Date: 11 June 2007
Glen Water, a joint venture between Thames Water and Laing O’Rourke, has organised a range of environmental initiatives to help raise awareness of World Environment Day.
Appointed by NI Water to deliver the £122m Omega Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme, Glen Water is helping to improve Northern Ireland’s sewerage infrastructure and create cleaner, healthier beaches along the North/Down Ards coastline.
Established by the United Nations in 1972, World Environment Day is a flagship event designed to focus worldwide attention on ‘green issues’ and is celebrated every year on 5th June.
Throughout the month of June Glen Water will be holding a photographic competition, called ‘Melting Ice, a hot topic’ focussing on all environmental issues relating to climate change.
With three separate age group categories including, 10-15 year olds, 15-21 year olds, and 21 year olds and over, all successful entrants work will be displayed at a specially held exhibition. Winners selected from each category will also receive top of the range bicycles and safety helmets.
“The aim of the competition is to encourage people to think more about the environment, in particular what man-made factors are contributing towards global warming,” said Jim Conlon, General Manager, Glen Water.
“We plan to hold an exhibition of the some of the best entries to help raise awareness of global warming and highlight people’s perceptions of what it means to them,” continued Jim.
As part of its activities Glen Water is donating a number of ‘water saving hippos’ to local schools based in North Down and Ards. When installed these devices can save up to 30% of all water used in bathrooms, and are an effective way of teaching young people about the value of water.
“Water is a precious commodity, but one that it is often under-valued and taken for granted. By installing simple water saving measures, at home or at work, you can significantly reduce the amount you use and make a real difference to the environment,” said Jim Conlon
“We are employing a number of environmentally friendly work practices in all of our sites. These range from the re-use of all excavated materials, to comprehensive waste disposal techniques and site-to-site car sharing to reduce carbon emissions,” said Peter Dew, Project Leader, Laing O’Rourke.
As part of World Environment Day Glen Water is replacing all plastic cups used on-site with paper ones, initiating a green transport plan to further reduce its CO2 emissions, and making a pledge on the ‘Promise the Earth’ list.
Photo Caption: Lucy Burrows and William Frizzell from Ballyvester Primary School join Richard Caldwell, Community Liaison Manager, Glen Water with their water saving hippo’s.