Breaking Waves
This January, we're delighted to bring you the latest edition of our newsletter.
When it comes to water, there’s not a drop to waste
Data from the Environment Agency shows that the UK loses over 3 billion litres of water every day through leaks and smart meter data shows that up to 25% of business water consumption is likely to be leakage.
Concerned by these figures and inspired by various collaborations in last year’s Water Saving Week which focussed on ways which water will impact our future, we’ve launched a campaign dedicated to educating our customers and social media followers about ways to prevent leaks and the benefits of addressing them quickly. As businesses are responsible for around a third of all water use in England, it’s vital they do their bit.
Stop the leak
The Not a Drop to Waste campaign focusses on reducing water waste. Whether it’s a dripping tap, leaky loo or burst pipe, spotting and resolving these issues quickly will help businesses save water and money and make sure there’s enough for the future.
Head of Operations at Wave, Oli Shelley, said: “It’s vital as a water retailer to raise awareness about the importance of saving water, to make sure our customers understand the situation and the impact it could have on their business and future generations if we don’t act now.”
Most businesses rely on water and by focusing on reducing the amount we waste, we can avoid running out without sacrificing or changing business processes and activities. The Not a Drop to Waste campaign provides help, guidance and services to support sustainable water use, including how to check for leaks, protect your premises and take control of your water use.
Reduce water with our January sale
To support customers in reducing their water consumption and minimising waste, we’re offering 10% discount when you purchase Automatic Meter Readers until 31 January 2023 (T&Cs apply). For more information, speak to your Account Manager or get a quote online.
Supporting schools with careers advice
In October, Jane Austin, Wave’s Director of HR, and Carly Richardson, Health, Safety and Quality Manager, joined charity, M10, for a day at a North Tyneside high school providing students with careers help.
The year 10 students at Marden High School received a package of careers sessions, covering topics on body language, how to do internet searches for a job, CV writing and an interactive workshop on interview tips.
Wave worked with five groups of students, totalling over 150 pupils, and gave advice on how to build up evidence that would be needed for an interview for a work experience placement, a weekend job and full-time employment.
There was a role play demonstrating good and bad responses to interview questions and the students gave feedback on each response and how it could be improved. They were extremely motivated and engaged and were left with the knowledge they needed ready to apply for work placements.
This careers day was just one of many activities Wave is providing for Marden High School and other education establishments across the North East, and forms part of Wave’s social and sustainability promise.
Fiona Brennan, Careers Lead at Marden High School, said: “It was great to be working alongside our Enterprise Advisor, Jane, again. A key strand of our careers programme is working alongside businesses and employers. At Marden we view this as an essential part of school life, to ensure that our students leave us with the skills required to enter the world of work. It was great to see the students engaging with professionals, participating in group activities, developing key skills and building their confidence.”
Karen Robson, Deputy Headteacher at Marden High School, commented: “The students had a brilliant day working alongside talented professionals from industry. Events like this are so important to the culture of our school and enabling students to see links to what they’re doing now and to the wider world of work. Jane and Carly’s session was a real hit with the students.”
TEC donates £500 to Washington WWT
The Energy Consortium (TEC) recently joined Wave at Washington Wetlands Centre for our social value day. The team volunteered their time to support charity Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) by painting hides, raking meadows and building fences, leaving a lasting impression of the hard work that the charity does.
When attending the 2022 EAUC Conference, focusing on sustainability challenges in the education sector, TEC made changes to their exhibition stand to help with the event’s ambition to be the most sustainable event to date.
TEC provided QR codes to download their materials instead of printing and chose not to purchase and distribute branded merchandise. By making these changes, TEC not only reduced waste, but they were able to lower the costs of exhibiting.
With the savings made, TEC made a generous £500 donation to WWT, which will help the charity’s work to protect, restore and create healthy wetlands.
Gill Pipes, Centre Manager at Washington Wetlands Centre said: “We’re so touched that TEC is supporting us with their kind donation, in addition to working really hard to help us to maintain our meadows and bird hides. They did an amazing job, helping us to deliver both our wetland conservation and visitor experience work and their donation will mean we can do even more.”
To find out more about the WWT, please visit their website.
Dedicating time to help underprivileged children
At Wave, we encourage people to support charities and community services. We like to acknowledge the great work our people do within their own communities and in support of charities and their local environment. Here’s one great example of the personal benefits this brings.
Alison Thomson, Wave’s Head of Operations (Billing & Meter Transaction), works full time and is also a parent, wife, housewife and gym-goer. She’s typically a busy person, but for three hours every weekend, Alison dedicates her time to help underprivileged children.
Alison is a charity shop volunteer for the Children’s Society. She gives her time and enthusiasm freely and is grateful she’s able to give something back to the community in Washington where she lives.
Looking to give back
Alison explained: “I’m the sort of person that tends to do things on the spur of the moment. An idea will come into my head and before I know it, I’m signed up.”
“During Covid, I was thinking about how lucky I am. I’ve everything I could possibly wish for in life, I’ve got a great job, lovely friends and family and I’m very happy. I thought, I’d like to be able to give something back - but I wasn’t sure how I’d achieve this.”
In Washington, where Alison lives, is a small group of shops in her neighborhood and one of them is a charity shop that supports the Children’s Society which was advertising for volunteers.
The Children’s Society
The Children’s Society is a national charity that works to transform the hopes and happiness of young people that are facing abuse, exploitation, and neglect. They provide specialist support through a range of services including therapy, drop-in centres, job seeking support, legal advice and a young carers programme.
After seeing the advert, Alison visited the shop in hope that they could accommodate the hours she was available, where she was welcomed with open arms.
Alison said: “I look forward to my visit every week. When I’m there I forget about everything and it’s all about the charity itself. I go home with a big smile on my face. I’m giving back by giving my time to the charity, but I’m getting so much out of this too.”
Alison has been a volunteer for 14 months and the shop is the 3rd top performing Children’s Society charity shop in the country.
Show your support
If you’d like to know more about supporting The Children’s Society, please visit their website.
Get involved
Since October 2021, we’ve held several successful corporate social volunteering events across England. We’re committed to making a positive difference for our people, planet, customers and communities and would love for you to join us.
Together we can make a difference, so get involved by joining one of our upcoming events:
- Thursday 2 March 2023 – supporting Peterborough Environment City Trust to plant trees in Wittering.
- Wednesday 22 March 2023 – helping the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority to maintain one of their important sites along the Lee Valley in London.
Look out for an email invite, or get in touch with your account manager to register.
