Water retailer wins £240m public sector contract

A multi-million pound contract has been secured by the UK’s longest-established water retailer that will see it continue to provide water and waste water billing services for Scotland’s public sector.

Business Stream, headquartered in Edinburgh, has been awarded the Scottish Government’s Water and Waste Water Services Framework contract, which will run for the next three years with a plus one extension option.

The Framework was awarded following a competitive tender process and will see the retailer deliver water and waste water services to public sector organisations across Scotland, including all 32 local authorities, NHS Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue, Police Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, universities and colleges and the Scottish Government.

Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream
Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream

Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream, said:

“We’re absolutely delighted to have secured this Framework. We have a vast amount of experience of working with the public sector to deliver cost savings and environmental efficiencies and we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership.

“Our focus will remain on delivering water efficiencies to help further reduce costs, while building on the community benefits and Fair Work First programme we’ve delivered to date.”

Business Stream delivered more than £2.85million in savings to the public sector in 2022/23, taking the total saved over the first three years of the contract to £6.4million. The water savings in 2022/23 equate to more than 1.365 billion litres of water.

A Scottish Government spokesperson stated:

“Following a competitive tender process with an evaluation based on price and quality, the Scottish Water Business Stream Ltd offering was selected as best value for the Scottish public purse.”

In recognition of its commitment to the sustainability agenda, Business Stream was awarded a gold rating from global sustainability assessors, EcoVadis, in November 2023, placing it within the 97th percentile of companies assessed worldwide.

The company also recently announced it had become carbon neutral certified following its partnership with climate action specialists, Ecologi, and cut its emissions by 50% last year. The result, measured from April 2022 to April 2023, and externally verified, exceeded the retailer’s promise to cut emissions by 20% during the 12-month period.

Business Stream’s latest environmental successes mark a key component of its vision to make a positive difference (MAPD) to its customers, its people, the environment and its local communities.

NEWS CATEGORIES

LATEST NEWS

Joint research on engagement and accountability published by CCW and Ofwat

Joint research by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) and Ofwat, has been published, exploring the themes of consumer engagement with water companies and...

Prolonged dry conditions increase water scarcity across Scotland

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has confirmed that Scotland’s water scarcity situation is worsening, with a further decline in river levels following another...

NRW steps up action in response to prolonged dry weather

Following the extended period of warm and dry weather, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has confirmed that the trigger thresholds have been met to move...

£6m funding for automated drones and smart robotics that will be able to both sample and deliver near lab-grade analysis of coastal and inland...

A world-leading project that’s set to see drones, robots and a mobile lab transform how rivers and seas are monitored has been named a...