Spending a penny could be costing companies in pounds

Wales' secret weapon against drought this summer could be as simple as targeting toilets and taps, says Envirowise at the start of national Water at Work Week (14-18 August 2006).

New statistics from Envirowise reveal offices in Wales are needlessly wasting 13 millions of litres of water every single working day¹, enough to fill (the Wales National Pool in Swansea / the future Olympic sized swimming pool in Cardiff’s new Sports Village) three and a half times over!

However the Programme - which works with businesses to help them become more resource efficient - estimates Welsh businesses could save £2.4 million in a year², if every office in the country commits to just four basic steps for cutting water waste.

It is estimated that UK office workers each use as much as 35 litres of water every day, 86% of which is a direct result of flushing toilets. With more than 936 thousand office workers throughout Wales³, this alone equates to 28 million litres a day.

The related hand washing can use a further 8 litres per person per day; equating to over 7 million litres in Wales.

Nationally, Envirowise aims to stem this water waste to the tune of 310 million litres by challenging businesses to do the following:

1. Place a litre bottle of water inside each older toilet cistern in your workplace, immediately reducing the amount of flush water used by 20%.
2. Consider installing push / spray taps to reduce water used during hand washing by up to 70%.
3. Log on to the Envirowise water account tool at www.envirowise.gov.uk/wateraccount to calculate your potential cost savings and track water usage on your premises.
4. Check water systems for leaks by monitoring meter readings regularly – if the level changes unexpectedly there could be a leak which needs rapid attention.

Angela Boffy, Envirowise spokesperson for Wales says: "As national debate continues over a long-term response to UK drought – local businesses could be taking quick action right now to protect themselves against future shortages.

"We would urge local companies to dip a toe in the water and find out how much they could save during Envirowise 'Water at Work Week'. With businesses responsible for using a third of all the UK's water, unnecessary waste is no longer something they can afford to ignore."

For further information visit the Envirowise water pages or call the free, confidential Advice Line on 0800 585 794.

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Issued on behalf of Envirowise by Harrison Cowley. Media Contacts: Kathryn Squires or Gemma Coombs at Harrison Cowley on 02920 344717.

Notes to Editors

1. Based on typical water waste of 40 % of total usage for all office workers in Wales (Envirowise). Number of office workers based on ONS labour market statistics. Total water usage estimated to be 35 litres per person per day (Envirowise).
2. Figure based on a possible daily saving of 13,104 cubic metres of water for all office workers in the region, at an average water cost of 0.79 per cubic metre.
3. ONS labour market statistics

• There are almost 200,000 toilet flushes by office workers every minute of the working day.
• The average UK office worker uses 30 litres of water a day just from flushing the toilet.
• Over the course of a year, each UK office worker uses almost 7,000 litres of water by flushing the toilet.
• By fitting a cistern device to a toilet, water usage is reduced by 6 litres per flush, which is effectively one office worker flush per day.

About Envirowise

Envirowise delivers a valuable programme of confidential advice to UK businesses. This advice enables businesses to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact. Independent, practical and proven guidance is available through the Envirowise Advice Line, information resources and on site visits* delivered by a national team of expert advisors. Each solution is driven by the specific needs of individual firms, to genuinely improve their business practices, profitability and competitiveness. Since 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save over £1 billion.

The Envirowise programme is available to any UK business, completely free of charge. For more information visit the Envirowise website or call 0800 585 794.

About Water at Work Week

Water at Work Week was officially launched by Envirowise on 14 August 2006 with the unveiling of an 'underwater office' at the London Aquarium.

The manufacturers of the desk and chairs involved in the underwater office are Blue Marmalade who specialise in designing contemporary products in an environmentally conscious way. They deliberately design out harmful processes, chemicals and materials from products and manufacture all products in ways to minimise environmental impact and use recycled materials wherever they can. They have a zero landfill policy in their manufacturing process and offer to take back products for recycling at the end of their lives. For more information visit the Blue marmalade website.

* Please note that different services are available in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – please contact our Advice Line on 0800 585 794 for more information on whether you are eligible for a site visit.