According to sustainable business experts Envirowise, Scottish businesses could be collectively missing out on cost savings of over £120 million each year by ignoring the benefits of water efficiency.
In a recent survey 56%* of businesses in Scotland said they are not currently measuring or monitoring their water use at all, and a huge 83% do not have any water reduction targets in place.
Water remains a costly resource with companies across the country consuming an average of 524 million litres of fresh tap water every day** – enough to fill almost 210 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
However, these businesses could reduce their water use by as much as a third if they were to take steps to measure and monitor usage more effectively, says Davina Wyper, Envirowise marketing manager for Scotland.
"With over £363 million being spent on water by Scottish businesses each year there is significant potential to save money and reduce environmental impact by taking action on water efficiency," advises Davina.
"That's why we're encouraging organisations to take the plunge and sign-up for the Big Splash, a national initiative offering free online advice and onsite visits to help companies to cut water waste and the associated costs."
Now that Scottish businesses have the opportunity to choose their water and wastewater supplier after The Water Services (Scotland) Act 2005 came into force in April 2008, there is opportunity to take advantage of reduced prices by switching supplier. This needn’t be a time-consuming exercise and Envirowise urges businesses to visit www.scotlandontap.gov.uk
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Davina continues "Many Scottish businesses remain unaware of just how financially draining a company's water usage can be. It's important to recognise that water falling from the sky is not the water that comes out of our taps. Water requires purification, pumping, waste-water treatment and infrastructure maintenance, which costs almost £2 per cubic metre***.
"We were surprised to see that 45% of those surveyed did not believe it was possible to reduce their water bill at all by improving water efficiency. Clearly, this is a missed opportunity and one that offers valuable cost saving potential, as well as reputational benefits for companies taking action and demonstrating a commitment to the environment."
Big Splash is an Envirowise initiative providing Scottish companies with dedicated help to reduce their water use and wastewater. Including an onsite visit from an Envirowise expert, companies who sign-up to the initiative will have exclusive access to online toolkits which can monitor, measure and benchmark water use. A business will also be able to compare its water consumption with other companies in the same sector and be given advice on ways to put simple, effective resource efficiency measures in place to reduce its water waste, and significantly boosting its bottom line as a result.
Many Scottish businesses have already benefited from the Big Splash including Diageo, Glasgow University, MAHLE Engine Systems, and National Semi Conductor who have collectively saved almost £215,000 to date****.
Businesses interested in getting involved should visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/bigsplashscotland or call the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794.
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* Millward Brown survey, May 2009
** Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2008: Scottish Government (ref. Scottish Water)
*** Scottish Water
**** Envirowise - www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland