Our water levels are under constant threat from the demands of our busy lifestyles; in workplaces up and down the country, the consumption of foods high in sugar and salt, together with drinks laden with caffeine is all too common. A fresh supply of drinking water is therefore essential.

The British Water Coolers Association (BWCA) is the trade association for the bottled water cooler industry in the United Kingdom as well as encompassing the plumbed-in water cooler activities of its members. It says: “Water coolers have become a favourite and common item of equipment in the modern workplace. They have integrated into all aspects of working life from offices to workshops and construction sites to schools and hospitals. Today employers do not only provide water coolers as a means of fulfilling their legal duty to provide drinking water in the workplace, but they recognise the benefits derived from good hydration in the productivity and wellbeing of their staff. Water coolers are also increasingly appearing in the home as the demand for cool refreshing bottled water, on tap, is extended from the workplace and as an alternative to soft drinks and beverages for the family.”

The European Point-of-Use Drinking Water Association (EPDWA) has recently undergone a name change to become even more inclusive of emerging technologies within the market, heralding innovations such as the latest bag in box systems currently being rolled out across Europe. The newly fashioned EDWCA (European Drinking Water Cooler Association) plans to offer its support to a wider membership and help further support existing water cooler companies and vending companies that are planning to add these services to their existing portfolio.

One of the major strengths of the EDWCA is that its Distributor and Bottler members are audited annually on such critical points as Sanitising and Filter change. Members have to undertake industry specific hygiene training as well as installation training that is W.I.A.P.S (Water Industry Approved Plumbing Scheme) approved. As a result, a growing number of tender documents request EDWCA accredited membership as a quality guarantee.

The EDWCA is co-operating once again with the AVA to host AVEX 2011 Water & Vending Show on the 15th and 16th June at the NEC in Birmingham. This demonstrates a core focused approach which interlinks both the water cooler and vending industries.

Commenting on the partnership, the EDWCA said: “Both industries have a number of common threads. They both have similar contract, installation procedure and routine maintenance models. They also have the crossover of water fitting regulations, hygiene and filtration systems. It seems inevitable that these industries, which are rapidly approaching a cross roads in a maturing market driven by lower margins and higher expectations as well as concerns over pending legislation, need to diversify by offering additional services to existing clients. The issues are often the same and we can learn from each other.”

Brita’s Neal Jones explains: “It is important that people drink water in order to stay hydrated and keep their bodies functioning well. We are fortunate that tap water in the UK is excellent quality, but some don’t like its taste or appearance.”

We asked Neal how water filters improve this quality. He said: “BRITA filters reduce chlorine and limescale, providing water that is ideal for hot and cold drinks.” Are they cost effective to install and maintain? Neal thinks so: “Water filtration can be built into the design of equipment or in many cases retrospectively fitted to plumbed in equipment. BRITA’s purity C range of professional filters is available in a range of capacities and also uses a quick release mechanism that dramatically cuts down on the time to change filters. All BRITA filters are also 100% recycleable and BRITA carries out recycling at its own plant to ensure that any returned filters do not end up in landfill, reducing significantly the impact on the environment. Exchanging filters at recommended intervals ensures that the quality of filtration is maintained and drink quality remains at its optimum. Appliances are also less likely to suffer from breakdowns caused by limescale build up.”

What other products are available? “BRITA has a range of water filtration products including the new colourful range of jug water filters, Inline filtration products such as Online Active Plus which provides BRITA filtered water straight from a dispenser and a range of filters for professional use that are ideal for vending, coffee or catering equipment. Through its unique range of partnerships there are also kettles, hot water dispensers, and coffee machines that all have built in BRITA filtration.”

Reducing waste

The University of Canberra will become the first Australian campus to ban the sale of bottled water, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. It’s believed to be the largest ban of its kind in Australia and the first across a university. Organisers say the ban will stop 140,000 PET plastic bottles from being sold annually. Instead, in campus cafes and shops students will have access to Azure water vending machines that refill a 600-millilitre drinking bottle with chilled water for $1 or sparkling water for $1.50 - cheaper than standard 500ml PET bottles.

Jon Dee, founder of activist group Do Something!, which helped organise the ban following a student campaign, said: “This sets a model that other universities can follow - we’re talking to several universities that have already expressed interest. By supplying free water and cheap, chilled water, the university will be helping students to break a bottled water habit that’s costing Australians half a billion dollars a year.”

A survey two years ago by the Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association estimated that more than half the plastic bottles sold in Australia end up in landfill, rather than being recycled. Mr Dee said government statistics suggested more than 105 million litres of oil was used to produce the bottled water bought in Australia each year. This translated to an annual 126,000 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions.

Mark Rhodes, Marketing Manager for The Really Cool Water Company commented: “Our distributor partner based in Sydney has obviously been very proactive with placements of the Azure and it just goes to show there are eco-friendly and viable alternatives to 500ml PET bottles. As an industry, we need to face up to the fact that there our customers are not as pro PET bottles as they once were and change is coming!”

It is widely known that the water industry and in particular the bottled water sector is under a lot of scrutiny due to its negative impact on the environment. What is initially thought of as a good healthy, personal drinking choice quickly becomes a bad environmental choice.

So, what innovative products has the industry introduced to be more ‘green’?

Point of Use (POU) Water Coolers – A convenient and reliable bottled water cooler alternative supplied by a variety of companies including WaterCoolersDirect.com. The water cooler plumbs directly into the water mains in the building and filters and chills the water before dispensing. This saves buying and storing large plastic bottles and the carbon footprint that delivering and transporting them causes.

Bag-in-box (BIB) –This packaging solution is simply a bag filled with water, in a box with a ‘tap’ on it - much like boxed wine. The customer can choose whether to drink the water straight from the box or ‘plumb’ it into a water cooler to drink it chilled.

Water Refill Stations – customers are encouraged to take their empty bottles to a water station to refill their reused bottles with filtered water, rather than buying more plastic bottles every time. This is already in place in parts of Canada.

Green Bottles – With the poor environmental images of the small PET bottle used for water, various companies are exploring alternatives. A great example is Green Planet’s bottle that produces bottles from 100% plant based material.

Corporate branding

WaterCoolersDirect has launched a bespoke cooler branding initiative. The company is now offering a service that enables corporate customers to apply individual branding to their water cooler.

This powerful marketing opportunity is perfect for companies that require front of house, customer facing coolers and presents them with an ideal platform to promote their company on an otherwise functional unit.

Fred Cairns Palmer, Managing Director at WaterCoolersDirect explains, “The branding service can be applied to any of our water coolers and the turnaround is quick and very straightforward. All our customers have to do is to send our team the image that they would like to be applied onto the cooler, perhaps a logo or other company livery, and the complete design process is handled internally. We work with our designers, return a proof to the customer for approval and produce the water coolers accordingly.”

Flavoured water

More and more people are realising the health benefits of staying hydrated and how important it is to drink plenty of water. This has meant that the popularity and demand for chilled drinks has increased. It is essential for any hot and cold drinks vending solution to provide water. KLIX offers refreshing BRITA filtered water as well as a thirst quenching Lemon & Lime Flavoured Water which at just under ten calories a cup, can be a refreshing alternative. To ensure you can enjoy the freshest taste of any of the drinks selected, inside the KLIX OUTLOOK machine there are BRITA filter cartridges which remove limescale and chlorine, as well as heavy metals such as lead and copper.

In the last ten years health and ethically produced products have become key trends in both the food and beverage markets. Beverage, vending and water cooler manufacturers are making healthy profits from the sale of mineral, spring, flavoured and vitamin enriched waters. The carbon footprint left by the transportation of water supplies, and the plastic cups and bottles that can be damaging to the environment has, however, led to criticism of bottled water and water coolers as replacements for using the tap. But with various recycling and collection schemes now in operation across the UK, the Industry is demonstrating a much more proactive approach to sustainability.

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