SUMMER MAINTENANCE
SUSTAINABLE HYDRATION
Phillipa Atkinson-Clow, General Manager of the British Water Cooler Association, talks to Tomorrow’s FM about the company’s new green strategy.
The British Water Cooler Association (BWCA) has, for the past two years, been running a major sustainability initiative whose flagship is ‘The 5 for 5 Sustainability Pledge’. This is a manifesto for member companies who are being asked by their association to pledge support for five actions over five years; these include further improvements in environmental good practice.
This was by no means the start of a sustainable water cooler sector. In fact, the idea arose just because the industry is already highly sustainable. For facilities managers this matters because if you are charged with procurement and guidance on soft services such as hydration solutions, you are probably under heavy pressure to reduce or cut out the use of single use plastic packaging.
There is of course the danger that there may be unintended consequences if FMs are instrumental in banning single use plastics, especially in the summer when people may go thirsty without their hydration needs being met by other means. Time to step across to the water cooler. By providing water coolers, there is not only a ready source of healthy, environmentally-sound hydration, but of safe hydration too. Not all coolers are equal: make sure you use one of the member companies
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of the British Water Cooler Association which must undergo mandatory annual audits and rigorous training to qualify for membership.
For the water cooler industry, one of the greenest sectors there is, the announcement last autumn from the Chancellor about a tax on plastic was welcome news. Water coolers provide convenient and healthy hydration (so are good for the body) with a minimal environmental impact. Water coolers are environmentally sound because they are either plumbed in and using mains water; or they are using containers that are re-used 40 to 50 times according to The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). At the end of this phase of its life, the plastic from which the bottles are made is recycled.
This means that water coolers provide the sustainable drink of choice for businesses and public places. Having water readily to hand encourages consumption, which is good for everyone’s health and wellbeing – including business as well-hydrated workers are alert.
In March 2019, the British Water Cooler Association held its annual conference focusing on the theme of sustainability. The Association (BWCA) invited The Rt. Hon. Lord Deben, Chairman of the Committee on
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