Check out this video that has been making it’s way around the web:
The Story of Bottled Water.
It gives a concise and easy-to-understand overview of how companies manufactured the demand for bottled water and how, as a result, we are faced with an environmental crisis. The video also does a good job of highlighting the issues we face in order to “take back the tap” and ends with the positive message that we are already moving in the right direction.
Although we do still see bottled water being served at meetings, the fact is that the movement is quickly picking up steam. Corporate, Association and Event Planners of all stripes have been moving away from bottled water for some time now but there are also a host of city and state governments, corporations, schools, clubs and others issuing bottle-free policies. No doubt during
MPI’s annual
World Education Congress which starts this week, green meetings and sustainability will again be hot topics. In fact, the
Green Meetings Industry Council will present for the first time ever an introduction to the
APEX/ASTM Green Meetings and Events standard which will surely include recommendations for dealing with the bottled water issue.
AMI is proud to be part of the sustainability movement. We make it our business to stay abreast of the green topics and to be constantly looking for alternatives and creative solutions. Below are some of the stories, movements and alternatives to bottled that we’ve found. Of course there are many more so let us know what cool and innovative solutions you come across! Through sharing and collaboration, we will make a difference.
STORIES:
- “War on Tap: America’s obsession with bottled water”– NPR story from May 2010
- ‘Tap Water’ Movement Touts Saving Money And Resources By Carrying Refillable Containers
MOVEMENTS:
- Take Back the Tap– Sponsored by the Food and Water Watch, a non-profit organization that advocates for common sense policies that will result in healthy, safe food and access to safe and affordable drinking water. Includes a really excellent PDF called Free Your Event From Bottled Water – A Practical Guide to Take Back the Tap at your Next Event and Avoid the Waste, Expense and Environmental Problems with Bottled Water
- Think Outside the Bottle– From Corporate Accountability International, this is a campaign working to promote, protect and ensure public funding for our public water systems. Through work with public officials, faith groups, restaurants, celebrities, campuses and individuals, this campaign encourages support for public systems by opting for tap over bottled water. Check out their PDF guide called Getting States Off the Bottle and the grid showing who is doing what by state.
- Inside the Bottle.- The People’s Campaign on the Bottled Water Industry, a movement to create bottled water free zones in classrooms, school boards, student unions and clubs, union locals, halls and buildings, public spaces like community centres, City buildings, parks and more
ALTERNATIVES: (fyi, AMI can help you brand any of these items and more! Click here for information).
- The Water Bobble– A re-usable recycled plastic water bottle with a built-in filter. Just fill it up with regular tap water, and enjoy pure filtered water straight from the snap-open spout. The replaceable carbon filter is built right in, and is good for 300 uses (40 gallons). BPA-free. Made in USA.
- Ice Box Water– Yes, you got it, water in a box (from the Rustad Spring in Norway!). Madefrom planet friendly sustainable materials (97% from trees). The Box is 100% recyclable cardboard or pressed paper with water based ink (no solvents), no wax. According to their website, the Carbon Footprint of the Box is only 24% of the comparable size plastic bottle (even including transport from Norway!!!) and if it ends up in the landfill, the footprint is 1/30th of the bottle which bio-degrades over time.
- Kleen Kanteen– the first ever BPA-free, metal water bottle ever released on the market. Founded in 2004 and based in Chico, Calif., Kleen Kanteen is very active in the environmental and sustainability efforts to do away with bottled water. They are also a sponsoring partner for the award-winning documentary, “Tapped” about the history of the bottled water industry and its repercussions.
- TaylorMade Water– a provider of water purification systems for business and homes throughout northern California. TaylorMade partnered with the 2008 Slow Food Conference in San Francisco by providing water filter stations to the more than 20,000 attendees.
- SIGG– These Swiss people have been making aluminum drinking bottles since 1908! This ultra-lightweight bottle is extruded from a single piece of aluminum and holds 1 liter of fluid (33.8 ounces) Sigg bottles are virtually unbreakable and are constructed with no seams, ensuring a long-lasting, leak-proof performance. They also feature Sigg’s proprietary baked-on inner liner, which is made from a non-toxic, water-based epoxy resin that exceeds FDA requirements for leaching (0.0 percent) and is independently tested to be taste- and scent-neutral. Every Sigg bottle is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its life, and is backed by a lifetime warranty.
- BIOTA Spring Water– the World’s first bottled water/beverage packaged in a commercially compostable plastic bottle, manufactured from a 100% renewable resource, corn.
AMI is pleased to share this information on ways to reduce your carbon footprint and we welcome your comments and any additional information on the topic. Happy Planning!
bd@americanmeetings.com
