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28th January 2021

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Annual Bathroom Conference - New Defra head of water lauds industry's Water Label efforts

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs' new head of water supply and infrastructure opened the Conference by praising the work the industry has carried out to encourage consumers to save water.

Chris Preston from Defra confirmed the Government's commitment to reducing legislative 'red tape' as well as being 'the greenest government ever.'

He said: "We've all seen the headlines about this being the wettest drought on record, however this is no time for complacency. Water is a scarce resource and will become even scarcer. We need to think about how we use water more efficiently, especially as there still isn't an understanding that water is a finite and precious resource.

"As you know the Government supports the move away from regulation towards voluntary approaches such as labelling. There's a range of areas where voluntary labelling has been successful, such as the Red Tractor and Freedom Foods.

"The BMA's own Water Label, which many of you here today have helped to bring into existence, is an excellent example of an industry-led voluntary labelling scheme. Richard Benyon and the department still remain committed to supporting the work the BMA is carrying out to educate both the trade and consumers.

"Looking further afield, the EU Commission will publish its Blueprint for water by the end of the year and it is likely that there will be an emphasis on products and the role that they can play in promoting water efficiency.

"We are expecting to see an Ecodesign Directive for taps and showers, so the work that the UK industry has undertaken on the Water Label puts us in a really strong position to engage the Commission and shape the proposals."

12th October 2012