Proud to be a Living Wage employer
We're proud to be the first water company to receive accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation for paying its employees the Living Wage.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard' for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.
Taking care of our employee's well-being
Our colleague’s well-being is at the heart of everything we do, so we are pleased to have been awarded the Kent and Medway Gold Workplace Wellbeing Award.
The award was achieved by demonstrating our commitment to the health and well-being of our workforce with our supportive and productive environment where employees can flourish whilst meeting best practice standards. The evaluation also involved interviewing key staff members and proving our very social and inclusive culture.
Disability Confident Employer
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we're committed to recruiting and retaining people with disabilities, and people with health conditions, for their skills and talent. Please ensure you make us aware of any disabilities when applying to ensure we can support you through the process.
Water Industry Achievement Award Winner
On the back of our innovative project to use new technology to pinpoint leaks we're delighted to hold three Water Industry Achievement Awards for Data Project of the Year, Most Innovative Project of the Year and Water Innovation Project of the Year 2020.
The project involved bringing together 15 specialist companies to test cutting edge digital water meters, sensors, advanced analytics and telecommunications channels for a year-long trial for 2,000 customers in north Kent.
The aim was to test the potential to find even the smallest leaks on the company’s network and customers’ pipework and even predict and prevent pipeline failure before it happens. Data produced also allowed us to have more detailed conversations with its customers about water use, and we were the first utility in England to combine all the elements into a Smart Network.
South East Water’s Chief Executive Officer, David Hinton said: “We are absolutely delighted to be recognised for our industry-leading achievements in each of these categories. The Smart Network project was an industry first and we are very proud to be leading the way with innovation to find solutions."
Infrastructure Delivery Award 2023
Aylesford Storage Reservoir Restoration
Our complex three-year project to restore the drinking water storage tanks at Aylesford was recognised at the annual celebration of the work of utility companies across the country, winning the Infrastructure Delivery Award.
We came out on top in a category that also included Portsmouth Water’s Havant Thicket Reservoir project, SSE Energy Solutions’ Medway Park Leisure Centre project and submissions from Morrison Water Services (with Thames Water and Living With Water), SSEN Transmission and Tangent & UK Power Networks.
The sunken site at Aylesford has been brought back to life after millions of litres of water lost in a matter of hours following the appearance of sinkholes in September 2020, triggering a chain of events and challenges that had not been experienced before, and may never be again.
Head of Engineering, Desmond Brown, received the award on behalf of South East Water at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, with Operations Director Douglas Whitfield, Delivery Manager Chris Love, Project Manager Paul Beaumont and Head of Operations (Kent), Nick Bell also in attendance, alongside representatives from our partners DDS Contracting and AtkinsRéalis.
Desmond said: “This is a great reward for all the hard work, collaboration and engineering excellence that has gone into this project.
“It has been an extremely challenging project for us and I thank everyone involved, from the operational teams who worked swiftly to re-route water to maintain supplies, to those who have helped bring the site back into operation through complex repairs.
“We put a temporary water treatment works into operation nearby just eight months after the sinkholes appeared and we have restored the site with minimal disruption to customers, while increasing turnover and efficiency.”
National Rushlight Award holder
Our Catchment Team hold the prestigious Rushlight Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry and Biodiversity Award for their pioneering and innovative work with farmers and landowners.
James Seymour from Natural England said: “This project is an industry exemplar of how private and public sectors can work together, in partnership, and with the agricultural community to deliver more than just end-of-pipe solutions.”
South East Water’s Head of Environment, Emma Goddard, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have our pioneering work on metaldehyde recognised and acknowledged by winning this award. Engaging and collaborating with farmers has helped them appreciate the water environment and how we can all work together for mutual benefit.”
Sector Leader in Network Utilities by GRESB
Making sure we’re doing the right thing for the environment and society is one of our top priorities. That's why we're really proud to have been named the Sector Leader in Network Utilities: Water and Sewerage Companies by GRESB in its 2020 Infrastructure Assessment.
Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world. Its data is used by more than 100 institutional and financial investors.
The GRESB Sector Leader Awards Programme recognises world-wide real estate and infrastructure companies, funds and assets that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in sustainability.
South East Water’s Chief Executive Officer, David Hinton said: “Making sure we are doing the right thing for the environment and society is the heart of our purpose at South East Water.
“We know this matters to our customers, communities and employees so we are delighted that our efforts to keep improving our performance in these issues has made such great strides and has been recognised as world-leading by GRESB.”
Special Recognition
In October 2024, one of our superstars, Cheryl Fitchet, Community Partnership Lead was awarded a special recognition award for her support over the last two years with the Demelza Charity Walk which has overall raised an amazing £10,000 for the Demelza Hospice.
