Save water and energy, business will be told

Cutting water consumption is often overlooked by business in the rush to drive down carbon emissions but companies are missing a trick, according to an organisation set up to provide environmental advice to the private sector.


Envirowise adviser Richard Barnard will be among the speakers at the SustainabilityLive! environmental exhibition at the NEC next week where he will deliver a seminar on water efficiency for business.

While climate change may be the high-profile concern which is driving the environmental agenda, both for the public and corporations, water use is an increasingly important issue.

“Water is what I call the forgotten utility but what people often don’t realise is that by saving water you’re saving CO2 and reducing your emissions,” Mr Barnard told edie.

“Saving water is good because you’re saving a resource that’s in short supply, particularly in the South East, but as a spin off you’re also saving energy.”

“To supply every thousand cubic metres of water, you’re using about 500Kwh of energy and wastewater disposal uses about another 400Kwh, which means about 400kg of CO2 is being emitted.”

He said that his seminar will put forward practical solutions as well as addressing the obstacles that might confront those trying to reduce their water bill.

“I’ll be going through why saving water is important for business, how they investigate where water is being used on their site and looking at how they can interpret their water bills, which surprisingly not everyone knows,” said Mr Barnard.

“We’ll be coming up with practical suggestions so that everyone who attends can go away with at least two or three ideas about improving water use on their site and that will be applicable for any site, whether it’s an office, commercial site or an industrial facility.”

The seminar, set to take place at IWEX on Tuesday, May 1, will be applicable to businesses of all shapes and sizes and all types, as well as private home owners.

Sam Bond

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe