Facts:
1 liter of mineral water costs approx. 50 cents. You can get 250 liters of tap water for the same price.
On German roads, one lorry in ten transports bottled water.
6 million liters of oil are used per year solely for producing plastic bottles.
Quellen:
German Federal Statistical Office
Trinkwasser-Wissen.net (Portal with information on tap water)
Stiftung Warentest (German consumer organization)
Utopia.de (Portal with information on sustainable consumption)
158
It is crystal clear
Tap water is the best-monitored and cheapest commodity in Germany – however, many consumers prefer to buy bottled water in supermarkets. Scholz & Volkmer has questioned its own drinking habits and come up with an alternative.
It doesn't make any sense at all. Mineral water bought in supermarkets is neither cheaper; nor more convenient or healthier than tap water. But many people opt for plastic bottles with attractive labels featuring images of crystal-clear lakes and idyllic, snow-covered mountains. Very few people realize that these bottles of water promising wellness are often simply carbonated tap water.
"The test of samples of drinking water from throughout Germany proves that the quality of tap water is good. In addition, its price clearly beats that of mineral water. (...) And the environment benefits, too."
Stiftung Warentest (German consumer organization)
At Scholz & Volkmer things work differently. Every glass bottle contains exactly what its label says – 158! This number stands for the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) saved when a person drinks three-quarters of a liter of tap water rather than mineral water. In other words, when water isn't bottled in factories and doesn't need to be transported to the customer.
And that is what we've been doing at Scholz & Volkmer since 2013 – turning taps rather than lugging crates. When new employees join the agency, they are given their own 158-bottle with tap water from our in-house "well" – if they wish it can be carbonated and turned into sparkling water, completely free-of-charge. In this way, Scholz & Volkmer staff has already saved hundreds of kilos of CO2 .
The cities of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and the Deutsche Bahn headquarters in Frankfurt and Berlin have also developed a taste for tap water. They also drink out of 158-bottles which Scholz & Volkmer also offers to companies and organizations as a white label.
Would you like your company to make a mark and get your staff to save CO2 sip-by-sip? Or do you have any questions related to tap water in the workplace? We would be happy to share our experience and the 158-bottles with you.
