Irish Water has partnered with Retail Ireland, to offer its members the opportunity to improve their green credentials with bespoke training on how to reduce their water consumption while also driving down operating costs for their businesses.
Irish Water’s specialised training for the retail sector provides staff and owners with the knowledge and expertise to lower water consumption and reduce costs while protecting the environment. Small changes such as identifying water being wasted on site, setting a baseline for water use to understand what is normal or average use, raising awareness amongst staff and customers or upgrading to water efficient devices can all help to reduce water use and save money.
The programme is the first of its kind in Ireland and is fully supported by Ibec, Chambers Ireland, SEAI, Origin Green, BIM and Enterprise Ireland.
Arnold Dillon, Retail Ireland Director is encouraging member businesses to sign up for this invaluable training: “A range of retailers have already completed Irish Water’s Water Stewardship Programme and the feedback has been incredibly positive. They’ve taken a range of new tips, tools and information from the course and transferred them into tangible results, saving water and money for their businesses.”
Ken Stockil, Central Solutions (Irish Water programme delivery partner) added: “The award winning Certified Water Stewardship Programme from Irish Water and the Lean & Green Skillnet, provides world class support to enterprises seeking to reduce their water use and strengthen their environmental credentials through verifiable action. This online training allows businesses to participate at a time that suits their busy schedules and will help their employees and customers make conscious decisions about water consumption that will benefit everyone.”
Retailers interested in getting involved in this free training are asked to register before December 15 at www.water.ie/stewardship.
Christine Crawford, Irish Water added: “Sustainability is a top priority for Irish retailers. Irish Water’s Certified Water Stewardship Programme supports retailers to move to more environmentally responsible water management practices. The programme is providing international best practice training to support businesses to use water sustainably, in a way that benefits people and nature.
“While retailers are the focus today Irish Water has developed three steps to support all businesses to move to more sustainable water management. We would encourage all businesses to start the water conservation journey and go green, the first step is the Water Conservation Pledge which only takes minutes to complete. This is followed by free online Water Conservation Training, and finally business representatives can enrol and become a Certified Water Steward.”
The programme is funded by Irish Water and the Lean & Green Skillnet with the support of Skillnet Ireland and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It gives participating businesses the tools to save water and money by providing them with the knowledge and skills to reduce water consumption and operating costs. Participants will learn the key principles of water stewardship and the actions required to improve environmental performance.
Retail businesses can access bespoke water conservation tips for the retail industry at www.water.ie/retail and sign up to the Water Stewardship Programme with Retail Ireland at www.water.ie/stewardship.