A number of firms active in the water sector are among the 176 awards winners in the Queen’s Awards announced on 21st April, Her Majesty the Queen’s 91st birthday.
Widely regarded as the most prestigious business award in the country, 2017 marks the 51st anniversary of the Queen’s Awards scheme. Recipients have to demonstrate outstanding results in their respective fields of innovation, international trade or sustainable development.
Companies from all points of the supply chain working in both the UK and overseas water sector received awards, ranging in size from SMEs to multinational firms, including:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Carillion Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of its contribution to sustainable development , including evidence of sector-leadership through its Sustainability 2020 strategy- one of 11 recipients in the sustainable development category
- Belu - an SME with eleven employees - won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in sustainable development. Belu is the only UK bottled water company to be 100% carbon neutral to the independent British Standard of Carbon Neutrality PAS2060 across its entire business. Belu trade with the purpose of investing 100% of profits into ending water poverty through their exclusive partner, WaterAid. Now in the sixth year of the partnership, to date Belu have donated a total of £2.2 million.
- Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group - Enterprise: International Trade 2017 to Watson-Marlow Ltd and Bio Pure Technology Ltd - the award reflects the company’s outstanding continuous growth of 76.6% in overseas sales over the judging period.
- Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd - Design and manufacturer of digital thermometers, sensors, moisture meters, pH meters, data-loggers and associated products
INNOVATION
- Siltbuster Queen’s Award for Enterprise – Innovation - Serviced based business providing technical suppor t, advice and practical solutions for onsite water pollution prevention
- HWM-Water Ltd – the remote PermaNET+ system water leak noise monitoring and pinpointing system that reports over the GSM network, that constantly monitors of a water network to detect any leaks that occur. PermaNET+ was chosen for the largest ever deployment of leak noise detecting equipment by Affinity Water - 20,000 units were installed to cover a water network that serves over £3.6 million people.
- The Smart Actuator Company(SACO) Malvern - Innovative electric actuator with improved energy efficiency and programmable features the firm is attending the Oman Energy & Water Expo which takes place 1st to 3rd May. The firm’s small actuator is particularly well suited for water treatment plants or irrigation systems.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.