This Earth Day Evian(R) Natural Spring Water, the world's leading luxury spring water, pronounces its continued dedication to playing a leading role in sustainable development. Through the creation of the Evian Water Protection Institute, which will work in conjunction with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the introduction of the use of recycled plastic (r-PET) to its most popular bottle sizes and the launch of a new partnership with RecycleBank, Inc. in the US, Evian carries forward its commitment to the environment.
"Evian first implemented a sustainability strategy decades ago, being the first bottled water to introduce compactable bottles and incorporating the most efficient methods of transportation in our shipping process," said Elio Pacheco, President of Evian North America. "Evian has always been an exemplary model of innovative eco-friendly initiatives and continues its commitment to these efforts with the introduction of our three newest programs."
Evian Water Protection Institute The newly instated Evian Water Protection Institute will build upon the brand's original project with Ramsar, now giving it a global dimension. The Evian Water Protection Institute's first three projects will focus on the La Plata basin in Argentina, Nepal's Jagadishpur Reservoir in the heart of the Himalayas and Bung Khong Long Lake in Thailand and will help these local populations autonomously manage their water resources in a sustainable fashion.
Evian is creating the Water Protection Institute as a means to:
- Help maintain and/or restore wetlands, with the aim of promoting the wellbeing of local communities and fair access to resources
- Develop exchanges of knowledge about sustainable and concerted management of water resources
- Encourage local communities to play a role in the management of wetlands
While water is a renewable resource, it still faces many threats that need to be addressed quickly. The ever-looming danger of water pollution leads to shortages of potable water across the globe, with developing countries suffering the brunt of the problem. Protecting wetlands, which are natural catchment areas and natural freshwater resources, will naturally help replenish underground aquifers, filter water, reduce CO2 and help naturally protect against climatic events such as floods and erosion. Finally, wetlands often also provide a source of economic development to local communities.
"Currently, it is estimated that one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water," said Pacheco. "Through the best practices garnered from protecting our own unique resource in Evian, France, we are committed to sharing this expertise with communities around the globe where local water resources maybe at risk; and thus help support their efforts focused on the maintenance and protection of valuable water resources."
Recycled PET and RecycleBank Another of Evian's top priorities involves reducing the brand's environmental impact. It has focused its efforts on reducing water and energy consumption, production processes and transport, as well as packaging -- an area that provides an important opportunity to improve the brand's impact.
Currently, the 1.5L bottle is compactable, a design first introduced by Evian. Additionally, Evian will advance its commitment to eco-friendly innovation by introducing the use of post-consumer recycled polyethylene terepthalate (r-PET) in its most popular bottles, the 1L and the 750 mL sizes.
"Evian has not only strived to counteract its effect on the environment, but to truly lessen its footprint on the world by improving our packaging," remarked Pacheco.
Evian is the first bottled water to join the RecycleBank program to motivate households to recycle. RecycleBank and Evian will achieve this goal through measuring the amount of recyclables from each participating home and converting the weight into RecycleBank Reward Points. These Points can be viewed and redeemed online with more than 400 national and local RecycleBank Reward Partners.
By offering rewards to households for their recycling efforts, the RecycleBank program provides Evian with an outlet to target its like-minded consumers to lessen their environmental footprint. In addition to minimizing its impact, Evian has also positioned itself to educate consumers on the benefits of recycling and protecting our planet.
"Recycling is an effortless way for consumers to lessen their environmental impact,'" said Pacheco. "For our loyal customers that are just as committed to improving their community as we are, we partnered with RecycleBank as a way to say 'thank you.'"
Evian's History in Sustainable Development Evian first partnered with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1998 with the creation of the Danone Evian Water Fund. Evian's support of Ramsar helps the Convention to communicate the need to protect wetlands, apply in actual situations the fundamental principle of the rational use of water resources and promote significant achievements in this field (Ramsar Evian Prizes).
In addition to its longstanding relationship with Ramsar, Evian also initiated the APIEME (Association Protection Impluvium de l'Eau Minerale Evian) over 15 years ago in Evian, France to help ensure the continued protection of the Evian resource. Evian's involvement in its aquifer protection is an example of a best practice which Ramsar is able to implement in other countries.
Continuously pushing the frontier of sustainability, Evian has always been a pioneer of eco-conscious efforts and modernizing its methods as technology has evolved over the years. Past examples include:
- The first company to switch from PVC to PET bottles
- Introduced the first compactable bottle aimed at reducing wasted space within recycling bins, fitting more crushed bottles into the bin and helping the overall recyclability of its bottles
- Ships 80 percent of its bottles from its plant in Evian, France by rail to European ports
- Ships to North America and throughout the world using maritime containers, one of the most fuel efficient means of transportation
- The maritime transport containers are unloaded at several ports strategically located along the coasts of North America to minimize transport from the port to the final distribution point
Evian's long history of commitment to sustainable development, as well as efforts to support the protection of the world's fresh water resources and providing consumers with eco-friendly product where possible, will only continue to become stronger as the brand continues to grow. In order to communicate these practices, Evian has launched a new section within its current website dedicated specifically to its sustainable development initiatives. For more information, please visit
http://www.evian.com.