Firms urged to do their bit on World Water Day

Sustainable business advisory body Envirowise is urging businesses to use today's World Water Day as the starting point for renewed efforts to curb their water use.

The government-backed body estimates UK offices needlessly waste 310m litres of water daily and claims that by implementing simple efficiency measures companies could slash their water bills by up to a third and get a slice of estimated savings worth £507m a year to UK plc.

A spokesperson for Envirowise said that such savings can be realised with a relatively small outlay, adding that improving water efficiency represents "one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to achieve cost savings" for any office.

For example, simple water management techniques such as a variable flush mechanism cost around £20 but could save approximately four litres every flush. According to Envirowise, this measure alone pays for itself within a week and delivers annual savings of up to £500 per employee.

Other low or no cost steps to save water and money include turning off taps fully and replacing leaking hoses and worn tap washers.

Envirowise claims that when combined with more costly measures such as installing push-button taps, which can save up to half the amount of water as conventional taps, finding and repairing leaks and fitting triggers on hoses businesses could reduce their water bills by up to a third.

The programme also urges companies to reduce their demand for mains supply water further still by introducing water recycling or "grey water" systems that capture waste water from sinks and other sources and reuse it to flush toilets.