savewater!® Alliance Inc. Annual Report 2011/12 - Savewater.com.au

savewater! ® Alliance Inc.Annual Report 2011/12

savewater! ® Alliance Inc.ABN: 72 158 140 072Phone: (03) 8508 6888Web: www.savewater.com.auLevel 1, 173 Burke RoadGlen Iris Victoria 3146Damon Vaughan Design Pty Ltdwww.dvdesign.com.auThe savewater! ® Alliance would like tothank dvdesign for their ongoing supportand assistance. Their graphic design,web development, print management andstrategic planning allows savewater! ® tocontinue to deliver high-quality productsand services to its members.

ContentsChairman and Chief Executive Officer’s Report...................................................................................02Vision, Mission and Statement of Purpose.........................................................................................04Members........................................................................................................................................06Program Highlights..........................................................................................................................10savewater.com.au..................................................................................................................................................... 10savewater! ® video platform................................................................................................................................... 11savewater! ® portal................................................................................................................................................ 12savewater! ® online product library........................................................................................................................ 12savewater! ® online competitions........................................................................................................................... 12savewater! ® market research................................................................................................................................ 13savewater! ® gardens program.................................................................................................................................... 142012 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.......................................................................................... 15SmartGardenWatering......................................................................................................................................... 15GreySmart........................................................................................................................................................... 15savewater! ® plant selector and plant library.......................................................................................................... 15savewater! awards ® ................................................................................................................................................... 16Media relations......................................................................................................................................................... 18Account inserts......................................................................................................................................................... 19Social media............................................................................................................................................................. 20Facebook............................................................................................................................................................ 20Twitter................................................................................................................................................................. 20the ripple effect................................................................................................................................................... 21Educational resources............................................................................................................................................... 22Newsletters............................................................................................................................................................... 23Water efficient products............................................................................................................................................ 24EasyFill................................................................................................................................................................. 24Discount Whitegoods Trial......................................................................................................................................... 25Industry Associations................................................................................................................................................ 25savewater! ® Alliance Staff................................................................................................................26The Board......................................................................................................................................28Business Outlook............................................................................................................................29Helping communities value water

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer’s ReportTony KellyChairmanNigel FinneyChief Executive OfficerThe savewater! ® Alliance has the pleasure of submitting this annual report for the 2011/12financial year. The Board, management, and staff of savewater! ® are proud of theachievements over this period. Major milestones for the year have included:> > Appointment by the Federal Government to host thePrime Minister’s Water Wise Award for the secondconsecutive year> > Won two gold awards and a silver award at the 2012Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show> > 500 trucks installed with the EasyFill water cartermanagement system in Australia and agreementreached with the United States to run a trial of thetechnology in California> > The City of Boulder, Colorado, United States ofAmerica, joined the alliance as the first internationalmember following a presentation in Denver in 2012> > Five new online educational games built inconjunction with Swinburne University of technology> > First custom designed water bottle refill stationswere manufactured.> > Queensland Urban Utilities and all three Tasmanianutilities joined the alliance raising membership toover 70 councils, county councils, and independentwater utilities> > Partnered with the International Federation ofWater Efficiency and other international partners toachieve over 1000 entries from 40 countries in thenational 2011 savewater! awards ® program> > savewater! ® completed a number of marketinginitiatives with the Smart Water Fund and TheRainwater Harvesting Association of Australia> > Considerable market research and field trials werecompleted particularly around showerheads, waterbottle designs and gardens> > Displays at a number of major community eventsand exhibitions in New South Wales and Victoria> > Over 380 requests from school teachers havebeen received for the savewater! ® multimediaeducational resources> > A social media trial covering the constructionand management of three social networks wascompleted and findings presented to members> > Partnered with Hunter Water to design and delivera schools education kit> > Four television commercials around water-efficiencywere aired nationally as both paid TV and communityservice announcements on the WIN network> > Sponsorship of the Swimming Pool and SpaAssociation (SPASA) national awards and the Nursery& Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) national awards> > Completed the an agreement with the RainwaterHarvesting Association of Australia to undertake itsmarketing and public relations initiatives> > Completed the first year’s agreement with theSmart Water Fund to undertake marketing andcommunication initiatives> > Distribution of over 75,000 water-efficient productsto members> > Production of over 265,000 account inserts formembers as well as promotion and advertising ofsavewater! ® initiatives through approximately 4.4million metropolitan and regional water accountinserts> > Over $1m in public relations coverage, particularlyaround the savewater! awards ® program and theMelbourne International Flower and Garden Show> > Over $2m in prizes have been given away in thesavewater! ® online competitions since its inception02savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Total Total Visits Visits (’000s) (’000s)600600500500400400300300200200100100008%0% 0.5%2.5%8%Jul Aug 0% Sep Oct Nov 0.5% Dec Jan2.5%Feb Mar Apr May JunJul Aug Sep Oct Total Nov visits Dec Jan Mobile Feb visitsMar Apr May JunTotal visitsMobile visitsThe water situation in reviewAbove average rainfall has continued to dominate allbut Western Australia over the last year and we haveseen a general shift away from water-efficiency anddemand management in the water industry as newpriorities have emerged. As discussed below thisapproach is not consistent with a long-term strategicapproach, however, is understandable.The 2011/2012 period witnessed two importantdocuments in the water industry. The first was theProductivity Commission report on Australia’s UrbanWater Sector in October 2011. The report was criticalof many historical responses to managing watersupply and demand, based on insufficient attentionto cost benefit analysis. The long term impact of thisreport on measures such as water restrictions andwater pricing is likely to be significant. The seconddocument was the Australian Water Association draftpolicy paper titled ‘The Case for Water Efficiency’. Thepaper identified very clear strategic imperatives for acontinued and consistent emphasis on water-efficiencybased on both climate and population projections inAustralia. In the light of pricing reviews, the papernoted that it was critical water providers ensuredthe community had access to high quality demandmanagement information.Figure 1 – Melbourne’s average inflow to dams 1913 to 2011Annual Annual Inflow Inflow (GL) (GL)Annual Annual Inflow Inflow (GL) (GL)1,4001,4001,2001,2001,0001,00080080060060040040020020001,0001,000Average Inflow 1913-1996 (615 GL/year)Average Inflow 1913-1996 (615 GL/year)01. Annual inflow is taken as calendar year inflow (January to December) and is calculated using hydrological methods and gauging records. 2. Inflow at the four main harvesting reservoir sites representsthe main sources of streamflow from Melbourne’s water supply catchments that are not impacted by upstream diversions, but may be impacted by changes to catchment and climate conditions.1. Annual inflow is taken as calendar year inflow (January to December) and is calculated using hydrological methods and gauging records. 2. Inflow at the four main harvesting reservoir sites representsthe main sources of streamflow from Melbourne’s water supply catchments that are not impacted by upstream diversions, but may be impacted by changes to catchment and climate conditions.8008006006004004002002000019131915191719191921192319251927192919131915191719191921192319251927192919111913191519171919192119231925192719291931193319351931193319351911-1974 average(338 GL/year)1911-1974 average(338 GL/year)1911191319151917191919211923192519271929193119331935193719391937193919371939194119431945194119431945194119431945194719491947194919471949195119531955195119531955195119531955195719591957195919571959196119631965196119631965Figure 2 – Perth’s average inflow to dams 1911 to 2012193119331935193719391941194319451947194919511953195519571959196119631965196719691967196919671969Average Inflow 1997-2011 (406 GL/year)Average Inflow 1997-2011 (406 GL/year)19711973197519711973197519711973197519771979197719791975-2000 average(177 GL/year)1975-2000 average(177 GL/year)196119631965196719691971197319751977197919771979198119831985198119831985198119831985Notes: Year is taken as May to April and labelled year is start (winter) of year. Inflow is simulated based on Perth dams in 2001 i.e. excluding Stirling, Samson and Wokalup.198119831985198719891987198919871989199119931995199119931995199119931995199719991997199919971999200120032005200120032005200120032005200720072006-2012 average(64 GL/year)2006-2012 average(64 GL/year)2001-2005 average(92.7 GL/year)2001-2005 average(92.7 GL/year)19871989199119931995199719992001200320052007200720092011200920112009200920112011Notes: Year is taken as May to April and labelled year is start (winter) of year. Inflow is simulated based on Perth dams in 2001 i.e. excluding Stirling, Samson and Wokalup.2,0002,0001,5001,500Audience Audience1,0001,00050050000July September December March JuneJuly September FacebookDecember TwitterMarch JuneFacebookTwitterHelping communities value water 03

Vision, Mission and Statement of PurposeThe savewater! ® Alliance Inc. was officially incorporated in Victoria on 9 June 2004 as anot-for-profit association.VisionHelping communities value waterMissionTo utilise and combine the strengths of savewater! ® and its members with community,government and industry sectors to synergistically encourage behaviour leading toefficient and effective use of water.Statement of PurposeWe lower our members’ costs through an economy of scale model that delivers leadingedge products and services in water conservation and efficiency, utilising a specialisedmarketing team that leverages our not-for-profit status and our unique ability to linkproduct and service providers with local and international water industry networks.04savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

MembersThe savewater! ® Alliance currently has 67 members, which equates to over 70 councils,county councils and independent water utilities across New South Wales, the NorthernTerritory, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.New South WalesThroughout 2011/2012 period, the savewater! ® Alliancecontinued to grow the NSW membership base as wellas develop strong state and industry relationships.Highlights at a state and regional level include:State levelINSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES> > New South Wales membership comprised 47general purpose councils and four county councils(14 councils) for a total of 61. New membersinclude Central NSW Councils (CENTROC), PortMacquarie, Rous Water, and Kyogle Shire Council.> > savewater! ® membership increased 28%.> > savewater! ® has established three new partnershipagreements with highly-reputable water companies:Aqua Environmental, HydroScience Consulting,and Water and Energy Savers. These partnershipsare part of an integrated products and services rolethat the Alliance is developing to save our membersvaluable time and resources on projects that need tobe undertaken in the short to medium time frame.WATER AND ENERGY USE EFFICIENCY OFEVAPORATIVE AIR CONDITIONERSSTAGE 1 – SCOPING STUDY> > In February 2012, savewater! ® published theWater and Energy Efficiency of EvaporativeAir Conditioners – Stage 1 Scoping ResearchStudy. The Alliance partnered with the Instituteof Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University ofTechnology, Sydney along with Riverina Water,Dubbo City Council and the NSW Water Directorateto develop this report. Currently savewater! ® isseeking funding to address the research gapsidentified.> > The annual New South Wales members’ forum andbi-monthly e-newsletter has proved popular forNSW members.Regional level> > This financial year the NSW Regional Managertravelled 23,000 kilometres making 61 membervisits and attending three conferences. Councilshave consistently reported increased valuefrom the visits and are maximising their value ofmembership.> > The NSW Water Awareness Television Campaignscreened over summer. Four water-efficiencyadvertisements highlighted water-efficiency in thebathroom, laundry, kitchen, garden, and checkingfor leaks. Participants gained benefit through theability of the Alliance to attract free communityservice announcements. Members have placedforward orders for 2012/13.> > Residents are increasingly entering the savewater! ®online competitions. Throughout the 2011/2012period, 77 Alliance member residents have won ashare of over $58,000 in prizes.06savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Members(continued)VictoriaThe 2011/2012 period will be remembered as the yearof the water plan. All Victorian members have beenworking hard to produce their plans for the next fiveyears including sections relating to the importanceof continued water-efficiency initiatives in times ofabove average rainfall. savewater! ® membership wasacknowledged by the Essential Services Commissionfor inclusion in water plans as a relevant and valuablecentralised resource for water corporations to drawupon now and into the future. Engagement with localcommunities by savewater! ® was valuable in gainingpublic comment from customers regarding theirsatisfaction levels and collating feedback to help watercorporations improve their services.The State government’s Living Melbourne, LivingVictoria Plan for water laid out an approach to waterplanning known as Integrated Water Cycle Managementto reduce the need for large infrastructure spending,improve natural environments, reduce the risk offlooding, create greener open spaces, and reduce heatisland effects. Efficiency measures such as the use ofalternative water sources like greywater and rainwater,underpin the plan designed to future proof Victoria froman uncertain climatic outlook.savewater! ® was invited to present at multiple Instituteof Water Administration special interest group meetingsthroughout the year. Interactive presentations with thecommunications and IT groups on savewater! ® ’s socialmedia, market research and EasyFill technology werewell received by the water corporations in attendance.Victorian members continued to provide value to theircustomers through member programs such as thesavewater! ® online competition. Over 18,000 Victoriancustomers entered the competition and 136 winnersshared in over $58,000 in prizes. Members were alsoable to use the competition to ask customers valuablequestions in market research surveys to gain insightsinto key engagement programs on topics such asgardens and refillable water bottles.Victorian members continued to celebrate theircustomers’ leadership in water-efficiency through thesavewater! awards ® . 239 Victorians entered the awardsin 2011 with 16 finalists and 5 winners announced atthe gala night ceremony held at the Sofitel on Collins inNovember.savewater! ® Alliance member states and territoriessavewater! ® Alliance members08savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

F O R B E SHelping communities value water 09

Program Highlightssavewater.com.ausavewater.com.au continues to be the savewater! ® Alliance’s flagship base; a virtual stablehousing all of its information and public-facing programs.InterestInterest100100 8060 8040 6020 40Shifts in climate and weather conditions shape theway the public prioritises water-efficiency and water’sperceived value. savewater! ® ’s key traffic source –Google search results for the term “saving water” – hasdropped continually since 2007 when the countrywas last in severe drought. The twelve months fromJuly 2011 to June 2012 resulted in the fewest Googlesearches on record from Australia for “saving water”,with 8% fewer searches than in 2010/11 and 26%fewer than 2009/2010.This has resulted in fewer visits to the savewater! ® websiteoverall, however, despite this 10% drop in Google searchterms for “saving water” over the past year, savewater.com.au has only experienced a 5% decrease in uniquevisitors due to the diversity of water information.Figure 3 – Declining trend in searches for ‘saving water’ on GoogleComparing year on year, website visitors havedecreased by 4.77%, while the quality of these visitshas increased with them spending 4.5% more time onthe site and new visits increasing by 6.65%. With theongoing implementation of the social media strategy,savewater! ® is providing content in more places thanever before.The most popular area on the savewater! website is stillwater-efficient information – with nearly a third of alltraffic accessing these pages – followed by products,and surveys to enter the competition.International traffic increased substantially:> > Increase of 19% in visits from USA> > Increase of 19% in visits from India> > Increase of 26% in visits from UK> > Increase of 276% in visits from PakistanThere was an increase of 188% in visits from mobiledevices from 11,105 up to 32,011 or 8% of visits –compared to 3% last year.Top ten savewater! ® webpages (percentage of views)20002004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20112004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20111. How to save water 28%2. Products 15%600500 600Figure 4 – www.savewater.com.au – Increase in percentage of mobile visitors3. Surveys 12%4. Homepage 8%5. Programs and events 8%Total Visits Total (’000s) Visits (’000s)400 500300 400200 300100 200100008%0% 0.5%2.5%Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr 8% May Jun0% 0.5%2.5%Total visitsMobile visitsJul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May JunTotal visitsMobile visits10savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Total unique visitors from AustraliaVictoria 47%New South Wales 24%Queensland 13%Western Australia 8%South Australia 6%Australian Capital Territory 2%Tasmania 1%Northern Territory 0.25%savewater! ® video platformThe savewater! ® Video Platform filled a valuable nichefor many members of the savewater! ® Alliance; waterproviders seeking a way to deliver rich media to theirconsumers but with more control and lower risks thanexisting platforms such as YouTube. The savewater! ®Video Platform is excluded from the limitation that socialmedia video websites have been banned on somegovernment and private sector computer networks.savewater! ® also offers free hosting of high-definitionvideos to members.with savewater! ® videos receiving 905 views as the‘Choice – Top Detergents’ video proved popular due to amarketing campaign taking place at that time, includingradio and internet promotion.The top videos played on the savewater! ® Video Platformin the 2011/2012 period through savewater.com.au andmembers’ own websites were:VideoViewsChoice – Top detergents 6883Understanding your water meter 6074Replacing a showerhead 5985Changing a tap washer 2341There are 72 videos currently housed on thesavewater! ® Video Platform and available for membersto use. This year version 2.0 of the Video Platform wasfurther updated with significant back-end improvementsto accommodate and manage a larger library of richvideo content for members and reporting capabilities.The video player itself also received visual andfunctional upgrades, allowing it to be more aestheticallypleasing, user-friendly, and compatible for embeddingwith more websites. Videos can now be watched in highquality with exclusive member ‘Channels’ which allowmore customisation for members launching campaignswith multiple accompanying videos.There were 31,672 views of savewater! ® videos in the2011/2012 period, an average of 87 per day. Thehighest daily view count occurred on June 1 2012,Helping communities value water 11

Program Highlights(continued)savewater! ® portalThe savewater! ® portal remains the one-stop-shop formember resources. Traffic was driven to resources onthe portal by the monthly member’s newsletter. Therewere a total of 31,627 video views of video library contentthroughout the 2011/2012 period.From April 1 to June 30 2012 there were 403 loginsand 92 resource downloads by member staff.savewater! ® online product libraryWith over 230 active products listed during the2011/2012 period, savewater! ® products continuesto be a vital independent information hub on waterefficientproducts and technologies available tomembers and the general public.The online product library is a comprehensive researchtool for water-efficient products. It provides visitors withthe ability to gather information, compare the range ofthe latest and best in water-efficient products availablein Australia, and then make an informed purchasethrough the most convenient means.Member and consumer awareness of the productlibrary has continued to grow in the past financial year;web traffic has jumped with the number of productviews for the year reaching 225,000.savewater! ® online competitionsThe savewater! ® online competitions provide Alliancemembers the opportunity to positively engage theircustomers through giving away water-efficient productsand gaining access to valuable market research tosupport member programs.Promoted heavily through the metropolitan and regionalwater account inserts, the online competitions providea constant flow of traffic to www.savewater.com.au.Competitions continue to be one of the most viewedsections of the savewater! ® website.Throughout the 2011/2012 period, two onlinecompetitions were drawn including the April 2011 –September 2011 and October 2011 – March 2012compeitions. Over 56,065 eligible entries were receivedacross both competitions, with 382 water-efficient prizesgiven away, valued at over $58,000. 35 savewater! ®Alliance members in New South Wales, Victoria,Tasmania, Northern Territory and Queensland hadwinners in their local areas.A major milestone was reached throughout the2011/2012 period, with $2 million in free prizesgiven away to entrants since the inception of thecompetitions.Online competition winners spread throughout2011/2012:Location Winners %New South Wales 77 20.16Northern Territory 3 0.79Queensland 6 1.57Tasmania 3 0.79Victoria metropolitan 152 39.79Victoria regional 141 36.91Total 382 10012savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

The savewater! ® online competitions provide anopportunity to enhance the profile of water-efficiencybrands and products. The online competitionswould not be possible without the generous supportand donations provided by our product suppliers.savewater! ® would like to thank the following companieswho have been involved in the competitions throughout2011/2012:savewater! ® Market ResearchOne of the key offerings savewater! ® provides tomembers is an online market research service, thatis run as a point of entry for the competitions. Theservice is free to members and approved companies,and provides a cost-efficient alternative to externalquantitative research.All survey results can be segmented by memberpostcodes and demographic profiles.Research conducted during the year includedconsumer attitude studies towards:> > Water-efficient detergents, and washing practices> > Education materials> > Bottled water and reusable water bottles> > Solar hot water> > Gardens and water-efficient practices> > savewater! ® products> > Social mediaAn OTTER ® Company> > savewater! ® website and use of technology> > savewater! ® mobile display> > Business water-efficiency projects> > Water-efficient showerheadsThe research and survey results savewater! ® provides,have been tested against independent samples forany bias that may occur due to ‘pro-conservation’respondents being the main visitors to savewater.com.au. An independent market research consultancy,EcoMarketing Group Pty Ltd, found the savewater! ®sample is the same as the general public sample inregards to ‘pro-conservation’ attitudes.This validation of savewater! ® ’s market research as anaccurate representation of the general public, furtherenhances the value of savewater! ® market research,and makes it a key tool for any members or productsuppliers seeking research opportunities.Helping communities value water 13

Program Highlights(continued)savewater! ® gardens programThe savewater! ® gardens program expanded from a focus on specific aspects of gardeninginto a holistic program based on water-efficient behaviour, plant selection, and technology.This includes program development focusing on using local nurseries and establishing thesavewater! ® Alliance as a leading resource on water-efficient garden-related information andmarketing materials for members.The savewater! ® website features a strong suite of onlineservices including a plant selector, greywater feature,expert irrigation system and an online gardening wateraudit.The savewater! ® gardens program elements include:> > promoting gardening as an important part of peoples’lives while supporting a range of water-efficientgardens in addition to a low water (xeriscape) garden> > recommending a plant selection that, onceestablished, will need no watering in addition tolocal rainfall> > promoting the concept that this plant selectionshould not significantly constrain peoples’ choice ofgarden styles> > recommending gardening behaviours to furtherreduce water consumption and act as low costsolutions> > illustrating utilisation of supply augmentationthrough the considered use of rainwater andgreywater> > outlining synergistic benefits of raingardens,utilising a rainwater source in your gardenThe savewater! ® Alliance continues to maintain stronglinks with various organisations in the nursery andgarden industry, many of which are very important forevents such as the Melbourne International Flower &Garden Show.14savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

2012 Melbourne International Flower &Garden ShowIn March 2012, a group of water corporations inMelbourne engaged by the savewater! ® Alliancepartnered with Phillip Johnson Landscapes to build‘Equilibrium’ a landscape display on integrated watermanagement at the Melbourne International Flowerand Garden Show. The concept developed by thesavewater! ® Alliance showed landscape displays area superb way to demonstrate the contribution watermakes to urban liveability and to build understandingabout integrated water management in the community.The display won three awards including a Gold ShowGarden medal and the Ford Sustainability Award. Inaddition, the garden generated enormous communityand media interest for the water industry.Phillip Johnson’s landscapes have enormous communityengagement. Phillip believes people first need to beinspired by beauty, which in turn makes them receptiveto his sustainability and water management messagesin a landscape setting of Australian plants, watercoursesand billabongs.SmartGardenWateringSmartGardenWatering is hosted by the savewater! ®Alliance and funded by the Smart Water Fund. Thewebsite is the most sophisticated, online gardeningservice in Australia. Features include a plant selector,water tank calculator, and a detailed garden assessmentwhich produces both an irrigation report as well as agarden portal that can be shared with other gardenerson Facebook.An iPhone application acts as a companion to theprogram, reminding gardeners of when to water andshowing recent rainfall in their area. This helps gardenersmake a judgement on whether recent rainfall mightbe sufficient to skip a scheduled watering. Since theiPhone application’s launch at the beginning of summer2011, there have been over 2,200 unique visitors to thesite, and over one quarter of those returning for furtherinformation. The iPhone application reached number34 in the Education category of the iTunes App Store inAustralia, and has had well over 2,000 downloads.GreySmartGreySmart offers a consolidated, user-friendly nationalwebsite supported by extensive research that allowsindividuals to practice safe and sustainable useof greywater. The website provides a step-by-stepapproach to help householders assess the factorsthat must be considered before diverting greywater,the options available and how to select a greywatersystem suitable for their needs. The website is the mostadvanced greywater website in Australia. The Victorianversion is funded by the Smart Water Fund and thesavewater! ® Alliance invested significant resources inexpanding it to provide national solutions and a userfriendly platform that is hosted at www.savewater.com.au.One of the features is the GreySmart HouseholdProduct Assessment, which assists in selectinggreywater friendly household cleaning and personalcare products based on national guidelines. In the2011/2012 period, the savewater! ® Alliance expandedthe product assessment feature to include washingmachine laundry detergents, which are a considerableinterest of Australian consumers. This feature waslinked to the City West Water laundry detergentpromotion, which identified laundry detergents thateffectively wash clothes, are safe to put on the gardenand have low salt levels.savewater! ® plant selector and plant libraryThe savewater! ® plant library and plant selectorcreate an easy access, national database of waterefficientplants. Online optimisation of search termshas resulted in this feature having the highest Googleranking, displacing many well established websites.By comparison, the plant library uses large, highquality plant images that link to ‘Google’ plant imagesfor thousands of additional online photos. The plantlibrary allows custom plant lists to be displayed forstyle gardens, local gardens for savewater! ® Alliancemembers, and special interest gardens such as salttolerant plants. Custom plant lists generated in the2011/12 period included Queensland Urban Utilities,City of Wagga Wagga and Central Highlands Water.Helping communities value water 15

VictoriaProgram Highlights(continued)National savewater! awards ®The savewater! awards ® has further established itself as Australia’s leading awards for watersustainability, in 2011, securing the rights to host the Prime Minister’s Water Wise Award.The savewater! ® Alliance proudly hosted the PrimeMinister’s Water Wise Award on behalf of the AustralianGovernment Department of Sustainability, Environment,Water, Population and Communities. The PrimeMinister’s Water Wise Award recognises significantsavings in water use achieved by businesses in thecommercial and industrial sectors.The national 2011 savewater! awards ® attracted over1,000 entries from across Australia and internationally,with significantly improved entry numbers across almostall award categories. This year’s awards sparked a trulyglobal response, with entries from 40 countries.In 2011, the Water Utilities category was openedinternationally for the first time to coincide with thePhotographic and Product Innovations categoriesopened internationally once again this year.The 2011 gala ceremony, held at the Sofitel on Collins,in Melbourne was attended by over 380 guests fromacross Australia, including government and businessleaders, key policy decision makers, as well as Chairsand CEOs of Australian government water retailers.savewater! ® was honoured to have ParliamentarySecretary for Sustainability and Urban Water SenatorDon Farrell attend the Gala Ceremony.Principal SponsorsMajor SponsorsAn OTTER ® CompanyGovernment SponsorsWater CorporationsSupporting SponsorsInternational Partners16savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

2011 winnersOverall Award for ExcellenceAgVet Projects Pty LtdPrime Minister’s Water Wise AwardNursery Traders Pty LtdAustralian AchieverPeter Wilson, Wannon WaterSmall BusinessDream-time Wholesale NurseryLarge BusinessEncore Tissue (Aust) Pty LtdCommunity GroupsMinders of Tuggeranong HomesteadEducational InstitutionsDurack Institute of TechnologyGovernmentTamworth Regional CouncilProduct InnovationsAgVet Projects Pty LtdWater UtilitiesBurbank Water and PowerPhotographic awardJunior StudentAdahlia Cowland (Australia)Senior StudentJessica Ricci (Australia)OpenDebashis Mukherjee (India)Helping communities value water 17

Program Highlights(continued)Media relationsThe savewater! ® Alliance utilises both advertising and public relations methods tocommunicate on behalf of members in relation to specific projects, as well as aiming toeducate communities on the topic of valuing water.Throughout the 2011/2012 period, savewater! ®successfully achieved over one million dollars ineditorial value through promoting water-efficiencymessages, the national 2011 savewater! ® awardsprogram and the Melbourne International Flower &Garden Show. Highlights include:> > A water-awareness television campaign thatincluded four advertisements focussing on usingwater-efficiently in the bathroom, in the laundryand kitchen, in the garden, as well as checkingfor leaks that aired on the WIN network. 108 paidadvertisement placements were booked over fourweeks across New South Wales and Victorianmembers.> > The national 2011 savewater! awards ® achievedover $240,000 in editorial value (calculatedvia advertising space comparative values) withhighlights including content in the Sunday HeraldSun, Sunday Mail (Brisbane), WME Online andradio coverage on ABC Central Victoria.> > savewater! ® partnered with Gun Communicationto achieve over $600,000 in editorial value(calculated via advertising space comparativevalues) around the Gold Medal ‘Equilibrium’display garden at the Melbourne InternationalFlower and Garden Show. Highlights included aninterview on Sunrise and editorial featured in TheAge and Herald Sun newspapers.> > Rob Gell, leading environmentalist and mediaprofessional, continued to support savewater! ®in the 2011/12 period acting as the chief judge,and as a key spokesperson for the nationalsavewater! awards ® .> > The International Federation for Water Efficiency(IFWE) was utilised to engage internationalorganisations in the savewater! awards ® .This,along with other media campaigns resulted inover 700 international entries.> > savewater! ® distributed press releases on behalf ofRainwater Harvesting Association of Australia andthe Victorian Smart Water Fund to achieve over$50,000 in editorial value to date.> > savewater! ® programs, information, and residentexpert opinion has been generated through publicrelations techniques for publication in several highcirculation publications including:−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−Australian House and GardenWeekend AustralianHerald SunSunday TimesDaily TelegraphGardening AustraliaThe Age onlineBrisbane TimesG Magazine18savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Account InsertsThe account inserts are the second-longest running savewater! ® program, behind thewww.savewater.com.au website.The inserts are delivered with customers’ wateraccounts, providing a fantastic and economicalopportunity to promote the savewater! ® products andonline competitions as well as members’ brands, whilealso encouraging water-efficiency and communitysustainability messages. Through designing, printing,and delivering from a central location, the programaffords economies of scale with associated potentialcost reductions and are an excellent value-addingservice for members of the Alliance.the savewater! ® online competition and the savewater! ®product library; and listed simple practices to reducewastewater, highlighted the savewater! awards ® programas well as the plant selector.Throughout the 2011/2012 period, savewater! ®members distributed 264,800 account insertsthroughout regional Victoria and New South Wales aswell as savewater! ® content featuring in a further twomillioninserts throughout metropolitan Melbourne.Content for the twice-yearly New South Wales andVictorian regional ‘Sustainable Living’ inserts consistedof articles on ‘enjoying water sustainably’ in springsummerand ‘wastewater’ in the autumn-winter inserts.The inserts also featured images and information fromHelping communities value water 19

Total Visits (’000s)600500400300200Program Highlights(continued)10001,4001,2001,0000% 0.5%Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May JunSocial MediaThe savewater! ® social media strategy utilises three platforms including Facebook, Twitterand a blog called ‘the ripple effect’. Involvement in social media aims to explore possibilitiesfor members and create a virtual location for communities to value water, eventuallyharnessing the power of word-of-mouth to promote savewater! ® Average Inflow 1997-2011 (406 GL/year)and it’s programs.Average Inflow 1913-1996 (615 GL/year)Total visits2.5%Mobile visits8%Annual Inflow (GL)Annual Inflow (GL)Audience80060040020001,00080060040020002,0001,5001,000500191319151917191919211923192519271929The savewater! ® Social Media Trial concluded inSeptember 2011 with the release of the report ‘Thepros and cons of adopting a social media strategy’and the formation of a members-only ‘Social MediaToolbox’. The virtual toolbox was made available onthe savewater! ® Member Portal specifically for waterretailers and councils on how to set goals, managerisks, as well as devise and implement a social mediastrategy. The toolbox also contains specific marketresearch and both internal and external social mediaguidelines.19311933193519371939194119431945Facebook194719491951195319551957195919611963196519671969197119731975savewater! ® experienced huge growth in engagement2006-2012 averagefrom its Facebook community in the 2011/12 (64 period GL/year)and began to develop a strong following 2001-2005 of supporters.average(92.7 GL/year)Beginning the year with 174 followers and a smallbut loyal community, the Facebook page grew –through regular, user-friendly content, and promotionof savewater! ® and member events and programs– to a captive audience of 2,085 brand evangelists,commenting and talking about savewater! ® . Thisnumber is just under the national average for not-forprofitorganisations of 2,500.1977197919811983198519871989199119931995199719992001200320051. Annual inflow is taken as calendar year inflow (January to December) and is calculated using hydrological methods and gauging records. 2. Inflow at the four main harvesting reservoir sites representsthe main sources of streamflow from Melbourne’s water supply catchments that are not impacted by upstream diversions, but may be impacted by changes to catchment and climate conditions.1911-1974 average(338 GL/year)19111913191519171919192119231925192719291931193319351937193919411943194519471949195119531955195719591961196319651967196919711973197519771979198119831985Notes: Year is taken as May to April and labelled year is start (winter) of year. Inflow is simulated based on Perth dams in 2001 i.e. excluding Stirling, Samson and Wokalup.Figure 5 – Social media followers over time1975-2000 average(177 GL/year)1987198919911993199519971999200120032005200720072009201120092011This sharp increase was due to savewater! ® reachingpeople outside of its stable of likers; through strategicposting, alliances with other organisations, and targetedadvertising, approximately 900,000 people worldwidewere served Facebook content by savewater! ® in themonths of April-June 2012 alone.TwitterThe 2011/2012 period saw Twitter audiences growworldwide and locally. Through its ease of interaction,the Twitter presence of savewater! ® grew in followersin the 2011/2012 period from 158 to 460 highlyengagedresidents, businesses, and organisations.Twitter continues to be a source of conversation andengagement for water retailers as well as a platform togenerate traffic to the savewater! ® website. Althougha much smaller network than Facebook, today’sworldwide tweeters number 140 million, who sendmore than 1 billion tweets every three days. In Australia,there are 2.1 million Twitter users, with the largest agesegment being 45-54 year olds (34%), this group alsomakes up the bulk of savewater! ® competition entrantsand water retailer bill payers.Some members of the savewater! ® Alliance chose touse social media to engage their audiences due to itsimmediacy in times of crisis such as floods or due toservice disruptions. Twitter’s immediacy and directcommunication also allowed members to promotecommunity events and programs to customers. As aservice from savewater! ® , posts by members such asthese were rebroadcast to savewater! ® ’s own followersthrough ‘retweets’.0July September December March JuneFacebookTwitter20savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

The 2011 savewater! ® awards featured the first ever livebroadcast through tweets directly from the event. Thisallowed the awards and its sponsors a higher exposureto a wider audience and a forum for supporters ofthe savewater! ® and awards nominees to join in thediscussion.In line with the aim of the blog, savewater! ® isencouraging discussions, and visitors are commentingon posts as well as leading conversations throughsocial media.Live tweeting from savewater! ® was also a success atthe Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show,where events, talks, and competitions were promoted toevent-goers and tweeters alike.The ripple effectThe savewater! ® blog (known as the ripple effect) as ofEarth Day, 22 April 2012, had been running for twelvemonths and continued to provide light, share-able,conversational-type articles, encouraging repeat visitsand providing a place for discussion, running alongsidethe savewater! ® website.Over the year, there were 45 new posts on the rippleeffect – just under one per week – attracting 5,775unique visitors. Aside from savewater! ® Facebook andTwitter posts linking to the blog, a popular source oftraffic was gardeners using scouring internet searchengines for plant varieties and finding the ‘plantfavourite’ posts. savewater! ® ’s credibility and strategicwebsite architecture enabled the ripple effect to alsoachieve an excellent Google ranking for most posts.The most popular posts seen on the blog over the pastyear highlighted an offer of scoring discounted ticketsto the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show,as well as posts on rainwater tanks and weekly plantfavourites. Heroes posts helped promote winners ofthe savewater! ® awards in each category and raise theprofile of the awards.Helping communities value water 21

Program Highlights(continued)Educational resourcesIn response to the requests from teachers, educational resources were developed by thesavewater! ® Alliance as part of its aim to help all Australians value water.Three sets of worksheets designed in line with“Sustainability” being a cross-curriculum priority of thenew Australian curriculum were released to schools inMarch 2011:> > Water Savers – on saving water in and aroundthe home.> > Carbon Tradies – a study of environmentalsustainability within the local area.> > Climate Change. The Cold Hard Facts –a structured lesson based on the DVD.During the 2011/2012 period, 286 teachers wereemailed, and 300 requests for the teachers’ guideswere received. During April 2012 the teachers who hadsubmitted these requests were surveyed to ascertainthe use and value of these resources.The survey of teachers revealed that:> > The savewater! ® resources have been widely usedin a range of schools, in various subject areas andacross several year levels> > Teachers value these resources highly - theyfound the style and format of the resources wereengaging with their students, the content was easilyunderstood by their students, and the resourceswere relevant as part of their overall curriculum onsustainability> > The likelihood of these resources to be used in thefuture is very highThe savewater! ® Alliance conducted promotions aroundthese resources on behalf of its members. The outcomeof the promotion provides the relevant member with anexcellent opportunity to gain some positive publicity.Schools to have won $1,000 and the associatedmembers so far are as follows:> > Hampton Public School, Lithgow City Council> > Trafalgar High School, Gippsland Water> > Southern Cross School K-12, Rous Water> > Emerald Primary School, Yarra Valley WaterAdditional outcomes of the savewater! ® Alliancedesigning educational resources on behalf of itsmembers include a Hunter Water School Water AuditKit and educational activities presented to three primaryschools within the Wannon Water region. Furthermore,in conjunction with the Faculty of Design school atSwinburne University of Technology, new online gameswere developed.22savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Newsletterssavewater! ® continued to develop its direct marketing communication strategy with keystakeholders through refining the savewater! ® Alliance member e-newsletters and furtherdeveloping its quarterly savewater! ® News public newsletter.savewater! ® member newsletterAs new members joined the Alliance in the 2011/2012period, the savewater! ® member newsletter readershipgrew and was distributed to the most recipients ever,resulting in the most unique opens to date. Readershippeaked at 637 readers from across the Alliance – anaverage of just under ten subscribers per member.Members continue to be informed and engaged withsavewater! ® programs through the newsletter witha higher than industry average over one third of allrecipients opening the email.savewater! ® newssavewater! ® News also grew its engagement withthe community due to promotion of the savewater! ®competitions in member account inserts andsavewater! ® social media. This newsletter differsfrom the member newsletter in that it is quarterlyand distributed to the public; the customers of waterauthorities and councils. Readership for the newslettergrew to over 31,000 subscribers – an impressive numberfor a not-for-profit organisation or a private enterprise –which in turn visit the www.savewater.com.au website toread full articles and find out more about programs andenter competitions.The newsletter directs a large amount of traffic tothe website, often exceeding three times the dailyaverage. In the previous financial year the spikes intraffic generated by the newsletter resulted in websiteperformance issues. For this reason the newsletterdistribution was changed to an incremental mailoutacross a week-long period providing a steady stream ofvisitors to the site.Helping communities value water 23

Program Highlights(continued)Water-efficient productsThroughout the 2011/2012 period,savewater! ® has evaluated a number ofwater-efficient products, and has negotiatedbulk buying rates on behalf of members.The members’ product purchasing catalogue, includingproduct information, was updated and circulated to allmembers through the savewater! ® members portal.The members’ newsletter was utilised to boostcommunication of current orders and new productsavailable, resulting in a number of members combiningtheir orders to benefit from our economies of scale model.Over 76,000 products were supplied to membersthroughout the year, including 13,000 showerheads,31,000 gardening products, 12,000 trigger nozzles aswell as various assorted brochures and booklets.EasyFillEasyFill provides water corporations andlocal governments with the capability tomonitor water carters and bill them for thewater they take.Since the system also reports drop-off points,government authorities can verify that policy restrictionsand controls are being followed. In addition, by betterunderstanding hydrant activity, water authorities havebeen able to easily pinpoint causes for any subsequentimpacts to customers or asset failures such as burstwater mains.As part of savewater! ® ’s strategy to introduce innovativeproducts and systems to members, savewater! ® hascontinued its support of the EasyFill system, whichhas resulted in Yarra Valley Water, City West Water,and Western Water installing the system on over500 water carters. The patented EasyFill systemwas also presented to a majority of Australian watercorporations and a large number of water utilities in theUnited States. The unique EasyFill system has beendelivering significant increases in revenue for waterutilities from unaccounted water.24savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Discount Whitegoods trialThe savewater! ® Alliance has successfullyimplemented a subsidy program toprovide water-efficient and energy-efficientwhitegoods to members’ staff and theirfamily and friends, at significant discountsoff the recommended retail prices.Throughout the 2011/2012 period, 27 products weresold to family and friends.The program aims to offer members the financialincentive to purchase higher water and energy ratedappliances without excessive price penalty. Theproducts available through the program include;refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves,dishwashers, ovens, cook tops, and dryers. Under thescheme the average purchase should deliver waterand energy savings of 20%.Industry AssociationsThe savewater! ® Alliance has continued anagreement with the Rainwater HarvestingAssociation of Australia to provide websiteand media support throughout 2012/2013.Throughout the 2011/2012 period, savewater! ®successfully completed marketing and communicationsinitiatives in conjunction with the Smart Water Fund,which included a breakfast awards event held atAshurst for over 80 water industry representatives, andtwo e-newsletters.Helping communities value water 25

savewater! ® Alliance StaffA deep commitment by staff to ethical environmental sustainability, combined withstrong skill sets in governance, IT, marketing and communications has delivered excellentoutcomes for the year.In April/May 2012, Xavier Gonzalez, a marketinggraduate and Suzy Guan, an accounting graduate wereboth employed at savewater! ® and have shown hugepotential in their respective fields. Xavier replacedJeremy Gaedtke in the marketing area and Suzy replacedChris Mason in Finance.Leah Bradford continued her secondment with CityWest Water four days per week to assist with its programdelivery, which continues until July 2012.James Link was promoted to Marketing Managerand Luke Gibbons to senior marketer, both assist themarketing staff with their project management. Eachmarketer (at varying levels of expertise) has at least onespecific project to manage, providing valuable multiskilling experience. Programs are also rotated to givestaff the opportunity to experience every aspect of thebusiness.As at 30 June 2012, 16 staff were employed.NameNigel FinneyBrenda HollanderMichael SmitSuzy GuanHeather JockelIan GibsonRobert BellShannon FordEloise StanleyJames LinkLuke GibbonsLeah BradfordXavier GonzalezAnne NicholsCail RaymentAshley WalshPositionChief Executive OfficerManager, Finance & Human ResourcesNational Programs ManagerFinance & AdministrationPayroll & Finance (part time)Education Manager (part time)NSW State ManagerNSW Regional ManagerNSW Administration (part time)Marketing ManagerNational Marketing & Member ProgramsNational Marketing & Member ProgramsNational Marketing & Member ProgramsNational Marketing & Member ProgramsNational Marketing & Member ProgramsPublic Relations & Marketing Programs26savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

Consultants and contractors used throughout the year have included:CompanyAdele Video ProductionAustralian Associated PressAshurst Aust (previously Blake Dawson)Australian Marketing InstituteBlackburn Insurance Brokers Pty LtdCork MediaData Collect Pty LtdTaskssavewater! awards ® & Community Service AnnouncementMedia distributionLegal adviceStaff personal developmentInsuranceCommunity Service Announcement liaison and consultancy adviceEasyFillDamon Vaughan Design Pty Ltd Graphic design, web development, print production and savewater! awards ®Gellignite Pty Ltd Advocacy and savewater! awards ®Gun CommunicationsGuru ProductionsLinkMeMedia monitorsMWC MediaPhillip Johnson LandscapingRoadTrekRSM Bird CameronSteve Manning copywriterSwinburne University of TechnologyTaxEdVictorian Employers Chamber ofCommerce and IndustryVideo Social MarketingWIN televisionPublic relations around MIFGSGarden Gurus National program – MIFGS talk and lecturesInformation Technology consultantsMedia monitoring serviceCommunity Service AnnouncementMIFGS landscaping design and constructionMobile display refurbishmentAuditingsavewater! awards ® – commemorative publicationProduct library vetting and sustainable gamesTaxation law advice and trainingEmployer advisory serviceNSW conference keynote presentationNSW Community Service AnnouncementsMembers of the savewater! ® Alliance have donated considerable expertise and resources to the savewater! ®management team on many occasions and their efforts are gratefully acknowledged.Helping communities value water 27

The BoardFour Board meetings were held throughout the year.The 2011/12 savewater! ® Alliance Board consisted of:Board memberTony Kelly (Chair) Managing Director, Yarra Valley Water 4Rob Jamieson (Deputy) Partner, Ashurt, Lawyers 4Grant Green Managing Director, Wannon Water 4Steve Evans Managing Director, South Gippsland Water 1Philippe du Plessis Managing Director, South Gippsland Water 2David Mawer Managing Director, Gippsland Water 4John Wilkinson Managing Director, Western Water 4Nigel Finney CEO, savewater! ® Alliance 4Note – Figures in the right column indicate the number of meetings attended by each Board member.28savewater! ® Alliance – Annual Report 2011/12

2012/13 Business OutlookWith all members experiencing above average rainfalls,the short term focus on conservation will be reduced.As such, the focus by savewater! ® has increased in theareas of valuing water and in developing and promotingnew technologies that improve member costs orrevenues. In particular, the organisation is focussing on:> > Ensuring members receive excellent service> > Launching the web material around the value ofwater> > Growing the savewater! awards ® and the PrimeMinister’s Water Wise Award> > Launching the water bottle refill station programnationally> > Expanding the network of schools using theeducational resources kits> > Maintaining the level of excellence in the variousgarden materials, programs and events> > Expanding the introduction of new technologies andapplications for members> > Managing the marketing and promotion of theRainwater Harvesting Association of Australia> > Trialling EasyFill technology in the United Statesof America> > Expanding the membership base includinginternationallyHelping communities value water 29

Helping communities value waterPrinted on Australian-made 100% recycled paper