Marketing firm Nectar360 is encouraging consumers to reduce water usage as part of an incentivising new loyalty scheme for Severn Trent Water.
The loyalty scheme rewards customers who conserve water by using a smart meter with points given for meeting water reduction targets.
The aim of the initiative is to grow Nectar’s loyalty programme into the utilities sector, building on its success across Sainsbury’s, Argos, British Airways, Esso and American Express.
Set to launch next month, the pilot – which is being rolled out with funding from regulator Ofwat’s Innovation Fund – is expected to reach up to 25,000 customers in selected smart meter areas.
“Our partnership with Severn Trent is an industry first, using a loyalty programme to drive and reward positive behavioural change in how consumers use water,” said Nectar360 managing director Amir Rasekh.
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“The pilot helps members save money while also being more sustainable in their consumption habits.”
The trial programme will start by inviting specific customers with active Nectar accounts to register with My Smart Tracker, before completing a household survey to help track their usage against a set of targets.
Severn Trust business strategy and development director Tanvir Razvi said: “Partnering with Nectar360 – with support from Ofwat – represents a huge milestone for us in propelling our sustainability objectives while delivering value for money and a positive customer experience.”
“As an industry, water companies have been tasked by the government with bringing domestic consumption levels down to 110 litres per person per day and we’re exploring different and innovative ways to achieve this.”
She added that the Nectar360 scheme will enable customers to “save water while also saving money”.
Water firms across England and Wales have come under scrutiny themselves over sewage leakages, and after losing over 1 trillion litres of water last year alone.
