World Water Day 2023 took place on 22nd March. It’s an important day to focus on this critical resource and accelerate change towards the sanitation crisis, which is as a result of the 2.2 billion people worldwide who are still living without access to safe water and lack basic sanitation.
The crisis also has a catastrophic impact on the climate emergency, as it has led to the loss of wetlands which capture CO2 from the atmosphere. Sadly, the UK has lost 90% of its wetland habitats in the last 100 years, exacerbating the impact of global warming.
Businesses are a large part of the problem, using 20% of the total water put into the UK public supply. With wholesale water bills expected to rise in April 2023, there has never been a better time to take action.
2023 commitment
This year in particular is committed to water use and sanitation as World Water Day coincides with the start of the UN 2023 Water Conference, which was held in New York from 22nd – 24th March.
The conference aim was to unite water and sanitation initiatives on a global scale and addressed commitments from national governments and stakeholders.
Sustainable Development Goal 6
In 2015, the United Nations established Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which promises the ‘availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ by 2030.
Globally, we are seriously behind on this agenda and national governments would need to work four times faster to meet this target by 2030, according to the latest data.
That’s why it is imperative that everyone takes action to achieve it.
Going beyond ‘business as usual’
Saving water today is crucial to safeguarding our future, however, you can also make significant financial savings. Making small changes within an organisation can have a dramatic impact on water consumption.
These could include:
- Installing water efficient devices and devices with built in eco-settings
- Being aware of where your supply pipes run and the location of the shut off valves so that you can control water supply during an emergency
- Insulating pipes against cold weather to retain the temperature of the water inside the pipes
- Implementing water recycling schemes which can enable you to re-use the water in other areas of the business
How we can help
World Water Day also provides an opportunity for organisations to review their water consumption habits and identify ways to change the way water is used, consumed and managed.
Control Energy Costs works closely with First Business Water to identify water savings for our clients.
They work with businesses across England to supply water and wastewater services. They are committed to creating a seamless process for customers to manage their water usage efficiently and cost effectively.
We have helped some of our key clients in many areas. One of the key factors is a more consolidated, clear invoicing structure in addition to achieving annual savings - this has worked particularly well for many of our multi-site clients.
First Business Water also supplies our clients with Automated Meter Readers (AMR) which result in the provision of Day 1 data that is sent directly to us. This enables us to provide end users with information to help monitor and control their consumption.
Our clients are able to identify waste usage and visualise their water data in the same way as they do for electricity and gas through our client portal, CECIL. They can also identify unusual patterns of consumption and exceptions reporting e.g., a spike in water usage could indicate a leak, to minimise wastage as quickly as possible.