Our use of cookies Business water sustainability: Supply solutions and ways to improve efficiency
Water is one of the most overlooked costs on a commercial site. For most UK businesses, every litre that enters the building and most of what leaves it shows up on the business water rates, yet usage is rarely tracked with the same care as energy.
Things are changing. Public outrage about water companies dumping raw sewage in rivers and the growing problem of water abstraction and scarcity is putting pressure on businesses to use water more responsibly. This guide explains what business water sustainability really means, the options available, and how to put a practical plan in place.
What is a sustainable water supply?
A sustainable water supply is an alternative, lower-impact source of water that reduces a property’s reliance on the mains network. Rather than drawing all water from a regional water company, the business uses an alternative greener source.
The most common sustainable water supplies use rainwater that lands on the roof, groundwater accessed through a borehole, or recycled greywater from washing machines, sinks and showers. Because the water does not need to be pumped across the country or treated at a centralised plant, the carbon and environmental footprint is significantly lower than a standard mains connection.
Most businesses do not replace mains water entirely. A sustainable supply is typically used for specific applications such as toilet flushing, cleaning, irrigation, vehicle washing or industrial processes, while drinking water continues to be drawn from the mains.
What is business water sustainability?
Business water sustainability is the responsible management of how a company uses water across its operations. It goes beyond the supply itself and looks at the full picture of consumption, efficiency, waste and long-term resilience.
A common misconception is that water sustainability simply means using less. In reality, it covers a much broader set of activities, including:
- Monitoring how much water is used and where, often through smart water meters and regular reviews
- Reducing unnecessary consumption across washrooms, kitchens, cleaning and operational processes
- Improving the efficiency of water-using equipment such as taps, toilets, dishwashers and cooling systems
- Identifying and fixing commercial water leaks, which can account for a significant share of unbilled or unnoticed water loss
- Reusing water where practical, for example, through greywater systems or rainwater harvesting
- Investing in infrastructure that supports long-term efficiency like pipework upgrades and flow controls
The aim is to use water in a way that meets the needs of the business today without creating cost, supply or environmental problems further down the line. Done well, water sustainability supports cost control, regulatory compliance, customer expectations and resilience against future price rises or supply pressures.
For most businesses, the starting point is understanding current usage. A business water audit is the most reliable way to identify how much water is being consumed, where it is being wasted, and which changes will deliver the biggest commercial and environmental benefit.
Why is it important that businesses practice water sustainability
Water has historically been treated as a low-priority utility for many UK businesses, but that position is shifting quickly. Rising costs, tightening regulation, and growing scrutiny from customers, investors, and supply chain partners mean responsible water use is now a commercial concern, not just an environmental one.
The pressure to act comes from several directions at once. The table below sets out the main reasons UK businesses are taking water sustainability seriously.
| Factor | What it means for your business |
|---|---|
| Rising water costs | Wholesale water and wastewater charges have increased significantly in recent years, with further rises confirmed across the UK. Reducing consumption is one of the most direct ways to protect against ongoing business water price increases. |
| Operational resilience | Periods of drought, hosepipe restrictions and local supply interruptions are becoming more frequent. Businesses that use water efficiently and have alternative supplies in place are far less exposed when conditions tighten. |
| ESG reporting | Investors, lenders and large customers increasingly expect clear data on environmental performance. Water consumption, waste and efficiency form a core part of ESG disclosures. |
| Corporate sustainability targets | Many UK businesses have set net zero or wider environmental commitments. Water sits alongside energy and waste as a measurable area where progress can be demonstrated and reported. |
| Water scarcity | The Environment Agency has warned that parts of England could face significant water shortages within the next two decades. Reducing demand now helps the country adapt and reduces the risk to your operations. |
| Reputational considerations | Customers, employees and local communities pay attention to how businesses use natural resources. A clear, evidenced approach to water builds trust, while excessive or wasteful use can attract criticism. |
| Supply chain expectations | Large buyers increasingly require their suppliers to provide environmental data, including water use. Demonstrating responsible water management can be the difference between winning and losing tenders. |
What are the different types of sustainable water supplies for businesses?
Here’s a summary of options for businesses seeking to reduce reliance on the mains water network by using an alternative sustainable source of water.
These sustainable water supplies lower both cost and the environmental impact of the water industry.
- Rainwater harvesting: Collecting and storing rainwater that lands on the roof of a commercial property. Captured rainwater can be used directly in non-potable applications such as toilet flushing, irrigation or vehicle washing, or treated locally, so it can be used as potable water.
- Borehole water supplies: Pumping naturally occurring groundwater from beneath a business property to the surface for use as an alternative to the mains supply. Boreholes can provide a long-term, lower-cost source of water for businesses with high consumption.
- Greywater systems: Recycling relatively clean wastewater from devices such as washing machines, showers and basins. Treated greywater can be safely reused for toilet flushing, cleaning and irrigation, reducing demand on the mains supply.
- Green business water tariffs: Carbon-neutral tariffs offered by business water suppliers where carbon emissions associated with water supply are offset through the purchase of carbon credits.
💡Get a green water tariff for your business today with the AquaSwitch business water comparison service.
Business water sustainability solutions
Alongside the sustainable water supply choices above, there are a number of practical changes that any business can put in place to use water more efficiently. These tend to be lower cost, faster to implement and deliver measurable savings on business water bills.
- Closed-loop water systems: Capturing and treating water used in industrial or manufacturing processes so it can be cycled back through the same process repeatedly. Closed-loop setups are common in cooling, washing and chemical processes, and can dramatically cut both fresh water demand and trade effluent discharge.
- Efficient cooling systems: Replacing traditional once-through cooling with closed circuit or evaporative cooling that uses far less water. Modern cooling towers, chillers and heat exchangers can deliver the same performance at a fraction of the water consumption.
- Sustainable drainage integration: Installing permeable surfaces, swales, soakaways and rainwater storage to slow and manage surface water on site. This reduces pressure on local drainage networks, lowers surface water drainage charges, and can feed harvested rainwater back into the property.
- Low-flow fixtures: Replacing standard taps, showers, urinals and toilets with low-flow alternatives can cut water use in washrooms by a significant margin without any change in user experience. Aerated taps, dual-flush toilets and waterless urinals are common upgrades.
- Automatic shut-off systems: Sensor-operated taps, timed showers and self-closing valves remove the risk of water being left running. They are particularly effective in high-traffic washrooms, kitchens and industrial wash-down areas.
- Leak detection: Undetected leaks are one of the largest sources of unnecessary water use in commercial properties. Acoustic sensors, flow monitoring and automated alerts make it possible to spot and fix leaks quickly, often before they appear on a bill.
- Process optimisation: Reviewing how water is used in operational processes, from food preparation to manufacturing to cleaning, often reveals opportunities to use less without affecting output. Small changes to sequencing, temperature and volume can add up to substantial savings.
- Recycling systems: On-site recycling of process water, rinse water or wastewater allows the same volume to be used more than once. Recycling reduces both incoming water demand and outgoing trade effluent costs.
- Behavioural changes: Staff awareness has a direct impact on water use. Clear signage, simple training and shared usage data help employees understand their role and build water-conscious habits across the team.
- Monitoring systems: Smart meters and digital monitoring platforms provide live data on water use across a site or portfolio. Monitoring makes it possible to spot anomalies, benchmark performance and prove the impact of any changes made.
- Equipment upgrades: Older dishwashers, washing machines, cooling units and process equipment can use significantly more water than modern equivalents. Replacing older equipment with water-efficient models is one of the most reliable long-term ways to bring consumption down.
How to build a business water sustainability plan
A clear business water sustainability plan turns water efficiency from a vague intention into measurable progress. The steps below set out a practical, repeatable approach that works for businesses of any size, from a single site through to a multi-property organisation.
1. Identify how and where water is used
Start by mapping every point of water use across the property. This includes washrooms, kitchens, cleaning, heating and cooling, manufacturing or production processes, irrigation, vehicle washing and any specialist equipment.
A simple walk-around with a notepad is often enough to build a picture. The aim is to understand which areas of the business rely on water, and which are likely to account for the highest volumes.
2. Measure current consumption
Use your bills and water meter reading data to understand which sites or areas of the business consume the most water. This also reveals total consumption, seasonal patterns and any obvious anomalies.
For sites with more than one process or building, sub-meters or temporary water loggers give a far more accurate breakdown of where water is being used. Measurement creates the baseline against which efficiency improvements can be measured.
3. Identify waste and inefficiency
With usage mapped and measured, the next step is to spot where water is being wasted. Common culprits include dripping taps, running urinals, faulty toilet valves, inefficient cooling equipment, oversized irrigation systems and an undetected commercial water leak.
A specialist review will identify issues that are easy to miss internally and quantify the savings available from fixing each one.
4. Set clear targets
Translate the findings into specific, time-bound targets. These might include a percentage reduction in total consumption, a leakage reduction goal, a target volume of recycled or harvested water, or a deadline for replacing inefficient equipment.
Clear targets make it easier to secure budget, track progress and report results internally or as part of wider ESG commitments.
5. Put changes in place
Work through the changes in priority order, starting with the quick wins that pay back fastest.
Fixing leaks, fitting low-flow taps and adjusting flush volumes typically deliver early savings with little disruption. Larger investments such as rainwater harvesting, borehole supplies, closed-loop systems or equipment replacements can follow on the back of the savings from earlier actions.
6. Monitor, review and improve
Water sustainability is not a one-off project. Smart meters and digital monitoring platforms make it straightforward to track consumption in real time, spot new issues quickly and prove the impact of each change.
Schedule a formal review at least once a year to revisit the plan, update targets and identify the next round of improvements.
How water sustainability supports ESG and net zero goals
When a business consumes water from the mains it has a carbon footprint. Pumping water through the British water network requires vast amounts of electricity, treating wastewater adds more on top, and heating water on site is one of the larger energy costs in many commercial buildings. The water footprint of a business adds up quickly, and cutting water use cuts the energy needed to supply, heat and treat it, lowering both bills and emissions.
For ESG reporting, this makes water a measurable environmental metric. Most frameworks ask for total consumption, withdrawal and discharge figures, alongside reduction targets and the actions taken to meet them. A business with a documented plan and tracked progress can populate these disclosures with credible data rather than leaving gaps.
Back to blog- Share:
