Water Efficiency Project of the Year and Water Retailer of the Year.
To help increase awareness and engagement with water, Water Plus has released a series of podcasts with Future Net Zero around the importance of organisations looking closer at water use – which can be accessed here – as part of its approach.
More information – and examples – of how Water Plus is helping organisations, is available at: www.water-plus.co.uk/about-us/ .
To partner with the multi-award winning water retailer Water Plus, go to: www.water-plus.co.uk/get-a-quote/ or email switchme@water-plus.co.uk . When emailing please put “ELN Water” in the subject heading.
A large tree-planting initiative involving an extra 225 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 canopy coverage, across England and Scotland in 2020 and 2022. Suggestions for UK planting sites can be made by emailing hello@water-plus.co.uk .
Additional information:
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. Sites chosen would receive trees, which are in packs of 10 UK native broad leaf varieties saplings, from September 2023, in time for the planting season that runs until March 2024. Photos of the planted trees at a location would need to be provided to Water Plus for external use across their channels.
More on the 2023 and 2022 tree-planting and action by Water Plus is here: www.water-plus.co.uk/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility-sustainability/
Water Plus is ranked in the top 25% 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). 2023 is the fifth year running the water retailer has secured an EcoVadis rating. Water Plus was also shortlisted for the Environment Award in the Better Society Awards 2023.
Water Plus is a Finalist in the Green World Awards 2024, which is run by The Green Organisation, and winners will be announced during 2024 for the awards.
Water Plus is a water retailer providing customer service, meter reading and billing for water and wastewater services, along with technical water services and advice on water efficiency, for businesses – from supermarkets, manufacturers and national chains, to corner shops and hairdressers – public sector organisations of all sizes and other organisations – across England and Scotland. Its main office is in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with an office base in Glasgow too, with staff working in Scotland and England.
* From 1st January 2022 to 31 December 2022, estimated water loss totalling 976,445 m3 at an approximate cost of £2.9m – 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 through isolation, or repair). The water is equivalent to around 397 tonnes of CO2e, with 95% water returned to sewer, based on published Conversion Factors per m3 for water and wastewater. There are 1,000 litres in a cubic metre of water.
**The last financial year ended with a 94.6% Market Performance Standard for Water Plus – and moved Water Plus up to fourth amongst 11 water retailers in the industry with 5,000 or more supply points (SPIDs).
Water Plus handles the largest volumes of meter reading-related activities in the industry and was third on its performance amongst the largest water retailers in the industry, in April 2022. The MPS for Water Plus for in-month MPS in April was 94.3% on 1st April 2023.
