Article 8 April 2026

Achieving water reduction targets boils down to starting now

The urgency for organisations to get to grips with water strategy as legislation tightens was loud and clear during Mitie’s most recent webinar.  

‘Obligation to opportunity: Water risk, regulation and readiness’ built on the content of the Net Zero Navigator 2026, our annual deep dive into sustainability trends. 

Our research found one in 12 senior sustainability managers is unaware of the Government’s commercial water reduction targets: 9% by 2038 and 15% by 2050 from 2019/20 baselines.  

This is against a backdrop of a potential 6bn litre daily shortfall in water supplies by 2055, according to the Environment Agency. 

Hosted by Mitie’s Director of Managed Water Services, Geoff Smith, the webinar focused on improving awareness, and featured insights from both Mitie colleagues and three industry experts. 

Water now part of sustainability ecosystem 

Managing Director, Consulting and Energy Solutions, Alex Avila, kicked things off, confirming that water’s importance to broader sustainability goals and organisational resilience is gaining recognition. 

He said: “Strategies are increasingly becoming value-led, so they’re linking decarbonisation and net zero to cost stability, resilience and asset value. They are increasingly becoming integrated. They treat energy, estates, water, operations and finance all as one ecosystem.” 

Corporate Affairs Manager at MOSL (operator for England’s non-household retail market), James Higgins, was the first guest speaker. He gave an informative presentation on ‘Improving outcomes in the business retail market’. 

“Strategies are increasingly becoming value-led, so they’re linking decarbonisation and net zero to cost stability, resilience and asset value.”

James shared statistics to illustrate the market position of a sector with 1.2m customers, and to demonstrate why a one-size-fits-all approach to water reduction is often unrealistic: 

  • 1.2m customers comprise the business retail market, ranging from small corner shops to largescale industrial users 
  • Half of the business market’s water is consumed by the top 1% of users 
  • 30% of England’s total water supply is used by organisations including charities and the public sector  
Water’s importance to broader sustainability goals and organisational resilience is gaining recognition. 

UK water efficiency is lagging 

James highlighted that Government reduction targets are achievable, but there is work to be done.  

He said: “Water efficiency is not yet being delivered to the extent envisaged when the market was opening. But we do now have a lot more in the policy space. We have a target at Government level to reduce business water demand by 9% by 2038, which is a positive… At the moment all of this is not quite driving everything that will be needed to get to the 9% target… There is more work to do to realign all of the drivers for retailers, wholesalers, customers and third parties to invest in that space.”

Greatest change since water privatisation 

The second guest speaker was Karma Loveday, editor of The Water Report and Water Advisor for Major Energy Users’ Council.  

Karma’s presentation explored ‘Water risk and reform; policy and reality’.  

Pulling no punches, Karma predicted the upcoming foundation of a new industry regulator – together with developments like increased smart metering and funding to incentivise water reduction – represent the greatest change in the industry since privatisation.  

She said: “Water has for a long time been quite a silent utility, but now it is moving from being a background utility to being a material business risk. I think that risk is primarily operational, but does also spread into the spheres of finance and investment and reputation. That said, water still does very much lag behind energy, carbon and so on, in terms of board-level attention. But the direction of travel is only one way.” 

Water is often an after-thought

Karma explained that water’s critical role in resilience and operations is often underestimated. 

She said: “We do generally see a lack of awareness from businesses around water risk. There is an assumption it will always be there. It’s often an after-thought. Water risk is underestimated. Sometimes it’s only dealt with when a particular problem has arisen that makes it a very immediate problem that has to be faced into. I think there is underestimation of how dependent operations are on a reliable water supply.” 

Treat water like energy 

In agreement with James, Karma predicted the situation would improve – and encouraged organisations to be proactive in defining a water reduction strategy. 

She said: “I believe water is on the path to becoming more of a strategically important consideration for business continuity and growth. Get on the front foot – don’t wait for it to become a problem. I think the biggest gains will come for organisations that treat water more like energy – a bit more like a strategic asset that needs board-level visibility.” 

The final guest speaker was Head of Marketing, Memberships and Engagement for Waterwise (the UK’s leading independent voice for water efficiency), Stephanie Fox.  

Stephanie explored ‘The need for water demand reduction’ and began by describing the dire situation UK organisations will face if water shortages aren’t dealt with. 

“Water efficiency not only strengthens organisational resilience, but reduces operational and cost risk.”

She said: “Reservoir levels have dropped significantly. There’s an increase in hosepipe bans that are trying to manage demand. When we had a very hot summer a few years ago, there were areas of the UK that ran out of water because they couldn’t keep up with the demand. We’ve also seen dry riverbeds, ecosystems increasingly under pressure. Water scarcity is now becoming an operational risk for organisations… Water efficiency not only strengthens organisational resilience, but reduces operational and cost risk.” 

Stephanie explained the UK’s typically wet climate gives a false impression of an abundance of water. Even if water scarcity is recognised, often people see it as a problem for the water companies to deal with.  

So, what can organisations do to reduce water usage? Stephanie highlighted the need for the following measures: 

  • Reusing water across operations 
  • Rainwater harvesting / greywater reuse 
  • Recirculating water within closed-loop systems 
  • Building resilience to drought and supply disruptions 
  • Better leak detection 
  • Adopting a water stewardship mindset 
  • Water neutrality (where new activity doesn’t increase overall demand on water supply) 

She concluded: “Water risk is rising in the UK. Policy direction is moving more towards demand reduction… Efficiency is no longer optional, it really needs to be central to the water security policy.” 

The biggest gains will come for organisations that treat water more like energy.

Take water to the boardroom 

The last item on the agenda was a lively Q&A; its key message was the importance of strong leadership to create behaviour change to meet water targets and remain resilient. 

In conclusion, Geoff Smith called on organisations to take action as soon as possible.  

He said: “Take water to the boardroom table. Make it a boardroom priority. We’ve all seen this before with energy 10 / 15 years ago. We’re playing out the same story here – but this is approaching us quicker. So, we need to act and we need to act now.” 

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