Zellar teams up with Water Plus to help SMEs unlock water savings, reduce their costs and go green
Zellar has teamed up with Water Plus, to bring the UK’s largest business water retailer’s water saving expertise into its SMART sustainability platform. The collaboration will also explore how Water Plus customers can save money and take green actions on Zellar.
The partnership has potential to save Water Plus's 360,000 customers a combined £320m and reduce their total carbon emissions by 265,000 tonnes by 2026¹, the equivalent of removing 79,000 cars from Britain's roads for two years².
The new partnership will also see the multi award-winning expertise of Water Plus being incorporated into Zellar - enabling Zellar customers to access a holistic sustainability platform that helps them to achieve total sustainability across energy, waste and now water.
Water can be a forgotten utility, but by controlling it SMEs can often reduce their water consumption and bills by between 20% and 30%. The addition of Water Plus’s expertise to Zellar’s platform will help SMEs unlock savings and further reduce the carbon emissions linked to using and heating water.
An easy-to-use digital water saving checker, with water-saving steps that can be taken, provided by Water Plus, is now on the Zellar platform.
In 2023 Water Plus helped save businesses more than 220 tonnes of carbon emissions and 625 million litres of water. It also conducted 200 water audits across a range of businesses, including a hotel, restaurants, cafes, schools and councils – resulting in a 34.6% average water-saving across more than 40 sites in 2023³.
Recent results, where SMEs have benefited from Water Plus’s expertise, include:
A coffee shop that saved 33% by installing water-saving devices to lower flow rates on pipes.
A hotel that saved 20% on water by installing water efficiency devices to reduce flow rates.
A vigilant SME who reported an increase in water use. Water Plus’s experts identified an underground leak. Saving the SME 4.2 million litres of water (4204m³ of water) in a year – equal to 16.8 million cups of coffee⁴.
Water Plus will also be working closely with Zellar to help its customers access tools that will enable them to manage and track their overall sustainability. Zellar’s all-in-one sustainability platform helps organisations to calculate and understand their carbon emissions and then builds an achievable plan to track and reduce them.
SMEs are responsible for 30% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and half of all business-related carbon emissions⁵. Many want to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint, but 9 out of 10 remain unaware of even their carbon emissions and struggle to make any headway when it comes to sustainability. Barriers cited include lack of skills (63%), and time (40%)⁶.
Zellar has already helped more than 1,300 SMEs save an average of £889, with a Return on Investment (ROI) of 200% for actions to reduce emissions. Following Zellar’s SMART sustainability plan can help the average organisation reduce its energy consumption by up to 33% and unlock estimated savings of up to £4,100⁷.
As SMEs are part of UK supply chains for larger businesses, they contribute to Scope 3 carbon emissions. So, by helping SMEs to cut carbon Zellar can boost competitiveness and help to win future business. The educational water content on Zellar can also help improve business resilience and lower the risks of interruptions to water flowing at sites, through helping SMEs to understand more about what’s being used and where and prompting them to conduct regular water checks.
Michele Marshall-Jackson, Head of Customer Operations at Water Plus, said: “Partnering with Zellar is another way we’re engaging businesses of all sizes to help accelerate sustainability actions and explore and tap into the big opportunities in water, to help increase efficiencies and reduce carbon emissions.
“It’s all about making it easier for our customers to take actions to improve efficiencies and reduce carbon emissions. This partnership is one of the many actions we’re taking to help progress towards Net Zero and reducing impacts on the environment in the UK, including through increasing water efficiency.”
Gary Styles, founder and CEO said: “We’re delighted the multi award-winning water experts at Water Plus have become our exclusive water efficiency partner. Together we’ll make it easier for businesses, councils, schools and other organisations to reduce their water consumption and their environmental impact.
“By helping organisations to minimise their energy, waste and now water usage; identify and invest in green technology and find biodiversity and volunteering projects, each unique Zellar plan has the power to reduce emissions, running costs and environmental impacts.”
Water Plus customers can benefit from a 10% first year discount to Zellar. Find out more and sign up: zellar.com/waterplus
Notes for editors
¹ Average savings and emissions data since April 2022 on Zellar platform multiplied by Water Plus customer base of 360,000.
² 265,000 tonne of carbon ÷ average annual car emissions (1.682,383 tonnes ÷ 2 years).
³ Average water-saving across 42 sites in England in 2023, tracked through water meter readings before and after water efficiency kit installed. 625,000m3 of water was saved since April 2023, based on water meter data at sites in England and Scotland. Savings based on water meter data in 2023 and include repairs to underground leaks, along with introducing more water efficiency measures at sites. There are 1,000 litres in a cubic metre of water (m3). Carbon emissions based on Conversion Factors for m³ water and wastewater, published June 2023. 229 tonnes of CO2e based on 95% Return to Sewer.
⁴ Water savings from water efficiency kit installed through Water Plus, in December 2022 and 2023. Underground leak saving coffee figure, based upon a cup, or mug, holding 250 ml of liquid. There are 4 cups of 250ml in 1 litre, which would make 16,816,000 cups in 4,204,000 litres of water. There are 1,000 litres in a cubic metre of water.
⁵ Research by British Business Bank ‘Smaller businesses and the transition to net zero’.
⁶ Research by British Climate Hub.
⁷ Taken from data on Zellar platform.
About Water Plus
Water Plus provides water and wastewater billing and customer service, along with a range of technical water services and information around water efficiency, for organisations of all sizes in England and Scotland.
Water Plus has won 17 awards, since October 2022, including a UK Customer Satisfaction Award in 2023, a Best Business Water Retailer award, two National Sustainability Awards, eight Green Apple Environment Awards and a Global Gold for Water Management in the Green World Awards 2023, for work with organisations around their water use and its steps to increase water efficiency, help reduce water waste and support projects that help communities.
In November 2023, Water Plus won Gold for Carbon Reduction in the Green Apple Environment Awards – including for work with organisations around raising awareness of carbon’s links to water use at sites and supporting water efficiencies and reductions in water waste in the UK.
It’s also a Finalist in two categories in the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024, for work with organisations around their water.
More tips around water-saving and wider benefits
See how businesses, councils and sports clubs have saved through the Zellar platform
About Zellar
Zellar is a SMART Sustainability company. The company's platform helps businesses track, measure, and reduce their carbon footprint, providing them with the data and insights they need to make informed decisions and take action. Zellar is committed to empowering the UK’s 5.5m SMEs to make a difference in the fight against climate change.
