Anglian Water Direct

As October is fast approaching and the job of keeping on top of the garden is becoming more manageable, it's time to start preparing for the colder months.

A final hedge and lawn cut should be in your plans - it's a good idea to leave the grass slightly longer than normal to help protect the ground from the winter frost. It's also time to get your spring bulbs in the ground - planting several clumps of the same bulb along a border will give you a beautiful display when spring arrives. Finally is the all important garden clean up...

October is a great time to get your garden furniture brought inside (or covered up) and to give your greenhouses, gutters and water butt/s a good clean.

It's a good idea to give your water butt at least an annual clean if you want to avoid a build up of organic matter and the resulting unpleasant smells. Simply empty it out, give it a good scrub out and re-assemble. You can also buy a water butt freshener to add to the butt and help to keep it clean and odour-free.

It has been a mild September this year and October is looking to be a mixed month of showers, a little bit of sunshine and even some storms, so get out in the fresh air sooner rather than later and get your garden prepped for the winter ahead.

Anglian Water Direct’s home assistance partner, HomeServe, has been recognised for the ground breaking strides it has made to its customer service – scooping a major regional business award backed by the Express and Star newspaper.

HomeServe was hailed as a champion for customer care at the Express and Star Business Awards, winning the Excellence in Customer Service award. The awards recognise businesses going over and above to serve their customers.

Kevin Brown, Anglian Water Direct’s Business Director said  “We are very careful about the businesses we choose to work with and are particularly focussed on ensuring our high customer service standards are maintained by the companies we work alongside. It is evident that the team at HomeServe take great pride in the service they offer and it is fantastic that they are being recognised for their efforts.”

HomeServe has enjoyed a successful start to 2016 for customer service recognition, after being named as the ‘Most improved company in the UK for customer satisfaction in the Services sector’, as well as achieving rising independent customer feedback scores on Trustpilot.

What better week to start your composting journey than Composting Awareness Week!

Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient-rich food for your garden.

Home-produced compost improves the soil structure, maintains moisture levels, and helps plants to grow. It is really easy to make, and helps reduce the amount of waste going into your wheelie bins.

To get started, simply put your compost bin in a reasonably sunny spot on bare soil. When you fill the bin for the first time, you need to make sure the air can circulate properly. You can do this by layering the bottom of the compost bin with some twigs and kitchen waste to encourage worms and other organisms. Put something on the next layer that will stop the gaps in the twigs being filled, e.g. cut flowers. This will enable the air to continue to circulate and penetrate under the rotting waste. When composting gets going the twigs will rot, but by this time the composter will be working effectively and they will no longer be needed.

Don't over-fill your composter. Make sure there is some room at the top to allow the air to circulate (so never more than about 80% full). As you build up the layers add a few handfuls of ordinary garden soil and it will introduce the creatures that help with the rotting process. Put the lid on when you are finished and within 12 months, your compost should become earthy, crumbly and moist - perfect for mulching trees, enriching your borders and adding to planters and pots!

Today is World Earth Day, an annual event that many people are not aware of, but which is used each year to focus on supporting our environment. That's not to say, it isn't something we should be thinking about every day of the year, but the 22nd April marks a day for us to shout about it and help to drive awareness of the importance of protecting our wildlife.

At Anglian Water Direct, we really value the environment and provide products to help you do your bit to help protect it too.

Water is an essential part of the environment and whilst we all think about our own water consumption, it's easy to forget that it's also important for wildlife. Long periods of dry weather reduce the availability of water in habitats that plants, insects, amphibians and birds need to survive.

Water butts and other water efficient devices don’t just help save water in your household, but can help save water for wildlife and the rest of the world.

Make your own mark for World Earth Day by making a change today. There are many things you can do to make a difference, including saving water, composting your waste, planting a tree or even just leaving your car at home whenever you can and taking a walk.  Whatever you do, however small, it all helps protect our planet for generations to come.

The lighter evenings have finally kicked in, which means more daylight hours for you to spend on the garden. However, the big question is, which job to tackle first?

A great way to spend your time would be to get some mulch down on your borders and flower beds. Mulching has loads of advantages. Depending on the type of mulch you choose, some of the benefits you can expect are:

- It restricts weeds from growing. Weeds don’t just look unsightly, they also steal valuable nutrients from the more desirable plants in your garden

- It helps to moderate soil-temperature and keeps soil roots cooler

- Depending on the type of mulch you go for, it will also add nutrition to your garden as it breaks down

- Lastly, is the added bonus of saving water...

By laying 1-2 inches of mulch on the top of your soil, it will shield the soil from the sun, so more water is retained in the soil for the plants and less water is wasted via evaporation. This can dramatically reduce the need for watering your garden, which can become a full time job in the hotter summer months!

If you haven't already got a water butt in your garden, the months of March and April provide an ideal time to get one installed.

The hottest month's of the year are just round the corner, so get a water butt set up in your garden now and you can reap the benefits of the rain expected in April and May. During both months we can expect rain on around 14 days (according to weather2travel.com). The water you can save in your water butt can then be used in the hotter months of the year to water the garden. If you're on a water meter, this will help save money but also helps the environment.

Anglian Water Direct are proud to report that HomeServe, our Home Emergency Cover partner and one of the UK’s leading home assistance providers is delivering on effortless customer service.

An independent survey has shown that HomeServe achieved the most improved Customer satisfaction in the Services industry since the Institute of Customer Service began measuring it.

In the most recent survey - the UKCSI Customer Satisfaction Index (which is compiled by the Institute of Customer Service twice-yearly), HomeServe has an overall Customer satisfaction rating of 78.3, slightly higher than the average satisfaction score for the industry as outlined in each of the past three Index reports (scores were 77, 76.8 and 77.5 for overall satisfaction).

Comparisons of reports from January 2009 to now show that HomeServe has improved by 16.2 points in satisfaction, making it the most improved company in the Services industry in the whole of the UK.

In addition to the latest results, in 2014, HomeServe was highlighted by the Institute of Customer Service as one of three organisations with the largest rise in Customer satisfaction across all industries and the satisfaction levels have continued to rise.

The Institute for Customer Service has also introduced new metrics for 2016, which included whether everything is right first time for Customers – HomeServe tops the industry list with 88.5% versus the average industry figure of 75% and the all sector average of 74.4%.

HomeServe is also highest in the industry when it comes to our helpfulness of staff over the phone, with a score of 8.7 out of 10.

At Anglian Water Direct we pride ourselves on customer service and work very closely with our business partners to ensure they deliver on these values too. We are proud to work with HomeServe, a company which is clearly leading the way when it comes to improving customer satisfaction.

As a known and trusted brand to Anglian Water customers, Anglian Water Direct is committed to ensuring that our IT processes are of the highest calibre. Our recent attainment of the FAST Gold Standard for Software Compliance is an important step in demonstrating that commitment.

The FAST Gold Standard gives you, our customers, complete confidence that:
• Anglian Water Direct can demonstrate legitimate use and supply of software;
• We have the right asset and licence management systems in place;
• We understand the significance of intellectual property issues;
• We operate in an efficient IT environment;
• Best practice is instilled in our people, policies and procedures.

The FAST Gold Standard is a mark of excellence in IT compliance and software asset management and also builds on our existing ISO certification. Anglian Water Direct is already certified by LRQA to ISO9001 (Quality Management) and ISO22301 (Business Continuity management) system standards.

The FAST Standard for Software Compliance encapsulates the experience and knowledge gained by FAST whilst working with organisations seeking to manage their software effectively.

Anglian Water has won a major award on the back of clean technology innovation from Green Energy Options (geo) based in Cambridge UK.

The Green Economy Awards, formerly known as the Green Business Awards, celebrate the pioneers of Britain's green economy.

The awards recognise excellence in environmental responsibility, reconfiguration of business models around sustainability principles, and the unsung heroes of the environmental services industry. They are the UK's most comprehensive awards on the subject.

geo’s CEO, Patrick Caiger-Smith said: “We are thrilled to work closely with Anglian Water. Working together, we help Anglian Water’s customers understand how much water they use at home, and what uses the most water. This information effectively enables people to take practical steps to reduce their water usage and increase their water efficiency.”

Paul Glass from Anglian Water adds: “Helping our customers to reduce the amount of water they use is as good for their bills as it is for the environment. Our figures show that by switching to a meter people use between five per cent and 15 per cent less water and, on average, save about £100 a year on their water bills.

“With these displays, people can keep a much closer eye on their water use, which means they should be able to bring their bills down even further.

“It may seem odd that a water company actually wants people to use less water and charge them less, but we’re serious about it. The changing climate and the predicted growth of our region mean the demand for water will increase further, so we want to help our customers make the most of the water they use, and show that water efficiency really makes a difference.”

The Green Economy Awards are sponsored by Haymarket’s Environmental Data Services Unit.

Anglian Water’s customer base has grown by 20 per cent in the last 20 years, but the company still provide the same amount of water today as it did in 1990 – almost 1.2 billion litres every single day - by minimising leaks and encouraging more water-wise customers.