Last reviewed: 3.1.2012 - 11.06am
Over the past few years, our performance has been better than ever.
During this time, our work to protect the environment and operate our business sustainably has also been recognised and rewarded by the following bodies.
2011
Utility Industry Achievement Awards
Our HR team were announced as winners of the Staff Development Award at the 2011 Utility Industry Achievement Awards, staged in December.
The accolade recognised their wide-ranging initiatives to promote staff development across Thames Water.
These have included a major training programme to improve customer service, a series of leadership development courses and a range of other initiatives to boost employee engagement and enhance skill levels.
Water Industry Achievement Awards
Thames Water’s pioneering partnership to put renewable biogas gas direct into the grid from Didcot sewage works was awarded Partnership Initiative of the Year.
The Didcot initiative, a UK first, is a joint venture with British Gas and Scotia Gas Networks, and produces enough gas for use in 200 properties.
GWI Global Water Awards
Our newest water treatment works, in east London, won the top prize for technical achievement at the GWI Global Water Awards in Berlin.
The Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works, in Beckton, can take water from the tidal section of the River Thames and remove the salt, turning it into drinking water.
The shortlist was voted for by readers of the Global Water Intelligence and Water Desalination Report, plus members of the International Desalination Association and International Private Water Association.
2010
Utility Website Usability Award
Thames Water has remained number one in the water sector, and joint top in the utilities industry, in a survey assessing the most user-friendly websites.
The results of the annual survey saw us achieve a mark of 4.3 out of 5, against an industry average of 3.3. The assessment, reported in Utility Week, was made by web user experience specialists Webcredible.
We topped the list of 11 water companies covered in the report, beating Anglian and Severn Trent, who were joint second with scores of 4.0. Across the utilities, only British Gas and Scottish and Southern Energy matched our score.
Webcredible's review covered factors such as contact information, clarity of design and the ease with which customers could navigate around each site.
Utility Industry Achievement Awards
We won three of the ten categories at the Utility Industry Achievement Awards: Capital Project Management Award, Team of the Year and Marketing Initiative of the Year.
A major engineering project which has removed hundreds of homes in Brixton from the threat of sewer flooding won the award for the best capital project, two years after we received the same award for a similar project in Orpington.
Our Operations Management Centre Programme team won Team of the Year for their hard work to transform an empty block in Green Park, Reading, into state-of-the-art new offices. This involved moving 500 people from 24 sites to the new location, as well as recruiting and training 100 new staff.
Our Press Office also won Marketing Initiative of the Year, for their efforts to promote our 'Bin it - don't block it' campaign. This has focused on the problems caused by disposing of fat, oil and other unsuitable materials down the sink or toilet, which leads to 55,000 blockages per year.
National Customer Service Awards: Customer Service Contact Centre Professional of the Year
Rachel Owens, a Team Manager at our Customer Centre in Swindon, was announced as Customer Service Contact Centre Professional at the National Customer Service Awards.
Rachel leads our Metered Billing team, which ensures we read as many of our 1.2m meters as possible every year. The team targets meters that have been difficult to access, ensuring that we reduce the number of estimated bills and that customers receive accurate bills.
Rachel encouraged her team to work flexibly, increasing the percentage of meters we read during 2009/10 to 99.87 per cent - a new high - and supported other improvements which improved customer service.
IChemE Awards for Innovation and Excellence
Our new water treatment works in east London won the award for water management and supply at the Institution of Chemical Engineers' awards for innovation and excellence, announced in November 2010.
The prize recognises the best project or process to demonstrate innovation in water use, clean-up and re-use, with a particular emphasis on reducing environmental impact.
The Gateway Treatment Works at Beckton is the UK's first large-scale desalination plant, and is capable of supplying up to 400,000 households. It takes water from the tidal River Thames and uses a unique four-stage osmosis process to remove the salt, by forcing the water through extremely fine membranes.
Business in the Community - "platinum" status
In June 2010, we were upgraded to "platinum" status in the 2010 Business in the Community (BitC) rankings.
BitC's platinum status is awarded to companies which "demonstrate that Corporate Responsibility (CR) is embedded in strategic decision-making and incentive structures and have improved CR management and performance over three to four years."
Institution of Civil Engineering London Civil Engineering Awards
Our work to extend London's Ring Main, which supplies much of the capital with water, received one of just five prizes at the city's top engineering awards.
The £150m project received a 'Special Award in recognition of the scale of its contribution to London'. The scheme has added two new tunnels to the Ring Main, which will enable an additional 500m litres of water per day to be transported into north-east and south-east London.
The northern extension links the Ring Main to Coppermills Water Treatment Works in Walthamstow, while its southern counterpart runs between the Ring Main at Brixton and an underground reservoir at Honor Oak in Peckham.
2009
National Joint Utilities Group Awards - Winner
A huge increase in the proportion of waste we recycle helped win a national award for sustainability. We won the award for sustainably recycling materials dug up in our Victorian Mains Replacement work, and for communicating innovation and good practice to contractors.
In less than three years, the proportion of demolition and highway waste we recycle has risen from 34 per cent to, in the last quarter of 2009, more than 90 per cent. These activities include recycling material at Hoo Island, a former Ministry of Defence site we are helping transform in the River Medway.
The awards are designed to recognise, promote and reward best practice in roadworks activities.
Utility Website Usability Award - Winner
The 2009 Utility Week Website Usability Report from user experience consultancy Webcredible, rated our website the best to use of all the 11 water supplier websites and six energy suppliers in the UK. They gave it a usability score of 87 per cent - 22 per cent above the average score for the industry. It was also the highest usability score ever recorded. Webcredible looked at the extent to which utility websites focus on their customers' needs and how easy it is for them to use.
Utility Industry Achievement Awards
The Utility Industry Achievement Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of the utility industry and reflect innovation, outstanding service, efficiency and quality. Thames Water was short-listed in four categories and went on to win two. These were:
- Winner - Change Management Initiative of the Year, for the Customer Services' NewStart programme
- Winner - IT Initiative of the Year for Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
- Shortlisted - Team of the Year: Operations and Maintenance team at Beckton Sewage Treatment Works
- Shortlisted - IT Initiative of the Year to support the Customer Services' NewStart programme
Wise up to Water website 'highly commended'
Our Wise up to Water website received a 'highly commended' award in the website category of the prestigious International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Awards.
The IVCA Awards recognise best practice in communicating the importance of corporate social responsibility, diversity and sustainable development.
Wise up to Water is a resource for students and teachers to help schools reduce their water use.
Business in the Community - National Example of Excellence
The Awards for Excellence are the UK's most influential, independent, peer-assessed corporate responsibility awards. The awards recognise and celebrate those companies who have shown innovation, creativity and a sustained commitment to corporate responsibility. Our London On Tap campaign was awarded 'Example of Excellence' in the P&G Responsible Marketing and Innovation Award, beating campaigns by Cadbury's, Marks and Spencer, Camelot Group and the Co-operative Financial Services Group.
Business in the Community - Big Tick Awards
Big Tick awards are given to businesses able to demonstrate significant impact and high-quality management of their responsible business practices, and who can show a positive impact on both society and the business. Our London On Tap campaign was awarded the Proctor & Gamble 'Big Tick' in the Marketplace Impact category for Responsible Marketing.
2008
Utility Industry Achievement Awards
The Utility Industry Achievement Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of the utility industry and reflect innovation, outstanding service, efficiency and quality. Thames Water was short-listed in five categories and went on to win two. These were:
- Winner - Capital Project Management for Orpington Flood Alleviation Scheme
- Winner - Marketing Initiative of the Year for London On Tap
- Short listed - Capital Project Management for Victorian mains replacement
- Short listed - IT Initiative of the Year for Traffic Management Act project
- Short listed - Team of the Year for Post Room
Carbon Trust Standard Award
The Carbon Trust Standard Award 2008 is the world's first award to recognise companies that have made a real and sustained reduction in their carbon emissions. Thames Water became the only UK utility company to receive the award after reducing emissions by over 21,700 tonnes.
National Customer Service Awards
The National Customer Service Awards celebrate the effort and impact of excellent customer service on the customer and business. Our Head of Customer Experience, Jill Jones, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of 'a long and distinguished career in customer service dedicated to service excellence'.
Considerate Contractor Awards
The Considerate Contractor Awards are run by the City of London to encourage building and civil engineering contractors operating locally to work in a safe and considerate manner.
- Winner - Gold Award for Victorian mains replacement project (Thames Water, Clancy Docwra, and J.Brown Construction)
- Winner - Gold Award for new connection work (J.Brown Construction)
