Living Water Ecosystems - Winner of the Water Award, Green Business Fife Awards 2009
It is quite a journey from being invited by an 'unofficial organisation' into the Soviet Union to see the ecological problems created by aluminium factories and other industries across vast swathes of countryside to running a successful company applying ecological principles to solve water and waste problems from beneath the wartime gun emplacements in North Queensferry. Jane Shields has stayed true to her childhood commitment to look after the planet and has used her passion and knowledge to help communities and companies in many countries operate in a cleaner, more efficient and more pleasant environment.
Describing themselves as ‘Ecological Engineers', Jane and her partner, David Shields, set up an organisation, Living Water, to remedy some of the problems caused by waste. Their approach begins with water and waste minimisation, resource management and recycling. Their treatment systems recreate pond, wetland, soil and woodland ecologies; each system is designed to meet the specific requirements of the project.
Water Management
Clients come to Living Water Ecosystems Ltd for a variety of reasons: they have a problem, legislation demands that they make changes, or they are in the planning stages of a new project and want to develop their ideas for enhancing their environment. Working with Local Authorities, distilleries, oil terminals, Scottish Water, housing developers, and many others, the company transforms contaminated water and waste into a resource, using a combination of natural processes. They have developed techniques to treat effluent, wastes with a high organic loading and sludges with a high hydrocarbon content. Any material that cannot be reused or recycled is incorporated into the food web to enhance biodiversity.
Living Water enables clients to minimise their waste and use of mains water, collect and utilise rainwater for grey water uses, and mitigate and/or treat surface and storm water runoff. As experts in environmental legislation, the company understands and anticipates legal issues that can arise with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), for example, and develops solutions that take account of these factors.
The company designs systems to treat effluent and sewage and bioremediate solid wastes and sludges. Living Water has been able to help some clients convert solid waste into saleable compost for use in landscaping and transform substances labelled as ‘hazardous waste' into grade A agricultural compost. Treating solid wastes to a standard where they can be used as ‘manufactured topsoil' reduces the need for disposal at landfill, resulting in environmental and financial benefits.
Ecosystems
The company brings its own particular ethos to each project and creates ecosystems that are beautiful, lush and rich with wild flowers to attract birds and other wildlife. The results can be dramatic, especially in comparison with the appearance of the site before treatment. Living Water tries, wherever possible, to incorporate a new pond or wild space for the community as part of the project.
In addition to the specific benefits of the project, the company frequently learns how much pleasure the new ecosystems have brought staff and the local community. The pleasant surroundings reinforce the importance of looking after the environment and in many cases help staff to feel more positive about working in sectors that have not previously been thought of as environmentally friendly.
Green Business
Over the 20 years that the company has been in business, the value of good environmental management, and the business benefits it can bring, has become increasingly important to companies. Rather than using environmental issues merely as "good PR", they fully appreciate what Living Water can offer.
When the company was formed the ‘green movement' was in its youth and the office was awash with new ideas, international visitors and debate. Nowadays, about 98% of the company's business comes from recommendations and repeat business as clients recognise the improvements brought about by the changes they have made. Benefits are broad: financial return in many cases, a reduction in carbon footprint, a route to satisfy legislation or to avoid legal problems. The longer-term benefits include adopting best practice into corporate activities, generating new ideas and differentiating companies from their competitors.
Within Living Water, the principals lead by example. The renovation of the building in North Queensferry has been undertaken sympathetically with both its history and its carbon footprint in mind. Double glazing and low-energy lighting are key features, and the staff lavatory utilises a low-volume flush. Recycled materials have been used throughout the building and outside there has been landscaping to encourage wildlife. All paper, plastics and aluminium are recycled, organic waste is composted, and there is even a plot producing vegetables for staff consumption.
The company is developing new techniques and products for solving waste and effluent problems, including stream purification and recovery of expensive and reusable substances dissolved in the water. These will provide clients with further financial and environmental benefits.