CSR Activities: 9 Ways to Save Water for World Water Week
World Water Week kicks off on August 25th this year – and that means it’s time to take a closer look at how we manage water and what sustainable actions employees can take to make a change.
This year’s theme, Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future, encourages us to work towards a more sustainable future collaboratively. There are lots of ways to engage employees to make more sustainable actions in their day-to-day that can have a big impact on our planet as well as going towards your business’s CSR activities.
From washing the dishes to flushing the loo, water is an essential part of everyone’s daily routine: in England, the average person uses 142 litres of water daily. Plus, there are water costs in almost everything we buy: it takes about 2,700 litres of water to produce just 1 cotton T-shirt.
Water is a fundamental part of production processes and everyday life, but our use of water has serious consequences for the climate. Leaks and inefficient use mean that globally about 30% of water is wasted – the equivalent of around 9.5 trillion litres.
If we don’t take action now, the UK will face water shortages of nearly 5 billion litres per day by 2050.
Why is it important to save water?
Before we get to work watching our water waste, let’s revisit the basics. Here are 5 key reasons why it’s important to be conscious about water consumption.
Water is Scarce: Less than 1% of Earth's water is usable and available, making it a precious resource as the global population grows
Energy Consumption: Water treatment and delivery are energy-intensive, relying on fossil fuels, impacting carbon emissions and air quality
Food Production: 40% of global food production relies on fresh water for irrigation, making efficient water usage essential to prevent starvation
Ecosystem Health: Responsible water use supports healthy ecosystems, which maintain climate and water cycles crucial for global life
Financial Savings: Using excess water at home leads to higher bills, so conserving water saves money over time
9 Pledges for World Water Week
Here are 9 ways to engage employees with reducing water waste for World Water Week 👇
In the Bathroom
Bathrooms consume more than two thirds of our domestic water waste. Pick up these pledges on the OnHand app to reduce your water waste.
2-minute shower challenge 🚿
A typical shower uses 10 litres of water a minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. See if you can do this in 2 minutes rather than 10 to save a whopping 80 litres of water a day!
Stop a leaky loo 🚽
Leaky loos are one of the most common causes of unexpected high water use in the UK. A leaky loo wastes between 200 and 400 litres of water per day – that’s a jaw-dropping 72,000 to 146,000 litres of water wasted every year – just from one leaking toilet.
To detect a slow leak, add a few drops of food colouring to your toilet cistern and don’t flush for around an hour. If the water in your toilet bowl is clear (with no food colouring) then you don’t have a leak!
Flush right! 🚽
Pledge to avoid flushing away cotton wool balls, makeup tissues, or disposable nappies. Simply throwing them in the bin will cut down on the amount of water wasted with every flush, and protect our sewers.
In the Kitchen
Eco dishes 🍽️
A dishwasher on an eco setting can be more efficient than washing dishes by hand, but recent research shows that only half of people use the eco setting. Pledge to make sure your dishwasher is completely full and try out the eco setting to save around 3 litres less of water per cycle.
Half full kettle ☕️
Try to fill the kettle with only what you need to make your cuppas! This will save water and energy and save from tipping precious water back down the sink. Depending on how many cups you have a day this could save you between 1 to 3 litres of water a week!
Reuse water waste💧
Reuse different types of waste water and reduce your water consumption for a month! Reuse water from washing/boiling food, from a hot water bottle, showering, and unused drinking water! This could be done by using it to water your houseplants and garden, or even washing your car.
In the garden
Install a water butt 🍑
The average UK household collects enough rainwater to fill 450 water butts, depending on its size. With a water butt, you could save tens of thousands of litres of fresh water. You'll be helping to conserve clean water for when people really need it (droughts are on the rise!) and you'll also be saving a lot of money. The Water Services Regulation Authority say it costs about £1.50 an hour to water a garden with a hose or sprinkler, which adds up considerably!
Raise awareness 📣
Pledge to share the facts and stats about our global water inequality to raise awareness of this issue. Just pick up this pledge, where we’ll have the facts and stats ready for you to share.
Support global wetland projects in Madagascar and Mozambique 🌱
85% of the world’s wetlands have been lost in the last 300 years. These areas are crucial for protecting against extreme weather.
We‘re proud to be supporting by planting mangroves in Madagascar and Mozambique amongst our other tree planting projects to help with the reforestation of wetlands. Every time an OnHand user completes their first mission, and for every 10 missions they complete after, we plant a tree in locations like Madagascar and Mozambique, so every action counts 🌱
Get Involved
Want to encourage your team to be more climate-conscious in their water usage?Book a demo today.
