Nickelodeon UK, United Utilities And Southern Water's Water Efficiency Initiative, Gabi The Rapping Camel, Wins Praise And Award At The UK Water Efficiency Awards 2012!

From Utility Week:

Water companies celebrated for successful efficiency projects

Five water companies were recognised for water efficiency projects last night, along with such diverse parties as an animated camel on Nickelodeon and a youth hostel in Scotland.

Waterwise and the Environment Agency, hosting the UK Water Efficiency Awards, said UK businesses could save more than £3.5 billion a year with water efficiency measures.

[...]

Jacob Tompkins, Waterwise's managing director, said: "We've been impressed by the calibre of all the entries this year; it's been truly inspiring to see all the great work on water efficiency that's being done all across the UK."

The organisation behind rapping cartoon camel GabiH2O won plaudits for education, while others showed water saving in agriculture, businesses and public bodies.

Lord Chris Smith, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: "The recent drought has brought the need for water efficiency into sharp focus. We want to see all businesses reducing their water usage and using this to deliver environmental and financial benefits.

"What can be achieved is highlighted by this year's winners - all of whom should be praised for not only saving water but also putting themselves a step ahead of their competitors, saving money and preparing for the future."

Also, from Energy Live News:

Cartoon camel and Swindon are water efficiency winners

What do a cartoon camel, the town of Swindon and a plant nursery have in common? They're all winners when it comes to water efficiency.

That's according to the Environment Agency and Waterwise, which are urging businesses to use water efficiency to boost their profits on the day it announces the results of its UK Water Efficiency Awards 2012.

Winners included a plant nursery in Southamption which is saving itself at least £20,000 a year as it is no longer reliant on mains water to irrigate its plants. It brought in a seven million litre reservoir, rainwater capture and a clean water storage and pumping system.

The town of Swindon also bagged an award for its project to cut water use by one million litres a day by 2014. It is on course to achieve the ambitious goal after already slashing overall use by more than 560,000 litres a day.

GabiH2O, the rapping cartoon camel was another of the winning projects, as the UK’s first on-air animated character dedicated to educating children about water efficiency, created in partnership between Nickelodeon UK and United Utilities and Southern Water.

Lord Chris Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency said: “We want to see all businesses reducing their water usage and using this to deliver environmental and financial benefits. What can be achieved is highlighted by this year’s winners – all of whom should be praised for not only saving water but also putting themselves a step ahead of their competitors, saving money and preparing for the future.”

Also, from Big Green Smile:

Rapping camel wins water saving award

The UK Water Efficiency Awards ceremony has just been held at the House of Lords where 23 deserving projects were recognised for their efforts to help save water.

The awards, created by Waterwise and the Environment Agency, coincided with the Environment Agency’s Greener Business initiative which recognises the green businesses which are helping to drive green growth, despite tough economic times.

The awards took place in The Cholmondeley Room and Terrace at the House of Lords with the 23 recipients ranging from the creative to the practical, demonstrating the variety of ways in which organisations are cutting water consumption.

The Environment Agency’s Chairman’s Award went to ‘Save Water Swindon’. The collaborative project, involving Thames Water, WWF and Waterwise, is on course to achieve its ambitious goal of reducing water consumption in Swindon by one million litres a day by 2014! The town has already reduced overall use by more than 560,000 litres a day.

A rapping camel also won an award. Gabi the Camel, an animated animal on Nickelodeon UK, raps to the kids about the need to save water.

The chairman of the Environment Agency, Lord Chris Smith, said: “The recent drought has brought the need for water efficiency into sharp focus.

"What can be achieved is highlighted by this year’s winners – all of whom should be praised for not only saving water but also putting themselves a step ahead of their competitors, saving money and preparing for the future.”

Jacob Tompkins, Waterwise’s managing director, said: “We’ve been impressed by the calibre of all the entries this year; it’s been truly inspiring to see all the great work on water efficiency that’s being done all across the UK.”

It’s nice that they both said that. But here at BigGreenSmile, we’d have liked it just that little bit more if they’d rapped. Maybe next year.

[...]

Tags: waterwise, environment agency, nickelodeon, gabi the camel, uk water efficiency awards

Categories: Climate change | Energy saving | Green consumer | Green home | Natural world | Water saving

Also, from EP Magazine:

UK 2012 Water Efficiency Award Winners Announced

The Environment Agency and Waterwise urged businesses to reduce their water usage, saying UK businesses could save more than £3.5 billion a year by using water efficiency measures.

The Environment Agency and Waterwise announced the 2012 winners of their Water Efficiency Awards. They were chosen for demonstrating creative but practical ways for reducing water consumption.

The winner in the farming and horticulture sector is Lowaters Nursery in Southampton, which built a reservoir of 7 million liters' capacity and uses rainwater capture and a clean water storage and pumping system to avoid relying on the public water system. The nursery has saved at least £20,000 a year, according to the two organizations.

Save Water Swindon won the Environment Agency's Chairman's Award. Started in 2010, the project is a partnership of Thames Water, Waterwise, and the World Wildlife Fund to reduce water use in Swindon, which is in a region the Environment Agency has classified as "seriously water stressed" (meaning all available water sources already are in use and wildlife is under increasing pressure). The town gets its water from two rivers, the Kennet and the Thames. Save Water Swindon aims to reduce water consumption in the town by 1 million liters per day by 2014 and is on course to achieve that goal, having cut overall use by more than 560,000 liter per day.

Winning in the Campaigns & Education Category was a project featuring Gabi the camel, described as the UK's first on-air animated character dedicated to educating children about water efficiency. GabiH2O, in partnership with Nickelodeon UK and sponsored by United Utilities and Southern Water, features a rapping camel educating children on the need to save water.

A runner-up in the Built Environment category is Tap into Savings, a water and energy saving program in Essex that is saving more than 80,000 liters per day. More than 3,000 homes have been fitted with water-saving devices such as shower flow regulators and dual-flush mechanisms, saving about 15 percent per household.

"The recent drought has brought the need for water efficiency into sharp focus," said Lord Chris Smith, chairman of the Environment Agency. "We want to see all businesses reducing their water usage and using this to deliver environmental and financial benefits. What can be achieved is highlighted by this year's winners -– all of whom should be praised for not only saving water, but also putting themselves a step ahead of their competitors, saving money, and preparing for the future."