The seven-point plan for holistic water management provides a useful bite-size framework for all businesses to develop a resource management plan to structure and prioritise their water management.
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Understand how much you can save
By comparing how much water your business uses to how much water similar, water-efficient businesses use, you can set achievable targets. Saving water does much more than add to the bottom line.
What saving water does for your business
Businesses are responsible for around 25% of all water used in Greater Sydney. Could your business use less water, more effectively? By achieving a best practice benchmark, you can:
- pay less on water use, energy use, chemical use, wastewater discharge and trade wastewater charges
- save on maintenance and capital costs of equipment by managing water better
- reduce your environmental impact by reducing your site's carbon emissions, demand for water from our dams and discharge that must be treated before it's released into rivers and oceans
- build your brand as an environmentally conscious provider, improving your corporate social responsibility.
3 steps to calculate, compare and track
The key to using water more effectively is to understand where your business uses it.
We've used a childcare centre as an example to demonstrate the steps to achieve a best practice benchmark. The business activity of a childcare centre falls under 'Childcare and preschool education'.
Step 1 Calculate your current business benchmark
- Start with your key business activity indicator. The key business activity indicator is the business activity or variable that affects how much water your business uses.
- Quantify your water usage in units that align with the benchmark for your business type. The benchmark may be in megalitres (ML), kilolitres (kL) or litres (L).
- Calculate the daily water use to align with the benchmark. Divide your water usage by the days shown on the water bill (a quarter can be from 90 to 92 days).
- Calculate your business benchmark by dividing daily water use by the key business activity indicator.
Childcare centre example
The childcare centre takes 30 children a day on average. This is its key business activity indicator. The water usage on its latest quarterly bill is 90 kL (1 kL = 1,000 L). To calculate the childcare centre's business benchmark:
Water usage on last bill |
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Days shown on last bill |
|
Daily water use |
|---|
Daily water use |
|
Key business indicator |
|
Childcare centre benchmark |
|---|
Step 2 See how you rate against similar businesses
Once you've calculated your current business benchmark, you can see how it rates against benchmarks for a similar business in the dropdowns below. When you compare, you can see if there's potential to improve your water management practices, reduce your water usage and use water more effectively.
Childcare centre example
The business benchmark of 33 L per child per day puts the childcare centre in the fair range for the 'Childcare and preschool education' water-efficiency benchmark. There's an opportunity to improve practices and reduce water usage to enable it to fall within the best practice range of less than 20 L per child per day.
Step 3 Track your benchmark over time
By comparing your business benchmark over time, you can:
- measure how your business is performing
- verify the benefits of action taken to improve performance
- identify problems for investigation if water use increases unexpectedly.
Benchmarks and guides by business type
We've included benchmarks, best practice guidelines and resources for a range of business types. These provide practical ideas on how your business can save water and use it more effectively.
For practical ideas on how your aquatic centre can save water and use it more effectively, read our Best practice guidelines for water management in aquatic leisure centres.
| Rating | Benchmark per bather | Benchmark per patron |
|---|---|---|
Best practice |
< 20 litres (L) per bather |
< 10 L per patron |
Efficient |
< 20 L to 40 L per bather |
10 L to 25 L per patron |
Fair |
40 L to 60 L per bather |
25 L to 40 L per patron |
Inefficient |
> 60 L per bather |
> 40 L per patron |
For practical ideas on how your childcare centre or preschool can save water and use it more effectively, see the summary findings of Water Savings Partnership pilot assessments in Water efficiencies in childcare centres.
| Rating | Benchmark |
|---|---|
Best practice |
< 25 L per child per day |
Fair |
25 L to 40 L per child per day |
Inefficient |
> 40 L per child per day |
For practical ideas on how your club can save water and use it more effectively, read our Best practice guidelines for water management in clubs.
| Club facility type | Benchmark |
|---|---|
With no cooling tower or swimming pool |
20 L per customer per day |
With cooling towers and no swimming pool |
22 L per customer per day |
With cooling towers and swimming pool |
28 L per customer per day |
| Rating | Benchmark |
|---|---|
Efficient |
< 35 L per food cover |
Fair |
35 L to 45 L per food cover |
Inefficient |
> 45 L per food cover |
| Rating | Benchmark without reuse water | Benchmark with reuse water |
|---|---|---|
Efficient |
17 L to 22 L per kilogram linen |
12 L to 15 L per kilogram linen |
Fair |
22 L to 26 L per kilogram linen |
15 L to 18 L per kilogram linen |
Inefficient |
> 26 L per kilogram linen |
> 18 L per kilogram linen |
For practical ideas on how your commercial office building or shopping centre can save water and use it more effectively, read these best practice guidelines:
- Best practice guidelines for commercial office buildings and shopping centres (part 1)
- Best practice guidelines for commercial office buildings and shopping centres (part 2)
- Best practice guidelines for commercial office buildings and shopping centres (part 3)
- Best practice guidelines for cooling towers in commercial buildings
| Rating | Benchmark with cooling towers | Benchmark without cooling towers |
|---|---|---|
Best practice |
0.77 kilolitres (kL) per square metre per year |
0.40 kL per square metre per year |
Efficient |
0.84 kL per square metre per year |
0.47 kL per square metre per year |
Fair |
1.01 kL per square metre per year |
0.64 kL per square metre per year |
We commissioned a water efficiency analysis for this segment for the City of Sydney and the Sustainable Destination Partnership. Explore the findings and recommendations in the Water efficiency segment study for hotels, hostels and entertainment venues.
| Rating | Benchmark |
|---|---|
Best practice |
0.40 kL per room per day |
Efficient |
0.40 kL to 0.45 kL per room per day |
For practical ideas on how you can save water and use it more effectively when managing turn and sports fields, read our Best practice guidelines for holistic open space turf management in Sydney.
| Rating | Best practice benchmark |
|---|---|
Elite |
4 million litres (ML) to 9 ML per hectare per year |
Regional |
2.5 ML to 5 ML per hectare per year |
Local |
1.5 ML to 3.5 ML per hectare per year |
Passive |
1.5 ML to 3.5 ML per hectare per year |
How we can support you
Your relationship manager can assist with benchmarking your business's water use. Call 13 20 92 8am–5:30pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays) or email businesscustomers@sydneywater.com.au. They can help to:
- identify your key business activity indicator
- track your historical water use
- calculate your business benchmark
- compare your benchmark against water-efficiency benchmarks
- recommend efficiency improvements.
If you don't have a relationship manager, email waterfixcommercial@sydneywater.com.au.
Ways we help businesses save water