Ofwat’s latest 2023-24 report underscores a fundamental issue: while the water market is progressing, its pace remains too slow for businesses facing mounting water supply challenges.

In the recent Ofwat report, one message stands out: water prices are on the rise, your business will need to rethink how you manage water consumption if you are to remain both competitive and compliant.

The latest Ofwat report highlights some encouraging signs of progress in the water sector, but the pace of change remains frustratingly slow.

World Water Week 2024, which took place a few weeks ago in Stockholm, has left a lasting impact, highlighting the vital role of collaboration in achieving sustainable water management.

The Self-Supply community met for a quarterly update briefing, hosted by Waterscan, on 12th September 2024.

As highlighted by Will Silverwood, Head of Sustainability at long-term Waterscan customer Whitbread, this challenge is particularly pressing for industries heavily reliant on water, such as hospitality.

Water Matters 2024 supported non-household water users in working towards a more resilient, sustainable water future, bringing together experts and influencers alike to discuss some of the biggest challenges being faced in the UK.

Businesses and organisations that consume large volumes of water could soon see their bills rise dramatically with the introduction of a range of new pricing structures.

Waterscan is pleased to announce the line-up of its highly qualified Sustainability Team delivering a fully comprehensive suite of Water Consulting Services within the UK Water Market.

Sustainability credentials are playing a growing role in the choices made by consumers. Few companies have integrated water management into their sustainability agendas, let alone considered the link between water and carbon emissions.  For Whitbread, a clear strategic direction that captures all water-related impacts and establishes targets for water and carbon emission reductions was the … Read more

What would happen if there was a shortage of water across your campus? Within a couple of hours, facilities and administrative teams are under pressure to find solutions.

The Self-Supply community convened for its Spring Briefing on 7th March, welcoming speakers from market regulator Ofwat and market operator MOSL.

In anticipation of future customer needs, Waterscan is pleased to announce the launch of its next level water management platform, Waterline.

Although smart metering for gas and electricity is fast becoming the norm, the adoption of smart meters across UK water networks remains in its infancy.

With a large, complex property portfolio, BT partnered with Waterscan to improve its water management processes.

Take a look at The Water Report’s latest report on water efficiency, which includes our bid to the Catalyst stream of Ofwat’s Innovation Fund.

On 7th December, Waterscan hosted a meeting for Self-Supply companies to reflect on developments across the market over the past year and look ahead to how the sector plans to develop its approach in 2024.

In a world where water scarcity is intensifying, the UK’s universities have a crucial role to play.

The critical relationship between climate change and water resource management may not be immediately obvious to many, yet society cannot be net-zero unless it is more water efficient.

Market regulator, Ofwat, has published an overview of developments during the business retail market’s sixth year of operation (2022-23).

In conversation with Matthew Power, Utilities Commercial Specialist.

The Self-Supply community met for a quarterly update briefing, hosted by Waterscan, on 14th September 2023.

In conversation with Waterscan’s Rebecca Gale, Account Director, and Esmond Bowerman, Sustainability Manager.

How long could your frontline services continue to operate without water? The chances are, you’ve got about 10 minutes before vulnerable members of society are put at risk.

How long could your pub or restaurant operate without water? The chances are, you’ve got about 10 minutes before your customers stop getting served.

What would happen if your business lost access to water? The chances are, within 30 minutes your facilities would grind to a halt, customers would begin to vanish, and your reputation would be tarnished.

Here are the 10 reasons why water will increasingly dominate the sustainability agenda.

Why water will increasingly dominate the sustainability agenda.

Eleanor Pendle’s experience at World Water Week 2023.

If your organisation is not conserving water as an integral part of its race to net zero, its progress will, quite simply, be impeded. Why act now: The business case for water action.

You can’t manage what you don’t measure. What you don’t measure, you can’t improve. We’ve put together a 5 step guide to start measuring and reporting on water.

On 22nd June, Waterscan convened the first in a new annual conference, Water Matters.

Boots has been granted a Water and Sewerage Self-Supply licence (WSSL) by industry regulator, Ofwat. With 2,200 stores across the UK, Boots has partnered with Waterscan to facilitate the licence application and to manage the transition to Self-Supply.

The Strategic Panel is getting tough on getting smart.

Every five years, the UK’s 16 water companies have a statutory duty to produce a Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP).

In recognition of the proactive, expert support that it provides, Waterscan has been awarded the accolade of Sainsbury’s Strategic Partner for Sustainability.

At this tipping point, when water scarcity impacts our daily lives, it will be too late, far too late; especially for manufacturers, who rely on secure, consistent water supplies and effective, compliant effluent management to function.

Representatives from Ofwat, MOSL and The Water Report joined the Self-Supply community on Thursday 9th March 2023 for a briefing meeting focused on market performance and industry plans for pricing and resource management.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that, by 2030, all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Each year, CDP opens its reporting platform from April to August in readiness for scoring in the autumn.

The opportunities arising from effective water stewardship are plentiful. In fact, acting on water has become the low-hanging fruit in adapting to climate change and it provides irrefutable operational and commercial benefits.

As with widely reported household bill increases, most businesses will also be receiving higher than planned for water bills from April 2023.

The annual reveal of Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) scores is always a highly anticipated and interesting event.

An Interview with Cllr Paulette Lappin, cabinet member – regulatory, compliance and corporate services & Jon Williams, environmental management (utilities) officer.

Deregulation deconstructed. The deregulation of the water industry in 2017 set out to accomplish a lot. Five years on, to what extent has it delivered?

Deregulation deconstructed. Protecting Britain’s water supplies for the long term was the underlying reason for deregulating the market. How easy is it now for customers to make good water management choices?

Deregulation deconstructed. Every business has a different view on what constitutes value for money. Market deregulation set out to enable customers to prioritise what’s important to them. Are customers achieving best value now?

Deregulation deconstructed. Every business has a different view on what constitutes value for money. Market deregulation set out to enable customers to prioritise what’s important to them. Are customers achieving best value now?

Deregulation deconstructed. The majority of businesses want the water market to deliver a reliable water supply without interruption above all else. Had the water market provided the reassurance they seek?

Deregulation deconstructed. Market deregulation gave customers choice over who supplies their water, at what cost, and with which added value options. Have UK businesses acted on this opportunity?

Following a lengthy period of consultation, reflect and number crunching, Ofwat has published the methodology for its price review, PR24, which sets out expectations of water companies for the period 2025-2030 and beyond.

The Self-Supply community convened for its final session of 2022 on Thursday 1st December.

Following a lengthy public consultation during 2022, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has secured…

It might not be immediately obvious, but there are a lot of greenhouse gases tied up in water.

Water market regulator Ofwat has published its annual State of the Market report which outlines its assessment of the market, five years on from deregulation.

Most media attention was focused on how best to manage household water use, so you could be forgiven for assuming that commercial…

Representatives from the water market regulator Ofwat, market operator MOSL, and the market’s Strategic Panel, joined the British businesses that have taken control of their water for the Self-Supply Users Forum on Thursday 8th September 2022.

The conference is being hailed as a watershed moment; a time to review progress on SDG6, the Sustainable Development Goal which is concerned with securing the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.

In May 2022, Waterscan and J Sainsbury’s plc hosted a working lunch for energy and sustainability managers to demonstrate how the responsible retailer is approaching best-in-class water stewardship.

Take a look at Sainsbury’s water journey so far.

Five years since market deregulation, it is a transitional time for market governance as the new Strategic Panel reveals six priorities which aim to focus on pace of change, prioritise activities with greatest impacts and solve market frictions.

Defra’s environmental targets proposal to meet future water demand is a welcome step change.

Most British businesses, unless they Self-Supply or have a non-standard tariff agreement, were subjected to three cost hikes in April.

The UK government’s introduction of mandatory Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting is a welcome evolution in corporate responsibility.

Operational resilience is the ability of an organisation and its infrastructure to avoid, cope and recover from disruption, and its ability to adapt to environmental pressures, demographic change, shifts in customer behaviour and the impacts of climate change.

The pressing need for more effective communication and collaboration flowed through all presentations and discussions, reflecting continued frustrations in the wider water market on…

Traditional market structures and approaches are failing to deliver necessary improvements for water customers and the environment, reveals water market regulator Ofwat in its fourth State of the Market Report.

Waterscan and the Self-Supply community recognised for outstanding water management.

On 22nd September 2021, Waterscan hosted an online meeting of public sector utility and sustainability professionals on mitigating risk and maximising control through water.

BT has achieved one million pounds in savings on its water bills since switching to self-supply in 2019.

On 14th April 2021, Waterscan and Whitbread co-hosted a virtual Tea at 3 event. This was for a privately invited group of senior sustainability, procurement and utilities managers from across the UK’s hospitality, leisure, retail, manufacturing and transport sectors.

Whitbread is the UK’s largest operator of hotels and restaurants. Here, we speak with Yvonne Mason, Environment Manager and Ross Greenhalgh, Energy Manager, about how the company has moved from effective water management to industry-leading stewardship, and most recently to resilience-based forward planning.

“If you want to make progress on global challenges, start with water”, advises the World Economic Forum.

Waterscan is delighted to announce that it has saved its non-household water customers £20 million since the market opened in 2017.

A working lunch with BT’s Utilities Commercial Specialist, Matt Power.

The water industry is the first sector in the UK to commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

The UK’s number one dairy company, Arla has been granted a licence to self-supply water by market regulator Ofwat.

Working in partnership with Waterscan to self-supply water David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) is the first company within the UK’s health and leisure sector to be granted a self-supply licence from…

Sefton Council is expecting to improve its environmental performance and achieve significant efficiency savings by entering a Self-Supply water partnership.

Sainsbury’s has applied to water market regulator Ofwat for a Self-Supply licence.

Ofwat has granted water self-supply licences (WSSLs) to John Lewis PLC and Kellogg’s in a move that will see self-supply operable in two new commercial sectors: retail and food manufacturing.

Marston’s Brewery and Greene King have been judged as the two companies in the drinks sector that are making the biggest impact in the sustainable use of water, both with the support of Waterscan.

In August 2019, John Lewis PLC became the first UK retailer to apply to Ofwat for a water and sewerage Self-Supply licence.

Waterscan is working with Kellogg’s to lead the food manufacturing sector in driving water efficiency. Kellogg’s has applied for a water and sewerage self-supply licence for its Manchester site, the…

Developed by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, the Catchment Management Declaration is regarded by many as the potential to be a watershed moment in transforming sustainable water management across Britain.

Three more forward-thinking companies have been granted Self-Supply licences for water and sewerage services, bringing the number of organisations taking this revolutionary route to eight since the market opened just eighteen months ago.

Stonegate Pub Company and Heineken UK Ltd have applied for Self-Supply licences for water and sewerage services.

At Waterscan, we are very happy and excited to have been announced as the winners of the ‘Waste2Zero’ Best Product, Technology and Innovation Award 2018 in collaboration with Greene King, supporting water sustainability through the water Self-Supply innovation.

A year on, Greene King are experiencing the benefits of going Self-Supply.

Global textile, hygiene and facility services giant Elis (formerly Berendsen) has applied to Self-Supply water and wastewater services for its 32 sites across England in support of its work to enhance site level water efficiency.

Blackpool Council has been awarded a water Self-Supply licence by Ofwat.

Whitbread, the UK’s largest hotel, restaurant and coffee shop operator whose brands include Premier Inn, Costa, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre – has partnered with Waterscan…

Marston’s is the third company in England to be granted a licence by Ofwat to supply its own water and wastewater services.

CCEP is set to become the first manufacturer to take the innovative path of Self-Supply.

Whitbread becomes second to gain water Self-Supply licence in new water market.