Presentation provided by Gillian Watt, of Affinity Water, on the company’s Save Our Streams campaign.
Minutes:
Members received a presentation from Gillian Watt, of Affinity Water, on the company’s Save Our Streams campaign. The speaker stated that the campaign started in April 2021 with the aim to provide sustainable high-quality water, waste less water and stopping unsustainable abstraction of water from rivers. Members were informed that England is home to 85% of the worlds Chalk streams and water wastage is a critical local and global issue. Gillian Watt explained that Affinity water created a microsite to engaged with customers in the campaign and make it a community effort. Further ways that the campaign interacted with customers and wider audience was by social media which was seen 30.9 million times; a large bathtub was taken to town centres to demonstrate the importance of wasting less water; and a stand-up comedy sketch was recorded and broadcasted alongside radio ads. A heavy print campaign was also targeted at bus stops and an Ad was created for the Euros (From Chilterns to Champions). Gillian Watt informed members of the results of the campaign. In particular that there were 32 million impressions, 470,000 web visits, 170,000 people signed up to the campaign and 85,000 free device packs were sent out to help customers waste less water and save money. Gillian Watt explained to members that Affinity Water supplied 1.6 million homes and that 50% of Affinity Water customers had heard about the campaign and the company had witnessed a 73% change in behaviour so far from customers. In addition, 4000 trees have been planted on behalf of the campaign.
Members discussed the following points:
· Members thanks Gillian Watt for her presentation and expressed their personal involvement with the campaign and use of water saving devices. Members thanks Affinity Water for the campaign and tree planting.
· Members asked it was possible to see water savings in each area and asked whether the campaign had resulted in a reduction of water usage. The speaker stated that on average 5million litres of water had been saved each day since the start of the campaign. Modelling was being done to understand the specific savings. This modelling was taking some time to complete but Gillian Watt confirmed that the company would be happy to share the findings once the results were confirmed. The speaker agreed with the idea of providing a breakdown of water consumption and saving by area.
· Members asked about the next steps of the campaign and whether it was targeting young people and schools. The speaker stated that Affinity Water were laying out the plans for year two of the campaign and they wanted to better connect with schools. However, they wanted to get the messaging right before going into schools. Gillian stated that they had received feedback from teenagers during the bathtub in the town centres.
· Members suggested linking with organisations that involved young people. Gillian stated that the campaign had got in touch with local groups.
· Members asked whether the campaign worked with anglers. Gillian stated that this was the intention and unfortunately a television opportunity was missed due to scheduling clashes. However, Gillian assured Member that this something that the campaign wanted to make work especially with people with an active voice in the area of water.