Corporate Social Responsibility

British Waterways works in a sustainable way to ensure that future generations can enjoy the heritage and habitats of our canals and rivers. We have embedded the principles of sustainable development in our business for many years and we work hard to be a responsible member of the community.

Our contribution to sustainable development is wide ranging but we put particular emphasis on sustainable economic development through:

• sustainable social development through our educational and local community work
• a sustainable environment through our habitat management and biodiversity
• urban and rural regeneration

Engaging communities across Britain

Following extensive waterside regeneration, communities now want to live, work and play by their canal. This is a huge shift from a couple of decades ago, when buildings chose to face away from the water and access was fenced off in many areas.

Today, half the population lives within five miles of one of our waterways and around 11 million people visit them every year. They provide many social benefits and enhance the quality of life for those living in the surrounding areas. Our people work tirelessly with local communities, and build relationships with volunteer groups, associations and charities to encourage people from all walks of life to visit and make the most of their waterways.

Education

British Waterways has built strong relationships with schools close to the canals. Our central education team work under the name WOW, Wild Over Waterways and support local teams to build links with local schools.

We have a dedicated website for children with a section for teachers and group leaders. WOW (Wild Over Waterways) was developed in partnership with the Inland Waterways Association and The Waterways Trust and provides formal education resources linked to the national curriculum for seven to 11 year olds. WOW also includes games for children to play, information for school projects and waterway events, waterway and wildlife information.

When taking groups of children on visits to the waterways, they should be aware of the SAFE (Stay Away From the Edge) message by completing an activity form.

Volunteer with us

Volunteers play a key role in our vision for the waterways. They are a vital part of our network and play a huge part in promoting the waterways through events, acting as our eyes and ears on the ground and carrying out physical improvements and restoration tasks. There are many organisations we work with to enable more volunteers to get involved such as the Inland Waterways Association, Waterways Recovery Group, The Wildlife Trusts, BTCV and local canal, community, environment and heritage organisations.

Their professional expertise, contacts within local communities, fundraising efforts and physical labour help bring more to our waterways, ensuring their long term sustainability.

We are committed to making volunteering a more rewarding experience by working with volunteers on a national level to coordinate the valuable work they do, and listening to the ideas and concerns of groups to incorporate their best interests into our work.

Find out how you can volunteer.

Access for All

Designed with a horse in mind, rather than a buggy or wheelchair, towpaths are not always easy places to reach or travel along. However, towpaths are usually wide and flat, so can be ideal places for people to exercise or explore the environment.

We are continuing to improve the waterways to make them more accessible for people with disabilities.

BW Disability Equality Scheme (151KB RTF)
We are continuing to improve the waterways to make them more accessible for people with disabilities. We published our Disability Equality Scheme on 4 December 2006.

Equal Shares for All project

British Waterways participated in the Wales-based Equal Shares for All project, funded through the European Union Equal programme. Within Equal Shares for All, British Waterways led on a module related to outdoor access and disability, focussing on the canals in Wales. Through the project reports have been prepared that might be of interest to a wider audience, dealing with:-

1) The methodology used for undertaking access for all audits on canal towpaths

• Access audit methodology report (742KB PDF)
• Access audit toolkit (1.1MB PDF)

2) Research into the development of social enterprises on canals in Wales

• Report (644KB PDF)

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