Advizzo is delighted to announce a new partnership with Severn Trent Water (STW). The two year contract is part of Severn Trent’s £20m smart water metering project for Coventry and Warwickshire, which commenced in March 2022.

STW’s region stretches across the heart of the UK, from the Bristol Channel to the Humber, and from mid-Wales to the East Midlands. It provides over eight million people with fresh, clean drinking water every day and is one of the largest of the 11 regulated water and sewerage companies in England and Wales.

The project forms part of Severn Trent’s ambitious Green Recovery program, which is the biggest investment of any water company in the UK’s green future. It will see over 150,000 Itron smart water meters installed in a trial to turn Coventry and Warwickshire into a smart water data region.

It is designed to help STW understand water usage better than ever before, find and fix leaks faster and deliver water saving benefits for communities and the environment. Not only that, but it will help provide valuable insights and learnings on water usage to help discover ways to save and protect water.

This is an exciting new contract for us. Our involvement is focused on reducing Per Capita Consumption (PCC) and detecting/reducing leaks across Coventry and Warwickshire.

How will we do it?

We use data from to understand the customer – and segment them into sub groups

  • We take smart meter data to understand water to measure and verify consumption.
  • We use widgets and surveys to enable us to understand the context and behaviors of each customer e.g. size of household, property characteristics etc.
  • We apply data science and behavioral science techniques to generate personalized advice and insights for each household – designed to help them spot and report leaks and reduce their water consumption.

We design a user-led and engaging customer experience

  • Our communications are adapted to each customer’s preferred methods of communication – web, app, call center, paper, as well as voice for visually the impaired.
  • We leverage techniques including behavioral UX design and behavioral science frameworks (social norms, incentives etc).
  • We design simple yet powerful nudges and messages to deliver the right message to the right customer at the right time and via the right channel.

We ensure behavioral changes are sustainable

  • Our analytics engine measures change at both customer and portfolio levels, as well as KPIs such as end-to-end customer engagement and usage/Per Capita Consumption (PCC) change over time.
  • Our campaign engine helps customers form more sustainable habits thanks to applying proven messages, the creation and test of new ones, and the use of robust statistical methodologies (e.g. A/B testing) to measure impact, learn, adjust and improve.

We use different approaches for different types of engagement objectives and audiences/segments. Our approach is a repeatable and progressive improvement process based on:

  • Educate/Empower users with their own data via online portals or paper/email reports, then
  • Encourage engagement, action and usage reduction
  • Enhance targeting with innovative and relevant nudges e.g. gamified incentives, rewards, offers

Anthony Hickinbottom, Smart Meter Program Lead at Severn Trent Water commented,

“Our Green Recovery Smart Metering program is one of the most exciting initiatives we’re delivering over the next couple of years. The program will transform how we operate, allowing us to find and fix leaks faster than ever before. But what we’re most excited about is helping our customers to reduce their own consumption at home. Advizzo are experts in the field of behavioural science and their digital services will really help us educate and encourage using water wisely. We can’t wait to see the results, which will help us ensure there is enough of our precious water for everyone, now and in the future.”