85% of businesses do not have water reduction targets, says survey

Almost two thirds of UK businesses do not currently measure or monitor their water use at all and a massive 85% do not have any water reduction targets in place, reported sustainable business experts Envirowise.

Manufacturers in the food and drink industry could be missing out on combined cost savings of as much as £160,000 every day by not maximising the potential of water efficiency.

Claire Sweeney, Envirowise water specialist, said: "Although many food & drink manufacturers have made strong progress on reducing their water use, there are still opportunities for more companies in the sector to reap the benefits."

"Businesses could reduce their water bills by as much as a third if they were to take steps to manage their water use more effectively, a valuable cost saving in the current climate."

In response, Envirowise is offering businesses across the food & drink sector the chance to join a free resource efficiency initiative to help them. Businesses signing up to Rippleffect - www.envirowise.gov.uk/rippleffect - before 14 September will receive advice from Envirowise to better understand their water use, identify simple water saving steps and then measure the cost savings they have made.

More than 500 UK businesses registered for the Rippleffect in 2008. New features for 2009 include: Access to sector-specific information on hotel & catering, meat & poultry processing and fruit & vegetable processing, and access to water efficiency advice in areas such as rainwater harvesting, vehicle washing and boiler & cooling tower operation.

"The Rippleffect programme is delivered in three online modules over a six-month period, helping businesses to monitor their water use and set targets for improvement," continued Sweeney.

"We were surprised to see that more than half of the businesses surveyed in the UK did not believe it was possible to reduce their water bill at all by improving water efficiency. This is clearly a missed opportunity and one that offers valuable cost saving potential, as well as reputational benefits for companies taking action."

Companies in the sector are making strong progress on reducing water use through the Federation House Commitment (FHC), an initiative jointly developed by Envirowise and the Food & Drink Federation. A progress report on the first year results from the FHC will be available in July. For more information on the initiative visit www.fhc2020.co.uk

Words: Maria Bracken

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