Comcast Reducing Annual California Water Use by 10 Million Gallons

Comcast announced that it has introduced a number of water-saving efforts in California with the goal of reducing water use by 10 million gallons annually – or 25 percent - in response to California’s growing water crisis.

Comcast began implementing improved sustainability tracking and metrics across its footprint in California in 2013, and has now begun to implement more concrete steps to significantly reduce water use.

“As a company with thousands of employees and millions of customers here, we are deeply committed to the health and prosperity of California. With the third largest fleet in the nation and a large footprint of offices across the state, we can make a significant impact by reducing our water use,” said Hank Fore, Comcast’s Regional Senior Vice President for California. “Our employees and customers need Comcast to make an effort to conserve water on their behalf. We’ve committed to a real, measurable reduction in water use, and I will be looking to continue to improve our performance over time.”

As part of the new water-saving initiatives that were implemented earlier this year, Comcast has halted all washing of its fleet of 2,850 trucks and vans, significantly reduced watering for landscaping on its 250 properties across California and is rolling out an employee awareness campaign to encourage its 4,200 employees to save water, both at work and at home.

In addition, new landscaping and other development work will be designed to focus on and promote “drought-proof” landscaping and gardens, to continue to reduce long-term water use over time.

“We are planning to report quarterly on progress as the water-saving efforts take hold. This is part of a broader effort we undertook a year ago to examine and improve our impact on the environment,” said Mike Minerva, ‎Environmental Director, Comcast California. “We’ve developed a cross-functional Comcast California Resource Conservation Council, including representatives from our engineering, technology operations, finance, facilities, fleet manager and others, who will be focused on examining our use of resources while making significant reductions in water use, fuel, waste and overall emissions. I’m really excited about our progress so far,” he added.

Comcast expects to report on its progress in water reduction later this year.

--Information and image provided by Comcast