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.
Third annual Envirowise project aims to reduce waste estimated to cost UK industry £15bn a year 22 Feb 2008
Refitted Bournemouth store promises 92 per cent reduction in carbon emissions and 15 per cent cut in water use 08 Oct 2007
New initiative sees 21 leading food and drink manufacturers embrace water saving best practices 28 Jan 2008
As the full impact of Defra's £300m budget cuts come to light, green groups accuse the government of slashing essential business support programmes 27 Feb 2008
Building giant details plans to develop three more commercially viable zero carbon homes over next three years 16 May 2008
Toyota claims the iconic hybrid vehicle has helped cut global carbon emissions by approximately 4.5m tonnes in the last decade 16 May 2008
More news
After two decades of development countless nanotechnologies are fast approaching commercial viability – and they have the potential to redefine the clean tech sector 16 May 2008
Green business courses are springing up think and fast, but as Vanessa Crossgrove Fry warns it could still be several years before we see Green MBAs take their place in the largest firms 14 May 2008 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
