Businesses and groups that demonstrate exemplary water efficiency practices will be recognised under a new accreditation from Waterwise.
The NGO will extend its Checkmark scheme to celebrate any groups that promote water efficiency within their communities.
Previously a Checkmark was only available to office premises but Waterwise recognised the limitations of that and wanted to broaden the scope for applicants.
The Community Checkmark will launch in May on day two of Water Saving Week, which will explore how water resilience for the future will create resilient communities.
Lydia Makin, policy and project manager at Waterwise told Utility Week the Checkmark scheme is aimed at acknowledging and showcasing best practice.
“There are many groups already doing this work at town and community levels but there was no ‘gold star’ at the end,” Makin said. “A lot of water companies are already doing community level engagement programmes, which span efficiency, affordability and reaching vulnerable customers.”
The mark is designed for any organisation, charity, group or business that has links to different parts of the community including local councils, schools or universities and want to encourage programmes that cover multiple areas and approaches to promote better water habits.
“We’re looking for projects that have really tried to embed themselves in the community as much as they can. The questions will ask what percentage of households they have managed to target in the community as part of efficiency messaging,” Makin said.
Another important strand will be promoting the link between carbon emissions and water efficiency to encourage organisations to link drought with climate change as well as understanding the carbon footprint of tap water.
As part of its annual Water Saving Week, Waterwise will promote these messages to the public to encourage better habits and raise awareness of water efficiency.
Makin said it was important to recognise and reward the excellent work groups and water companies already do towards improving and promoting efficiency.
She said: “There’s lots happening in this field, lots of people doing good work, and this is our way to put a stamp of approval on it and share success stories.”