Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th July 2024 Issue no. 1124

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World Water Week: How small businesses can save 2m litres of water a year

To mark World Water Week 2023 last month, SaveMoneyCutCarbon, the corporate sustainability platform advocating for greener solutions, focused its attention on how businesses can lower their carbon footprint by tackling water usage.

Water has been named as the third most important risk to global growth within the next 10 years and with localised water scarcity quickly rising amongst the world's political and public agenda, it is concerning that research has unveiled that UK businesses use over 30% more water than they require.

Coming at a time when net-zero conversations are gaining momentum, the sustainability consultants offer an actionable and cost-effective way to lower energy bills - committing to climate action and saving money.

Through its impactful collaboration with the World of Books Group, SaveMoneyCutCarbon exemplifies the potential for businesses to achieve significant savings while contributing to a greener future. The World of Books Group is a trailblazing circular economy enterprise committed to sustainability and climate action by selling used books to over 190 countries worldwide. In line with its desire to be recognised as a B Corp and a carbon-neutral company, the WOB sought SaveMoneyCutCarbon's services to reduce their water usage.

The challenge:
World of Books Group sought innovative ways to reduce water consumption and enhance hygiene within its warehouses, aligning with its robust sustainability commitments.

The solution:
SaveMoneyCutCarbon's meticulous approach led to the identification of the CONTI+ Ruby tap, chosen for its excellence in both performance and water conservation. The Ruby tap, boasting a flow rate of 3-litres per minute, exhibited a clear advantage over the previous Grohe model with a 5.7 litres per minute flow rate.

The implementation:
After overcoming initial challenges related to sensor sensitivity and accidental triggering, the Ruby taps were seamlessly integrated into World of Books Group's warehouses.

The results:
The operational efficiency of the Ruby taps yielded remarkable outcomes, including a rapid return on investment (ROI) of approximately 1.8 years for both installations. Water savings of 1.86 million litres annually were achieved, accompanied by substantial reductions in carbon emissions-equating to 0.4 tonnes of CO2 reduction at the Coventry warehouse and 0.38 tonnes in Sussex.

"On average 4% of the UK's energy consumption is used by the water industry and as a result, there is a tonne of embedded carbon emissions per 1000 litres of water," says SaveMoneyCutCarbon's Mark Sait.

"It's estimated that about 5% is used by the industry to provide products and services with the majority of businesses essentially falling under this category. The rest is from agriculture. That's approximately 2,700 litres of water a day to produce the food we eat and drink. This is equivalent to showering 44 times per day.

"Adding up these present usage rates, it's estimated that the UK as a whole uses around 14 billion litres of water per day in total. However, within this total, an estimated three billion litres of water are lost every day due to leaks.

"By 2050, the Government estimates that we will need an extra four billion litres of water a day. The next challenge amplifying the increased demand for water is that water companies are going to start extracting less water (one billion litres per day) from natural supplies due to decreased rainfall, linked to climate change, just look at the UK's extreme heat and lack of rainwater in the summer of 2022.

"Meanwhile, the UK population is set to rise from 67 million to 75 million by 2050, further increasing the demand for water across the country. So, it goes without saying we need more water - but fixing leaks can only be part of the solution; just like energy, we need to use less in our homes and in the workplace.

"SaveMoneyCutCarbon is often called the UK's leading platform for money-saving through sustainability, with teams that cover technologies like solar, heat pumps, and LED lighting, combined with expert teams in water saving. This combination of services, products and solutions, provides businesses help with reducing energy & water bills, NetZero and decarbonisation goals."

SaveMoneyCutCarbon is a 'go-to' partner for sustainability. Through delivering more than 1,000 sustainability projects it customers - millions off their bottom line and 27 million KW of energy last year alone. It supplied over 75 leading technologies across solar, lighting, water solutions and more to make your operations as low-cost and planet-friendly as possible - all with a single partner.

www.SaveMoneyCutCarbon.com | www.worldwaterweek.org

14th September 2023