Our community

Our community

We're proud to have played an important part in people’s daily lives for well over 150 years – but we don’t just supply drinking water to more than 750,000 customers daily. Importantly, we make a valuable contribution to our communities too.

We do this in a number of ways:

Giving time

Our ‘Give-A-Day’ scheme sees our colleagues, many of whom live locally, getting out and about giving their time to worthwhile community projects. From litter-picking in local rivers to helping elderly people with their Christmas shopping, our people are keen to contribute where they can.

We know we’re not alone in wanting to give back, so we work with other organisations wanting to do the same. We work directly with local foundations and charities, such as The Wildlife Aid Foundation, The Orpheus Centre, The Lucy Rayner Foundation, Crossroads Care, MHA Communities, Welcare and local foodbanks, as we strive to support our community and form strong bonds with the people that make it as wonderful as it is.

Community events

We take our community trailer out and speak to thousands of people every year about water. Instantly recognisable, we see this as an important way of meeting our customers and finding out what matters most to them. 

Our trusty 'Quenchinator' water tanker, quenching the thirst of thousands of people at local events and festivals across the year!

Giving money

We donated £20,000 to local charity partners in 2023, all of which have been chosen on the basis of building meaningful long-term partnerships. Each of them also closely relates to our purpose of improving lives and enhancing nature.

Our partners:

The Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF)

Last year, we teamed up with The Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF), contributing £8,000 to help build a new wildlife centre. Located in Leatherhead, WAF is devoted to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing British wildlife, handling over 20,000 wildlife-related incidents annually. With a mission to safeguard the future of native species - 1 in 7 in the UK face possible extinction in our lifetime, and 50% of British species are in decline - WAF is making a significant impact.

The new centre, situated alongside the River Mole, will feature a café and community hub, and is set to open in March 2025. Designed with sustainability in mind, WAF's new centre will offer free admission to visitors

We're dedicated to creating positive environmental and community impacts, urging everyone to play their part. This partnership will also result in collaboration across key areas including education, with both us and WAF already working closely with local schools. Additionally, our colleagues will have the opportunity to engage hands-on through the Give A Day scheme.

SES Water Chief Executive Officer, Ian Cain, said:

“We’re honoured to be partnering with such a wonderful worthy local cause that does a huge amount of good, not only for the wildlife in the area, but also for the community.

“At SES Water we believe it’s not just our duty to supply high-quality drinking water, but also to support the communities we’re privileged to serve and enhance our local environment.

“We look forward to this fantastic new centre opening up and are sure the space will be enjoyed by the community for many years to come.” 

Wildlife Aid Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Simon Cowell, said:

“We’re delighted and proud to be working in partnership with SES Water. With our shared values and goals, we’re excited about the potential this partnership can bring to the community and Surrey’s wildlife. This collaboration will provide essential support for Wildlife Aid to develop a new Wildlife Aid Centre, while continuing to be recognised as one of the UK’s most respected wildlife rescue centres. Our partnership with SES Water will create the foundation for us to do even more."

The Lucy Rayner Foundation

The Lucy Rayner Foundation was founded by Jenny Rayner, who tragically lost her daughter Lucy to suicide. The foundation focuses on raising awareness about depression and mental health issues, especially in young adults. We've proudly collaborated with them for events like their gala dinner, where our £4,000 donation contributed to a total of £65,000 raised. Our donation alone will support services, raise awareness, and ensure the foundation's longevity, directly impacting 160 individuals facing mental health challenges for the better.

Notably, our colleagues also volunteered at the gala dinner, underscoring our commitment to the cause. We also stood alongside the foundation for Run Reigate, where our colleagues raised over £1,000 through race participation.

The Orpheus Centre

We're excited to partner with the Orpheus Centre, a specialised independent college in Godstone, Surrey. Focused on empowering young disabled adults (18-25) passionate about the arts, Orpheus guides them toward independence.

Founded by musician Sir Richard Stilgoe, Orpheus offers personalized study, supported housing, and on-site personal care. Over three years, students cultivate creativity, earn qualifications, and acquire essential life and employability skills.

Our journey with Orpheus began last year with the creation of a sensory garden for staff and students. Delighted to extend our support, we donated £8,000 to their annual music festival, The Orphest Music Festival. The event was a huge success, featuring bands, a kid’s zone, live performances, arts and crafts, workshops, and food stalls.

As part of our commitment and our community focused approach, we've also implemented our company's Give A Day scheme with the charity, where we visited the centre, contributing to site maintenance and engaging in various activities.

Surrey Wildlife Trust

We are partnered with Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT), a charitable organisation based in Surrey, devoted to the conservation and protection of wildlife and natural habitats. Their mission is to enhance the diversity and abundance of native wildlife in Surrey. From the restoration and connection of our precious heathland, wetland, and woodland habitats for the enjoyment of both wildlife and people, SWT is also actively engaged in efforts to reduce pollution from industry and agriculture. Moreover, they are dedicated to involving more schools in learning about nature and creating additional green spaces in our towns and cities. We have also been awarded the SWT Biodiversity Benchmark award, which you can read about here.

We also work with a variety of other local charities and organisations within our community including The Conservation Volunteers, Welcare, MHA Communities, Crossroads Care, Sutton Primary Care Network, Community Fridge Sutton, YMCA, Pride in Surrey, and Stripey Stork. If you’d like to find out more about working with us please email events@seswater.co.uk

WaterAid

The water industry has also supported WaterAid since its inception in 1981. They are an international charity whose mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities.

WaterAid