This week, we have welcomed leading soft drinks company Britviconto our Water Stewardship Programme. Along with some of our local member Trusts, we’ll be working with Britvic to improve river health and water quality near their production sites.

Our Water Stewardship Service enables businesses to work effectively with the Rivers Trust movement, as well as catchment partnerships, to implement on-the-ground activities that contribute to the sustainability of both the water environment and the businesses involved.

This new partnership with Britvic will focus on three areas of work:

Establishing a new wetland near Britvic’s Leeds factory, in partnership with Aire Rivers Trust
Working on habitat creation and restoration projects near Britvic’s Rugby factory, including tree planting, new wetlands, and floodplains with Severn Rivers Trust
Restoring more than 4km of river close to Britvic’s Beckton factory in London, in partnership with Thames21

We’ll also be involving employees from all three sites in volunteering activities to bring this amazing work to life and enhance the connection between communities and their rivers.

Britvic is one of the leading branded soft drinks businesses in Europe, with a portfolio including Fruit Shoot, Robinsons, Tango, and J2O. As the largest supplier of branded still soft drinks in Great Britain, we are delighted to be working with them to deliver improvements to our river environment that are so drastically needed.

Sarah Webster, Director of Sustainable Business at Britvic, said: “Water is essential to life and livelihoods and, as a soft drinks manufacturer, it’s our primary ingredient.

“We know that in the coming decades, water shortages will become a growing threat and it’s one we need to take as seriously as the climate crisis and the war on waste.”

Water stewardship has long been a focus for Britvic and is a fundamental part of the company’s Healthier People, Healthier Planet long-term sustainability strategy and sits alongside targets to cut carbon emissions and increase the amount of recycled content in its packaging.

Christine Colvin, Director for Partnerships & Communications at The Rivers Trust, said: “With this partnership, Britvic are taking a critical step towards stewardship, and looking after their local water environments, beyond the factory fence, in collaboration with The Rivers Trust.”

Keep an eye out for further updates from this new partnership as it progresses.