A tide of misfortunes and negativity seems to have rose against the world of water bottles! Environmentalists and teaming up with lobbyists in order to launch numerous campaigns and strategies that denounce the ridiculous waste of plastic due to water bottle sales! According to environmentalists, bottled water is not necessarily better or cleaner than tap water that often is much more controlled due to strict norms and regulations. This tide is starting to bring around effective results and giant corporations are starting to suffer from a decrease in sales. In order to comply with the critiques and to save their sales and possibly increase them, companies like Evian have adopted durable sustainable development strategies. In America being eco-friendly has become a must-have asset for any company’s survival and success on the long term. (http://www.csrwire.com/press/press_release/14388-Evian-Natural-Spring-Water-Expands-Sustainable-Development-Strategy)

On Evian’s official website, one can discover that the company has a special link called “Doing our Part” that covers their program of sustainability in order to preserve water and the environment. According to this section, Evian uses 100% recyclable bottles and has divided its green commitment in two main parts: “protecting our Source and protecting the environment” (Source: http://www.evian.com/#/en_US/48-doing-our-part). Evian stresses the importance of protecting water, as a rare and vital resources and reminds us that as early as 1926, in collaboration with the local authorities, the source of evian “Natural Spring Water of public interest” (Source: http://www.evian.com/#/en_US/49-protecting-our-Source). This means that the area became a protected zone where all human activities are monitored in order to safeguard the longevity of the source.  This action can also be interpreted as a way for the company to have complete control and sovereignty over the water source in order to block concurrence or any other disturbing element. Aside from the protection of “their source”, according to the company’s website, the company stresses their commitment in protecting the environment thanks to eco-friendly bottling plants, the recycle of old materials and an eco-friendly transport that is made in its majority by railway instead of trucks since the train is by far less polluting.

The company proudly reminds its customers, of the Danone- Evian partnership with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. This intergovernmental treaty provides a plan of action and framework for the conservation of precious waterlands around the world.  An important result of this conference was the creation of  the Danone-Evian Fund for Water Resources that intends “ to raise awareness of the importance of water resources amongst decision-makers and the general public; it is also intended to make these audiences aware of water management issues by developing educational tools and sharing best practices on the management of natural sites” (Source: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-activities-private-danone/main/ramsar/1-63-98-398_4000_0__ ).

According to the Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire website, Evian has created the newly launched Evian Water Protection Institute that has given life to 3 concrete sustainable development projects: one is based in La Plata (Argentina), the other in Nepal’s Jagadishpur reservoir and finally the last one is the Bung Khong Long Lake project in Thailand. The goals of these three long-term projects are to help maintain and/or restore wetlands, with the scope of ameliorating the lives of the local communities, “develop exchanges of knowledge about sustainable management of water resources and finally encourage local communities to play a role in the management of the wetlands” (Source:http://www.csrwire.com/press/press_release/14388-Evian-Natural-Spring-Water-Expands-Sustainable-Development-Strategy ).  From a somewhat skeptical point of view, one comes to wonder what is behind a multi-national sharing its expertise and savoir faire with local communities while working in order to better their living conditions. From a business mentality where nothing is given for free, this could be a way for Evian to have a greater controller and influence over these three profitable areas. Yet, in good faith, one needs to wait for the long-term results in order to have a more authentic opinion on the projects of the Evian Water Protection Institute.

Many internet sites and online blogs like http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/are coming up with effective ways to raise awareness against the negative sides of bottled water. Denouncing high costs, the waste of plastic and the dangers for the environment such campaigns have had a real impact on customers.  Since 2009, Danone, Evian’s mother company, has suffered greatly “after falling 19% the previous year, with its overall revenue down another 10% , to $3.43-billion “ (Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/tide-rising-against-bottled-water/article1543620/). With the economic crisis, many businesses have suffered from budget cuts and many single individuals were faced with unemployment. In many cases, this situation encouraged people to replaced plastic bottles with tap water to save money while still consuming the same precious good.  In order to respond to environmentalist groups and customers’ eco-friendly requests, the French company’s goal i sto increase the use of PET (plastic used in water bottles) from 10 000 to 40 000 tonnes by 2010 (Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article5704940.ece).

While the world is turning eco-friendly and green is the season’s new color, the water bottle industry is forced to deal with the water scarcity crisis and the need to protect the environment. All over the United States, environmentalist groups have launched innovative campaigns against bottled water. In order to respond to the social weather, Evian has taken what appears to be a serious stance in favor of long term sustainable development programs. Only time will tell if Evian’s commitment to the environmental cause is truly authentic or just a slick marketing strategy.

 Loading ...