A significant portion of this was realised through more than £15m in discounts. Water efficiency initiatives led to £14 million in water savings and over £2 million in energy savings.

These efficiency programmes employed digital monitoring solutions to track water consumption levels, subsequently identifying areas for cost reduction. This strategy resulted in a conservation of over 7.5 billion litres of water, equivalent to 3,028 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The measures also translated into a substantial environmental impact, with a total carbon saving of over 3 million kg of CO2 – akin to taking 660 cars off the road.

Overall, these figures have contributed to a total of £367m saved by Business Stream for its customers and over 62.7bn litres of water since 2008.

Jo Dow, chief executive of Business Stream, said: “We’re delighted to be delivering these savings for our customers year on year.

“As the figures show, there is scope to make significant cost reductions and environmental efficiencies by using water wisely and, as a responsible water retailer, we’re passionate about supporting businesses and public sector bodies to realise these benefits”.

Business Stream saved Scottish public sector bodies such as NHS Scotland, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government £2.85m last year.

As a result of the retailer’s activities, the public sector also saved more than 1.365bn litres of water in that time period.

Business Stream was awarded the Scottish Government Public Sector Water and Waste Water Framework contract in early 2020. The contract, worth around £200m over three years, also includes the Scottish Prison Service, universities and colleges and local authorities. In 2022, Business Stream was awarded an additional one-year extension to the contract, which is currently underway.

The savings success comes after Business Stream recently halved its carbon emissions in just one year, exceeding the retailer’s pledge to cut emissions by 20% over the same period.