The Department of Accommodation and Commercial Services (ACS) at the University of Sheffield has teamed up with in-house Table Water Bottling specialist, Vivreau, to bring environmentally friendly water to guests attending conferences, meetings and events in their conferencewithUS venues. ACS previously used bottled water, but wanted to find a green alternative to help minimise their impact on the environment and reduce waste.

Jacqui Cameron, Head of Marketing, explains: “As part of our brand values, we’re committed to using local, ethically sourced and environmentally friendly products wherever possible. Using Vivreau table water meant that we didn’t have to transport pre-bottled mineral water which has helped us reduce our carbon footprint.

The water is purified on site, so we’ve not compromised on quality and, because the bottles are reusable, there’s no waste and no need to recycle.”

When ACS began looking at different options for supplying water to its conference delegates, it contacted Vivreau who gave a comprehensive demonstration of their in-house water bottling system and carried out a survey to ensure that the system was suitable for ACS. ACS has a diverse portfolio of venues and the water system needed to be able to fill a large number of bottles in a short space of time. Vivreau’s V3-101 offered the perfect solution as it is able to filter 108 750ml bottles of water in 30 minutes.

Vivreau and ACS worked together to develop a bespoke bottle design which incorporated the University’s crest and the logo of conferencewithUS’s parent brand ‘withUS’. The distinct bottles emphasise the University’s commitment to providing environmentally friendly options to its customers and help reinforce the withUS brand identity.

Deborah Tilbrook, Events Operations Manager for ACS said “I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Vivreau to others – it’s had a positive impact for us, our customers and the environment. We have reduced our carbon footprint as we no longer have to have bottled water delivered regularly, and as the bottles are reusable there is no need for recycling. It’s also a more cost effective way of providing water and we can pass those savings onto our customers.

From our initial point of contact, the team at Vivreau were very helpful and kept us up to date with timescales for implementing the system. They even created custom-made trays so that the bottles could be washed in our dishwashers as the standard trays would not fit.”