Sydney Water's New Business Program
Sydney Water has embarked on a long-term program to assist its industrial, commercial and public sector customers achieve best practice in water management.
Known as the "Every Drops Counts" (EDC) Business program, the initiative is a key component of Sydney Water's demand management strategy, which aims to guarantee sustainable water supplies in the Sydney region.
The EDC Business program complements parallel water conservation programs in the residential sector and in Sydney Water's own operations.
Initially, the Business program provided free water audits to selected business customers to identify opportunities to improve water efficiency. The audits typically identified a wide range of initiatives to promote substantial reductions in water use, and cost. But, despite the good financial returns from reduced water, wastewater and energy usage, it proved a challenge to gain commitment from companies to implement the projects.
Sydney Water refocused the program to place emphasis on gaining the commitment of senior management early on in the process of developing a water efficiency program for a company.
Sydney Water now uses Energetics' One-2-Five®Water diagnostic tool to promote management commitment to the EDC business program with large business customers. The Water Achiever® diagnostic tool is used with medium sized customers.
Both tools are based on the same methodology and have been market tested through a structured agreement between Sydney Water and Energetics. Sydney Water ran pilot programs with businesses from diverse sectors, including hotels, manufacturing, packaging and food & beverage.
Customer feedback for both the One-2-Five®Water and Water Achiever® tools was overwhelmingly positive. All customers participating in the trials found that the tools added value to their business, and, they indicated a desire to continue to use the processes.
Sydney Water is now rolling out One-2-Five®Water with large customers and Water Achiever® with medium-sized customers as an integral component of business water conservation program. Benefits for customers using these processes include:
- Sustainable water and cost savings by utilising a holistic and systematic management framework that is simple to understand.
- Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the customer's water management and where Sydney Water can best support the customer.
- A comprehensive water management report at the end of a 1-2 hour meeting with specific critical actions.
- Direct links to a wide range of Sydney Water services for implementing critical actions.
Sydney Water's revised focus on management commitment has led to a noticeable increase in successful implementation of water conservation projects. The management diagnostics are proving to be very effective tools to introduce the Every Drop Counts Business program and gain management interest and involvement in improving their water use practices.
The crucial result is that critical management processes such as assigning internal responsibility, staff education, and water efficiency policy gain attention early. These processes support the ongoing partnership between Sydney Water and the management and employees of the company, resulting in the smoother delivery of technical improvement projects down the track.
For more details on Sydney Water's program contact Mohan Seneviratne - Program Manager Water Conservation and Recycling, Sydney Water
mohan.seneviratne@sydneywater.com.au
02-9350 6186
Or visit Sydney Water's website at
http://www.sydneywater.com.au/everydropcounts/business/index.cfm