Member Article

Appointment helps water retailer achieve sustainability goals

A Teesside utilities retailer has cemented its commitment to green issues with the appointment of a dedicated environmental services manager.

Everflow Water, which is part of the Teesside-based Everflow Group, has taken on Clare Galland to focus on water efficiency and other sustainability issues.

The firm, which also has a base in Warwickshire, is committed to environmental goals, specifically reducing water wastage and cutting its carbon footprint.

Clare said: “My role will focus on developing our water efficiency service, which is traditionally a hard sell due to low cost-savings. However, it is the right thing to do – and we believe customers will increasingly be prepared to take action for the same reason.

“This is why we’re also focusing on reducing the amount of water used by businesses around the country, engaging with regulators and the market to ensure everyone is effectively incentivised to reduce wastage.

“This will help minimise water shortages as our economy grows, and protect the environment, as there will be less demand to extract excessive amounts of water from nature.”

Clare previously worked at Northumbrian Water, where she became more aware of the impact of the industry on the planet and what steps could be taken to mitigate against those.

She added: “I’ve always been concerned about how we treat our home planet and I’m really encouraged by the fact that everyone is becoming more aware of the need to be supportive of our environment.

“At Everflow, we want to make saving water easy and simple for our customers, partly because it impacts their bottom line. Just as an example, simply sorting out leaking toilets can save around 20 per cent off water bills.”

One of Clare’s first initiatives has been to conduct a company-wide survey to measure employees’ perceptions of environmental issues.

The survey asked staff about their attitude towards protecting the environment, how much employees felt the company could make a difference, as well as how empowered and interested they felt about green issues.

Clare said: “The results show that the vast majority of people working for Everflow are concerned about the environment, are aware of the need for businesses and households to use water wisely, and care deeply about the company’s impact on the environment.

“This is a great starting point. We want to help as many businesses to save water across the UK as possible, and it’s good to know that most of our employees are on board with this.”

Everflow Water was launched in 2015, after Josh saw a gap in the market for an ethical water retailer which could utilise technology to operate efficiently. Sister company Everflow Tech was created in 2018 as a retail sales, billing and customer management platform.

Josh said: “Everflow Water is growing fast, and we wanted to consolidate and refocus our environmental services to ensure we maximise the benefits of water saving for our customers and the environment, by making it simple for them to do.

“Supporting the environment is also the right thing to do and we believe our customers will want to be a part of that.

“We wanted this function to be led by someone who both understands the water industry and has the commercial drive to get the best deals and services for our customers – and Clare fit the bill perfectly.”

For more information about Everflow, visit www.everflowgroup.co.uk/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Everflow .