South West Water

Earlier this summer, we discovered some Bee-autiful little friends hidden away inside a vent located in the side of our main building at the Restormal wastewater treatment works 🐝 Discovered by site technicians, no one could have guessed how big this secret colony of bees would be... The team were quick to find a local beekeeper using the British Beekeepers Association website to come, take a look and offer advice on relocation for the colony 🍯 After working with a company called ‘Bees Off’ based in St.Austell, we are delighted to share that we played a part in safely relocating an estimated 60,000 bees to a new apiary where we're sure the colony will thrive! 🐝 #BeeHive #BeeRelocation #HiddenHive

Meet James 👋 James is a Renewable Energy Specialist and is part of our net zero team 🌱 "I look after our approach to Renewable Energy across the business including new projects to help us deliver our Net Zero objectives as well as the operations and maintenance of our existing schemes, including modern Solar PV arrays through to a 90-year old Hydroelectric Plant.     Top – tip: Check if you are getting a 100% renewable electricity for your home. Tariffs are often comparable and it helps drive the transition to 100% renewable electricity in the UK.”

Meet Joe 👋 Joe is an Energy Efficiency Project Manager and is part of our net zero team 🌱 "My role involves listening to our operations, transport and facilities teams’ suggestions as to where they think we could be doing things differently and for the better. Sometimes this is as mundane as replacing old lighting with motion-activated LED’s, or either upgrading or refurbishing some of our company’s largest assets so that they operate more efficiently. It is one of the great things about the role and our team, we are limited only by our creativity and our colleagues’ idea factory. Net Zero, for me, is just a slogan for something I think a lot of us are becoming more conscious of regardless of what terms are used. Emissions, energy usage and our responsibility to our planet will affect everyone more directly in the future, and as a parent I want to make sure I am doing my part for my kids’ sake and provide an example for them, so in that sense it is a very personal priority to keep in mind. Because I have been prompted to provide a suggestion as to how others may make an impact, I am going to cop out and suggest using public transport more. I am one in a family of eight, and if we can go car journey free for months, I know others could make similar changes. Perhaps like me, you’ll come to enjoy the occasional morning train ride!" #netzero #climatechange #energy #projectmanager #meettheteam

1000 projects and many more to come! 🎊 🎊 🎊 We’re celebrating a big milestone at ActionFunder: 1000 projects funded since the platform launched! 👩👦👦 That’s 500,000+ lives impacted for the better 🌲 Hundreds of tree planted 🐝 Bees, hedgehogs, cats and dogs looked after 🌊 Rivers tested and monitored And much more. All of this impact is the work of brilliant non-profits, 10,000+ volunteers and the businesses dedicated to community action on ActionFunder! Sir Robert McAlpine Clarion Housing Group Central District Alliance Berkeley Group Plc EMPOWER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION South West Water Brent Cross Town Dorrington PLC Greene King Brewery Victoria, Victoria Westminster and Whitehall Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) JCDecaux UK Mount Anvil Groundwork C. Hoare & Co. London HQ Delancey Heidelberg Materials Fleet Street Quarter Hill Group UK EC BID SNG (formerly Sovereign Housing Association) Ambit Bradford City FC Community Foundation Shell Get Living, Whitbread SUEZ UK Microsoft 

Meet Freddie! 👋 “Net Zero is a huge challenge for all businesses, and it’s so exciting to be part of an organisation leading the way as we work to get there by 2030. There are thousands of actions we can all take to become that little bit greener – whether that’s leaving the car at home once a week and cycling to work, or buying less single-use plastic in the supermarket – it’s important we all do what we can!” #netzero #sustainability #southwestwater #environment

Meet Lucie! 👋 This #NetZeroWeek, we're shining a light on our amazing team who are helping us achieve our net zero goals. As a Nature Positive Policy Advisor, Lucie is passionate about protecting our environment. She works hard to deliver policies that ensure we have a positive impact on the natural world. We caught up with Lucie to find out more about her role 🌱 "As Nature-Positive Policy Advisor I support the Natural Resources team in figuring out how the water company can deliver new environmental policies and regulations in the next business plan to 2030. I research and report on nature-based sequestration opportunities to support Pillar 3 of our Net Zero Plan and scope synergies with delivery of Ofwat's new Biodiversity Performance Commitment. Nature-related investments are rising up the agenda of priorities because they are key to realising multiple outcomes at once for the business, environment and communities. Through my eyes Net Zero goes hand-in-hand with becoming a nature positive business, as almost any investment in restoration of natural processes results in carbon sequestration in the long-term. Top tip: grow your own pesticide-free food (using peat free compost) or source a local organic veg box to reduce food miles – if you don’t have an outdoor space you can use, look up ways to get involved in gardening in your local community maybe even seagrass planting at your local shoreline. It’s not just trees that lock away carbon in the soil!" #netzero #sustainability #meettheteam

A huge congratulations to Meg Ginsberg who won the Water Industry Rising Star of the Year 2024 award last week! 🏆 🎉 Well deserved and truly inspirational 🙌 #WaterIndustryAwards #RisingStarAward #Congratulations

A lovely Marsh Fritillary spotted this week on a Bodmin Moor peatland restoration site 🦋 This beautiful species, once widespread, is now threatened in the UK and across Europe. Marsh Fritillary relies on extensive habitat networks and is now confined to the western side of Britain and Ireland. As the name suggests, its main habitat are damp marshlands and shorter grasslands. They also rely on Devil's-bit Scabious and other Scabious species as their main foodsource and also hibernation spots. A sighting of a rare species like this, the first in years at this location, is a key reminder of the vital importance of creating spaces where nature and wildlife can thrive, particularly the often overlooked insect species. We are sometimes told 'nature will heal herself' - this is not the case. Humans have, and have had, such a vast impact on the landscape that we now need to invest in our wild spaces, shape the right habitats to flourish and think thoughtfully about how to tackle degrading and drained landscapes that provide little biodiversity support. Spaces like this area of holistic peatland restoration works on South West Water land on Bodmin Moor are doing just that, holding back water in the landscape, slowing the flow down, tackling erosion, improving the hydrological functioning of the peat and diversifying plant and wildlife species. Watch this space 💧 Lovely fritillary spotted by SWW Director of Natural Resouces Carolyn Cadman SWPP is funded by Natural England South West Water #UpstreamThinking #DuchyOfCornwall National Trust Environment Agency Cornwall Council #peatlandrestoration #peatbog #peatland #generationrestoration #landregeneration

Thank you to everyone who came along to our WaterShare+ meeting in Bournemouth and made it a huge success! 🎉 Over 80 customers attended the session, raising the issues that mattered most to them in discussions with our team and an independent panel. We're holding more WaterShare+ meetings throughout the year, so stay tuned! https://lnkd.in/dJafx6c

It was a wonderful privilege to host Spring’s Accelerator 3 Innovation Pitch Day at Edgbaston Stadium yesterday. We heard some fantastic solutions to address some of the biggest challenges the water industry faces. Thank you to Andrew Blake (Assoc CIPD) from South West Water who, with Marc Downes, talked about the impact our collaboration is having in helping to reduce sewer blockages, flooding, and pollution. Thanks also to Carly Jane Perry, Ben Hatfield-Wright, Thomas Walker, and Dr Natalie Lamb for organising such an inspiring and insightful day. #Innovation #WaterIndustry #Collaboration