Environmental water procurement is not a pipe dream
David Matthews cannot bottle up his frustrations at how drinking water is provided in many offices.
Legislation demands that staff are provided with adequate drinking water in the workplace. Regulation 22 of the Workplace Health, Safety & Welfare Regulations 1992 states: ‘An adequate supply of wholesome drinking water shall be provided for all persons at work in the workplace. Every supply of drinking water required shall be readily accessible at suitable places and be conspicuously marked by an appropriate sign where necessary for reasons of health or safety.’
The law actually recommends that this should come directly from the piped (mains-fed) services, but the fashion for bottled water and advances in water-cooling technology have ensured the ubiquity of units dispensing water from plastic bottles in most commercial environments.
Surprisingly most environmentally conscious organisations, in both the public and private sectors, are still using bottled water. However, the environmental impact of this practice is now driving some building-services managers, environmental engineers and facilities managers to reassess their drinking-water procurement — with more emphasis on piped (mains-fed water) dispensers.
Bottled water is typically derived via an environmentally taxing method, which involves it being extracted and filtered in a wasteful process, where up to two litres per every litre bottled is wasted.
The WWF says that 22 Mt of bottled water are transported each year between countries, resulting in many thousands of tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions. Meanwhile sourcing water on such a large scale increasingly relies on depleted aquifers in water-scarce areas with long-term detriment to local communities. Ironically the water is removed and transported to areas where there is an ample supply of clean, safe tap water. This energy-intensive and wasteful process means significant detriment can be caused to an environmentally sustainable procurement policy. This is true not only because of the way water is extracted, but also in the transportation of bottled water, and the pressure the used bottles put on landfill sites.
In the office environment the same bottles put pressure on storage space, and need to be lifted into place each time the supply needs to be replaced, representing a health-and-safety issue for staff who need to be trained in the lifting of heavy objects.
Plumbing the drinking water supply into the mains water services removes these logistical challenges and the environmental impact of water procurement on the metaphorical bottom line of an organisation’s CSR policy, too.
Mains-fed drinking-water dispensers take their water directly from the potable mains source — filtering it, carbonating, chilling or heating it, according to requirements. The key benefit is that there is a constant supply of water — with no need for continued re-ordering of bottles. The water remains fresh because it does not sit in storage (discolouring if it is left in direct sunlight, thereby requiring re-orders at additional cost).
Of course, these factors present a sustainable argument for using mains-fed over bottled water supplies as a way of reducing CO2 emissions and making a positive contribution to a CSR policy. Beyond the water dispenser’s useful life, there are important questions of recyclability that should not be overlooked.
Partnering with a supplier of mains-fed water dispensers that can fulfil the requirements of the WEEE Directive removes the hassle for facilities managers, office and procurement managers when it is time to replace the unit. If the supplier can also reuse or recycle most of a dispenser’s parts, then this also has a positive impact on the green credentials of the system.
Duty of care is a key concern in the specification and procurement decision-making process. Drinking water is one of the main ways for pathogens to enter the body. Among the more common infections that staff could acquire are Escherichia coli (E-coli) infections, shigellosis or bacillary dysentery, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, noroviruses, and hepatitis A.
The supply of drinking water needs to be clean and hygienic, with the reassurance that users will not consume harmful bacteria. Mains-fed units constructed with in-built UV filters and surfaces that are treated with patented anti-microbial silver technology, such as Biocote, to inhibit the spread of any bacteria present, will ensure that drinking water safety is paramount, from the inside and outside of the unit.
This zero-tolerance approach to duty of care was a key driver for staff at Southwark Park Nursing Home when they considered switching to a mains-fed drinking water supply. ‘We need to bear in mind the health aspect of our patients in all food and beverage choices. Choosing the system was an easy choice due to its UV technology, which leaves us safe in the knowledge that everyone has access to safe, clean water. Considering the elderly residents of the care home, we also wanted to ensure we would avoid the risk of running out of water, which is why we chose the mains-fed Waterlogic system rather than a bottled water cooler,’ explains Jay Patel, of Southwark Park Nursing Home.
Financial cost in penalties for non-compliance, legal fees and a compromised reputation are all at stake for organisations that do not supply drinking water in a responsible way. Establishing a partnership with a supplier that can deliver a solution which removes plastic bottles from the workplace and from landfill sites can not only help to save money, but also have a positive impact on the environmental performance of the organisation’s procurement practices.
David Matthews is managing director of PHS Waterlogic.
