Be wise on water to cut carbon and increase efficiency

Water can cut carbon emissions linked to your organisation – and help reduce energy bills – and this really can involve just a few simple steps. The official water partner for Future Net Zero, Water Plus, outlines how.

Water waste equalling more than 100 tonnes of carbon emissions – and 255 million litres of water – has been stopped, so far, in the first five months of 2022 – with over 500 tonnes of CO2e stopped since 1st January 2021*.

It shows how regular checks on you water use is worth the short time it takes – and can lead to heading off issues early at sites, which could impact supplies.

Saving on your water doesn’t need to be complicated – or cost the earth.

For example, if you have a number of taps, toilets – or even showers – then flow rate restrictors will soon add up to much lower water bills. Regular meter reads, ideally each month, or more frequently, also keeps you on top of costs by spotting water issues early.

Mark Taylor, Advanced Services Operations Manager in England for Water Plus, a Green Apple Environment Award winner and the UK’s largest water retailer, said: “Low-cost push taps and aerators can cut flow rates by 16 litres a minute. Showers can be reduced to 6 litres a minute – making a big difference for workplaces, gyms, spas – and leisure facilities. Heating less water helps the environment too, as less water needs to be transported to a site and less energy is needed to make the water hot, reducing carbon emissions linked to this.

“Tracking your water use regularly is also key to exploring opportunities around reducing carbon emissions at your organisation. If you’re an industrial company, or a manufacturer, you could include these in your daily sites checks, if the water meter is safe to access.

“Use a lot of water or have more than one meter? Data loggers that can be placed on water meters and feed information on water use into an online portal help you spot saving opportunities too – and highlight additional areas needing attention. This data can also be used to see what seasonal trends there may be for your site – whether the weather is hot – or during the colder months when pipes and the ground can be affected by changes in temperatures.”

You can see where energy use happens with water that flows to your site – and is taken away to be treated – here.

To request data loggers, or additional water efficiency services, contact the Water Plus team at: hello@water-plus.co.uk and include “FNZ” or “Future Net Zero” in the email subject heading.

Water Plus, works with organisations across England and Scotland and increased its EcoVadis Sustainability rating from Bronze to Silver in Autumn 2021, following action they started in 2021. It puts them in the top 30% of organisations globally for their approach. The water retailer is also shortlisted for Water Efficiency Project of the Year in the Water Industry Awards 2022 and was named a Finalist in the Environment Award at the Better Society Awards 2022.

* From 1st January 2021 to 26th May 2022, water loss totalling 1333399.46 m3 stopped, measured by water meters, through repairs or isolation). The amount of water equates to 543 tonnes of CO2e (with 95% Returned to Sewers to be taken away to be treated).

From 1 January 2022 to 26th May 2022, 255,453 m3 of water loss was stopped which had a cost of around: and the amount of water equates to 104 tonnes of CO2e (with 95% of the water Returned to Sewers to be taken away to be treated). There are 1,000 litres in a cubic metre of water

CO2e amounts based on Conversion Factors for water and wastewater, published by the UK Government, June 2021.

The Big Zero Show 2022 also covered more ways to make progress around Net Zero and lowering impacts on the planet – and there will be additional content on the event website at: https://bigzeroshow.com/

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