South West Water and Northumbrian Water have both been longlisted for the UK's longest running and most prestigious awards programme, championing responsible business in the UK and abroad.
South West Water’s listing for the Business in the Community (BITC) Environmental Sustainability Award 2018 celebrates the successful transformation the multi-award winning Upstream Thinking catchment management programme has had on the natural environment of the South West.
Upstream Thinking Programme Manager, Dr. David Smith, said:
“Our catchment management programme which is nearing its tenth year of operation is delivered through not just ourselves, but the hard work of our partners including Westcountry Rivers Trust, Devon and Cornwall Wildlife Trusts, government agencies, environmental experts, landowners and tenant farmers.
“We are pleased to have been recognised – Upstream Thinking is a sustainable approach promoting better water quality, strengthened biodiversity, lower customer bills and reductions in flooding.
“Our work restoring the peat bogs on Exmoor for example has resulted in a third less water leaving the moorland during heavy rainfall and on lowland farms, the grants provided to farmers are helping to keep chemicals and other substances out of our rivers.”
Northumbrian Water has been longlisted for Responsible Business of the Year, which recognises pioneering businesses that have integrated sustainability across their business and are demonstrating commercial success as a result.
The company has also made the longlist for the Digital Innovation Award, in recognition of how the company is using digital technology to improve sewer pump performance and reduce flooding incidents.
Heidi Mottram, CEO of Northumbrian Water said:
"It's a huge honour to be longlisted for two categories in the Responsible Business Awards. We pride ourselves on being a responsible business, and all of the decisions we make are based on making a positive contribution to society and the environment, as well as providing a resilient first class service to our customers. I am incredibly proud to achieve this recognition from Business in the Community, and I would like to pay tribute to our employees, who work tirelessly to ensure that we keep performing at the very highest level."
The longlist announcements coincide with Responsible Business Week (23-27 April) an annual initiative aimed at increasing awareness of the positive contribution of businesses to society.
The winners of all ten categories, including the Responsible Business of the Year will be announced at the Responsible Business Gala Dinner at the Royal Albert Hall on 3 July, in front of 1,200 business leaders. The headline sponsors of the 2018 Responsible Business Awards are Barclays, Fujitsu, Unilever, Unipart, UPS, and Hogan Lovells as well as Anglian Water, the winner of the 2017 Responsible Business of the Year.
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