The REDUCED Project, led by Isle and funded by the Market Improvement Fund, drives water efficiency in England’s non-household water market.
Market Improvement Fund
Market Improvement Fund
The Market Improvement Fund was set up to fund innovative projects that will benefit the non-household water market and its customers. The fund is overseen by the Strategic Panel (including project selection, funding allocation and progress of work) and administered by MOSL. Isle with Wave as its sponsor applied to the Market Improvement Fund to fund the REDUCED project.
Sustainability in a fragmented market
Business customers account for roughly one-third of England’s total water consumption, putting considerable pressure on water resources. However, the fragmented structure of the non-household water market makes it challenging to address business demand in a sustainable way. Wholesalers manage the physical infrastructure; retailers handle customer relationships — and neither party has full control over the solutions needed to drive water efficiency.
Retailers are often constrained by limited resources and expertise. They can find it difficult to promote – let alone implement – advanced water-saving technologies. For example, tackling non-revenue water, such as leaks in infrastructure, largely falls outside retailers’ remit. In turn, this disconnect limits innovation, hampers competition and makes it difficult to align market practices with environmental objectives.
REDUCED: Improving water efficiency
The REDUCED (Raising Efforts to Drive User Consumption Efficaciously Down) Project is an innovative initiative funded by the Market Improvement Fund that aims to empower retailers to support their customers’ water efficiency goals.
The portal creates a platform for dialogue between retailers, wholesalers, and technology providers and seeks to bridge the gaps identified above. It provides independently assessed information on cutting edge water-saving technologies, and offers retailers the ability to distinguish themselves by offering sustainability-driven solutions. It also acts as a comparison tool allowing for a side-by-side evaluation of technologies to promote informed decision making, as well as best practices for integrating water efficiency into business operations. Finally, it connects retailers with technology providers to foster collaboration.
The portal has already sparked meaningful conversations, paving the way for collaborative partnerships to address water conservation challenges. Quensus, a water technology innovator, noted: “Water leaks are very disruptive and expensive to businesses, and to have a portal that they can access to explore the latest innovations is invaluable. It benefits both innovation companies and the businesses suffering from leaks that can impact day-to-day operations”.
Similarly, startups like Wizso emphasised the portal’s role in driving water efficiency: “The REDUCED portal will significantly increase visibility for Wizso as a new company bringing a water-saving product to market. It aligns perfectly with our mission to encourage businesses to reduce water consumption. With its potential to become a central hub for water efficiency, REDUCED could play a key role in helping businesses adopt more sustainable practices”.
Learnings and insights
REDUCED demonstrates how innovation, collaboration, and sector-wide commitment can advance meaningful change in the non-household water market. The project also identified a number of key insights gained from the project, and offered actionable recommendations to improve water efficiency practices for non-household water retailers. Some examples include:
- Low awareness and engagement: Many businesses remain unaware of the cost savings and environmental benefits of water efficiency. This could be mitigated by offering workshops and providing online tools for businesses to calculate potential savings.
- Fragmented responsibilities: Misaligned incentives between retailers and wholesalers hinder collaborative efforts. Establishing partnerships to bring stakeholders together, creating a shared framework of water efficiency goals, and facilitating water usage pattern analysis can benefit both sides.
- Regulatory gaps: Voluntary targets and a lack of binding legislation slow the adoption of water-saving measures. Introducing legally binding water efficiency targets would ensure businesses are accountable for their consumption.
- Financial barriers: Upfront costs deter smaller businesses from investing in advanced technologies. Funds including the Market Improvement Fund (MIF), wholesaler funding to support water efficiency trials among retailers, and an extension of the Ofwat Innovation Fund — the Water Efficiency Fund — could help to address this.
- Data and transparency: Limited access to real-time consumption data prevents customers from identifying inefficiencies. Creating a centralised database for information sharing on best practice and performance could provide an innovation hub and help retailers access up-to-date solutions for their customers.
Isle’s role
Isle was uniquely positioned to lead this project thanks to our deep sector expertise and independent perspective. With a proven track record of delivering impactful insights and recommendations for similar market challenges, our team brought technical knowledge, strategic insight, and a commitment to promoting stakeholder collaboration.