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We are incredibly proud of our employees for coming together to celebrate Pride month. We hosted ‘A Day to be Proud of’ at our head office in Warrington with rainbow ice creams, pledge cards, visitors from The Proud Trust, rainbow lanyards and much more. Not only that, we held virtual events with guest speakers across the month and lit up our offices with LGBT+ colours. We also visited the newly refurbished LGBT+ centre, cared for by The Proud Trust. It is a welcoming space where LGBT+ people can access youth and community groups and support workers. A big thank you to our LGBT+ employee network for helping raise more awareness to the LGBT+ community and creating a welcoming working environment for all. #pridemonth #pride2022
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new TV advert which will be running for the next six weeks. The ad focuses on the water cycle where we explain to curious Carter where water comes from and also how it gets taken away again when he flushes the loo. You will also see Carter on Granada and Border as part of our sponsorship with ITV weather. This is a fantastic opportunity to share more of the amazing things we do across the North West, as well as encouraging customers to save water and explain what not to flush or pour down the sinks.
Meet the next generation of river champions! These Cumbrian school children recently experienced how we treat wastewater and protect the environment at Appleby Wastewater Treatment Works. This was all made possible thanks to Eden Rivers Trust who successfully received a grant from our £300,000 Catchment Systems Thinking (CaST) account - to support charitable organisations in delivering catchment based projects across the North West. A big thank you Eden Rivers Trust and Lowther Primary School for coordinating the visit.
It was fantastic to see Haweswater on the latest edition of Countryfile with John Craven. It is great to be able to share how we work in partnership with the RSPB to manage and preserve the land not only to protect water quality, but also for the benefits of wildlife and the environment. To learn more about our work, tune into our podcast series Acres of Nature.
The Platinum Jubilee weekend was the perfect time for us to officially welcome Blackpool residents back to their local park. We’ve invested over £100 million into the area to improve bathing water quality across the Fylde coast. Our works included laying a new 3.7km outfall pipe and building a huge underground storm water tank and replacement pumping station. We had to close the park for nearly five years whilst we carried out the project over two phases between 2015 and 2020. The opening was delayed due to Covid but finally managed to have a ceremony with a weekend of community and celebrations and local MP Paul Maynard to officially open the park.
We’re delighted that Dovestone, one of our countryside parks, has received £1.2 million of funding to help with vital peatland restoration work, thanks to Natural England's Nature for Climate Peatland Capital Scheme. We have also funded a further £400,000, and will be working in partnership with RSPB to restore 941 hectares of ancient peatbog back to full health. Restoration and maintenance of peatbog is essential if we are to create a low-carbon future. Here is an example of peatland restoration work which took place as part of our Catchment Systems Thinking approach. Search unitedutilities.com/cast to find out more about why we are working to return peatlands to their natural state.
Not all heroes wear capes. In fact, some wear hi viz jackets and hard hats! John and Kieran can usually be seen being wet wipe warriors but when the pair came across a bin fire they knew they had to act to potentially save lives. Using a hose, usually used for clearing blockages, the pair started to put the fire out before the fire brigade arrived who thanked them for their help. Well done both for acting so quickly - you've made all of us feel incredibly proud.
We are proud to announce applications for our internships are now open! With opportunities right across the business - from assistant town planners, to landscape architects, and from water quality interns to land agents, there is something for everyone. Offering early career opportunities is so important to us and we’re proud to offer a range of great job opportunities across the North West. We have internships running over the summer for three months and also opportunities for those wanting to do a sandwich placement at university. Find out more about our internships here: unitedutilities.com/internships
Last week we were proud to be headline sponsors of Andy Carter's free careers fair in Warrington. With approximately 900 attendees and 40+ employers, it was amazing to meet so many aspiring apprentices and share the opportunities we have on offer. If you are interested in our early careers opportunities please search unitedutilities.com/corporate/early-career-roles to find out more.
Congratulations to our Innovation Lab finalists! Their bright ideas are going to help to reduce leakage and flooding, reduce the cost of water treatment and keep more people safe. Over the next three months SmartValve, Previsico, VBact, Altitude Thinking, AutoMutatio Ltd and ClearWater Sensors will have access to our expertise, processes, data and resources to trial their ideas before presenting their final products at a demonstration day in July in the hope it could lead to longer-term commercial partnerships. The Innovation Lab is our global tech hunt for ideas and it’s successfully launched several new suppliers into the water market since 2017. This week we welcomed the companies selected to join our Innovation Lab for the first meet and greet. It was time for the companies to join us in Warrington to meet sponsors, mentors and our innovation team who will guide them through the process.
