Green Move to New Headquarters

Severn Trent Costain (UK) has opened its new, ultra-green headquarters complete with a 24/7/365 response control centre and a host of water and energy efficiency features.

The relocation follows the announcement that leading UK dairy, First Milk, had become the first business customer to switch to the joint venture since the regulations in England were changed to allow businesses using over the new lower threshold of 5ML of water a year to choose their supplier.

The 150-strong head office team is now consolidated at Parkside, Birmingham Business Park, a central location at the heart of the UK’s major transport and infrastructure networks, which enables easy communication with the joint venture’s numerous regional offices. The completely refurbished building contains state-of-the-art facilities including hot desking and the latest IT systems, enabling its position as a central business hub to be optimised for the benefit of customers.

As you might expect from a Company which works with customers to make more efficient use of their water resources, reduce costs and enhance sustainability, the new HQ incorporates a host of environment and safety-friendly features. These include everything from water-efficient aerated sensor taps to hot water dispensers for tea and coffee. Power saving is also very much in evidence, including automatic lighting that switches off when rooms in key areas are empty, plus working practices to drive waste reduction and recycling.

Even the move from the old offices was handled in the greenest possible way with old furniture recycled in an environment friendly way. IT equipment was distributed to two local schools and newer, reusable furniture was donated to a health centre, schools and charities. Unwanted stationery and other small office items were collected and given to ‘Sense’, a charity that provides support for deaf-blind people which is based in central Birmingham. And as the season of goodwill is approaching the team even gave its old Christmas tree to a delighted Sense, from where it swiftly departed to a local children’s home.

Severn Trent Costain’s Managing Director, Wayne Earp said: “I am delighted that the head office team is now together in this fantastic central location. This gives a welcome extra boost to our drive to provide the best possible Total Business Water Management solutions for our customers right across the country”.