Yorkshire Water employees ranked among most public-spirited in UK

Kelda Group plc – owner of Yorkshire Water – today praised its public-spirited employees after the company was ranked among the UK’s top 25% most socially responsible businesses.

The Bradford-based company said its 2,150 employees were the driving force behind the company’s success in Business in the Community’s annual “100 Companies That Count” report published yesterday (Sunday, May 7^th).

The report, which measures a company’s total impact on society, saw the company ranked 24^th – a rise of 19 places on the previous year when it came 43^rd.

Yorkshire Water’s Corporate Affairs Manager Richard Sears said:

“We are delighted to be ranked among the top 25% of socially responsible businesses in the country which really is down to the hard work, energy and enthusiasm of our employees.

“For example, over the past 12 months more than 600 employees took time out from their busy day jobs to give a little bit extra back to the communities in which they operate in a bid to further improve people’s quality of life in Yorkshire.

“Volunteering is an excellent way of developing our people, broadening their horizons and building strong, sustainable relationships with local communities. The positive impact of our volunteering programme is enormous. It’s changing the lives of children and adults alike,” added Richard.

Almost a third of Yorkshire Water’s employees now regularly take part in voluntary work.

Activities range from individuals spending an hour a week in schools to improve children’s literacy and numeracy levels, to entire departments taking time out to participate in action days in conjunction with local charities and community groups.

Everyone is encouraged to take part in the company’s employee volunteering programmes – from Board Directors to field technicians and from telephonists to tanker drivers.

Pam Lee, Business in the Community's regional director, said:

"Yorkshire Water is helping to drive the responsible business agenda forward and its latest ranking in the Corporate Responsibility Index shows no sign of let-up.

"The company recognised some years ago that being responsible is good for business and looked very carefully at its impact in the marketplace, the workplace, the community and the environment.

"Its employee volunteering programme is renowned for benefiting communities and helping its employees to develop new skills and its concern for children's health and education through its innovative Cool Schools campaign has been truly inspirational.

"Business in the Community's index is rigorous and reflects a company's commitment to its stakeholders. Yorkshire Water's commitment to meeting the needs of customers, employees, suppliers and other groups with a keen interest in how the company is run probably explains why the utilities industry recently named it Utility of the Year for a second year in a row,” she added.

ENDS

For further information, or to request an interview, please contact Corporate Affairs Manager Richard Sears on 07790 616520.

Photo captions:

Caption 1:

Yorkshire Water employees celebrate the completion of yet another successful community action day.

Caption 2:

Yorkshire Water Human Resources Manager Anne Harris pictured decorating the Manorlands Hospice in Oxenhope as part of the company’s employee volunteering programme.