Employers urged to shun bottled water

Employees are being urged to challenge the serving of bottled water at conferences and in the workplace as part of a new campaign designed to promote the environmental and cost benefits of tap water.

The government-funded watchdog Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said the campaign would aim to encourage the public to routinely ask for tap water rather then bottled water.

"We have some of the cleanest tap water in the world and it is far more sustainable than bottling water, shipping it round the country and then having to dispose of the plastic," said Dame Yve Buckland, chair of the CCW. "We believe drinking water should be freely available in public places and we want to challenge the culture that makes you feel a bit cheap for ordering tap water in restaurants."

She added that the group was aiming to foment a social movement, similar to the opposition to plastic bags, that would force more firms in the catering and hospitality sector to offer tap water as a matter of course. To help achieve this it is inviting the public to post their tap water experiences on the CCW website, naming and shaming those restaurants that object to serving tap water.

The group is also considering launching a labeling scheme that would allow restaurants that routinely offer tap water to diners to display a badge or certificate advertising the fact.

Buckland said she would like to see tap water become the norm in the wider business sector as well. "We'd like people who are served bottled water at meetings to ask if it can be changed," she said. "I've been to Select Committee meetings on water copnservation where bottled water is being served. We want people to challenge that way of thinking and ask for tap water or ask their employer to install mains connected water coolers."

The UK currently consumes 3bn bottles of bottled water every year, half a billion of which are imported from overseas. Researchers estimate that the transporting alone of bottled water in the UK results in 33,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions - equivalent to the annual energy use of 6,000 homes.

Buckland argued that in addition to cutting their environmental impact firms that avoid bottled water could also realise significant cost savings. "If you drink eight glasses a day of tap water it costs less than a £1 for the entire year, compered to over £500 for the same quantity of tap water."

In related news, Thames Water has confirmed it is preparing to launch a campaign later this month to similarly encourage catering firms to serve customers tap water without them having to ask for it.