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CURRENT SITUATION
Quality from the Tap
Tap water in Switzerland is not only delicious, it also meets the highest hygiene and safety standards. The daily work of over 2,500 water suppliers and strict guidelines for water protection ensure the outstanding quality of Swiss drinking water. It is the comprehensive infrastructural measures implemented in recent decades that make today's nationwide, cost-effective supply possible around the clock.
The law sets stricter requirements for tap water than for branded water. Tap water meets higher standards in terms of safety and quality. In over 50% of cases it even has the same or higher mineral content as branded water.
Increasing Consumption of Bottled Water
Although tap water in Switzerland is available around the clock and has an ecological balance that is up to 1000 times better than that of bottled water, more and more bottled water is being consumed in Switzerland. In 2020, it was around 94 billion litres, mor ethan 48% of which is imported. In the last 50 years, per capita consumption has risen from less than ten litres to around 110 litres. As a result, Switzerland ranks among the top 20 nations worldwide in the consumption of bottled water and spends millions on a product that flows almost free of charge from the tap – at the expense of the environment.
TRANSPORTATION
In the case of bottled water, transportation via truck is particularly important. This is the main reason why up to 3dl of crude oil hide behind every litre of bottled water. The high level consumption of fuel contributes to climate change and pollutes the air with contaminants and heavy metals.
WASTE
Single-use systems produce enormous amounts of waste. In Switzerland, 1.5 billion PET bottles are in use annually, with around one in five not being recycled. Even if the recycling rate is relatively high, this system entails continuous and high costs. The slow decomposition of plastic pollutes the environment and endangers ecosystems and animals.
PLASTIC RESIDUES
A certain amount of microparticles always detach themselves from plastic packaging and diffuse into bottled drinks. This is permissible by law. As a result, someone who drinks only water from PET bottles for a year can essentially "eat" an entire plastic bottle.
GOALS
Tap water has significant advantages as a supply system for an entire society. Our goals are based on this fundamental vision:
1
Promote drinking of tap water through innovative solutions
2
Give value to drinking of tap water
3
Integrate the use of WfW glass and stainless steel bottles into everyday life
PROJECTS
More than 500 partner companies use WfW carafes. Additional projects enable us to integrate the drinking of tap water into everyday life.
SAVINGS
To increase our partners' awareness of climate-friendly water consumption, WfW has been working with the EPFL start-up "Droople" since January 2022. The company has developed a smart flow meter for tap water that can count consumption and quantify energy savings. Thanks to jointly developed "awareness screens", employees and customers receive real-time insight into water consumption, the amount of bottled water avoided and the resulting CO2 reduction.
WfW partners are thus given the unique opportunity to measure their tap water consumption and quantify their saved footprint. At a time when sustainability reports are becoming increasingly important, this is a useful and meaningful tool for companies to communicate their CSR strategy with WfW and the results they achieve.
Learn more about the partnership between Droople and WfW here.
Here you can track the water consumption of the WfW team in real time:
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