Thursday 6 January 2022
Global sustainability rating success for largest water retailer
Water Plus is now ranked in the top 30% of companies across the world for its approach around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), after it successfully increased its rating.
The EcoVadis sustainability rating looks at the integration of CSR principles in an organisation.
This 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). It makes it the fourth year running the water retailer has secured an EcoVadis rating.
As well as regularly encouraging their employees to recycle and reduce water waste - whether they’re at home or in work - Water Plus has also been helping organisations of all sizes increase water efficiency and lower operating costs - including identifying and helping businesses repair underground leaks in the last 12 months.
The EcoVadis rating also follows Water Plus receiving a National Silver, in the International Green Apple Environment Awards, for raising awareness on water risks for organisations, increasing partnerships with community groups, and trialling innovative water-saving technology.
And – as part of their wider work - the water retailer is supporting the planting of hundreds of extra trees in the UK. This includes working with the Trees for Cities charity, partnering with them on a variety of projects, and putting trees into the ground in communities across Stoke-on-Trent, where Water Plus has its main office.
Barry McGovaney, Sustainability Lead and Technology and Innovation Manager at Water Plus, said: “Whilst the last year has seen us work with our customers to help support them around the impacts of Coronavirus and reducing water risks to operations, we’ve also been looking at how we can work with others around the impacts we all have on our environment and cut carbon emissions.
“We’ve carried out research – recently and in the past - to raise awareness around water waste and help organisations towards their Net Zero and green goals and we’ve been working behind the scenes and looking at innovative technologies that work with natural resources, including water and heat energy. We’ll continue to review and seek out new technology to help deliver our water management and waste reduction services for our customers – so they can receive the benefits and rewards from these too.
“And we’ll be building on what we’ve already achieved to help customers towards their sustainability goals, as well as continue to work towards reducing the impact we can all have on the environment too. We’ll be doing more around this – and saying more on this area – later this year.”
Water Plus is trialling units that create drinking water from air at its main offices, which are also zero waste to landfill and use paper in the site’s printers that support woodland planting in the UK. The company has also been highlighting how carbon emissions are linked to water and wastewater for organisations and the importance of monthly meter readings to spot issues early.
EcoVadis is the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, with a global network of more than 65,000 rated companies.
More on steps organisations can take to reduce water waste – and cut carbon emissions linked to their operation - can be found at: www.water-plus.co.uk/sustainability.
