Water-friendly Hospitality
Free bottled water has always been a staple in hotels and tours. However, with increasing public awareness about the need to reduce plastic waste, many event hosts are actively exploring green alternatives that extend hospitality to guests and help our environment at the same time.
Reusable Bottles
Since four years ago, the Office of Academic Links (China) began giving reusable water bottles instead of single-serving bottled water to guests from mainland and Taiwan institutions who attend its programmes lasting a few days. Guests can fill them up with water at dispensers and canteens around campus. The reusable bottle with the CUHK emblem serves as a souvenir too. Feedback about this green measure has been positive—having a refillable bottle while sightseeing in Hong Kong is quite handy, as it enables the guest to get refills at restaurants and hotels, thus saving money that he or she would otherwise have spent purchasing bottled water.
The water bottle together with its message of conservation reaches about 150 visitors a year. It is estimated that some 900 bottles of water have been saved per year. Following the success of this practice, the office also distributed reusable water bottles instead of single-serving bottled water to students of CUHK, Nanjing University and Taiwan Central University participating in activities held in Hong Kong under the Cross-Strait Green University Consortium last year.
Providing Water for Events
While many campus buildings have pantries where cups and water jugs can be borrowed for meetings, occasionally there may be no pantry at the event venue. One solution is to provide a few large bottles of water and some paper cups for the participants to pour as they need while at the same time encourage participants to bring their own cups/bottles whenever feasible. According to a study on the carbon footprint of different packaged drinks, bottled water with a volume over 1L has significantly lower carbon emissions (per ml content) than single-serving bottled water.
The Office of Student Affairs has adopted this practice for annual meetings on orientation activities. These are attended by an average of 60 to 70 students per meeting since last year. The Personnel Office has recently also done away with packaged drinks for a staff training event. Also, both offices actively encourage participants to bring their own cups or bottles to save the use of paper cups.
To reduce waste and support green event planning and management, the University's Administrative and Planning Committee agreed at its meeting held on 23 April 2013 to restrict the provision of single-serving bottled water at indoor functions and corsages at all events organized by the University. Below are some tips that may be helpful to those exploring alternatives to single-serving bottled water for their events:
Alternatives to single-serving bottled water—tips for event organizers
- If there is a pantry or water dispenser at the venue, a jug can be brought to hold water; it may even be possible to borrow cups and a portable hot water bottle from the pantry for meetings.
- For some venues, tea service can be arranged for events.
- Event catering (with tea or coffee served with reusable cups) can be ordered if the budget allows.
- Provide several large bottles (over 1L) of water and paper cups for participants to share.
- The Estates Management Office can also provide 19-litre bottles of water and pumps to offices that need them. For details, contact Ms. Doris Chan at 3943 4444/ doris@emo.cuhk.edu.hk three weeks before the event.
- Whenever feasible, remind participants to bring their own water containers.
- Water dispenser locations on campus can be found via 'CUHK Mobile' app or the online campus map on the CUHK website (Facilities> Living Essentials> Water Dispensers).
Did you know?
San Francisco just became the first major US city to ban sale of single-use water bottles (21 ounces or less) on public property and at city-permitted events. Over the next four years, single-use bottled water will be phased out from city buildings, parks and festivals and will no longer be provided by park vendors, food truck operators, and street fairs.