Almost every category of food and drink has been criticised at some time or another for particular unwanted consequences. Few have been spared, from chocolate to potatoes and from wine to milk.
Many products have reduced their fat, salt and sugar content or provided a range of alternatives. The soft drinks industry went further by introducing guidelines that restrict advertising to younger consumers, by specifying what products are appropriate in schools and by going beyond legal requirements in labelling.
As bottled water has grown in popularity, it too has become a target, yet bottled water has no health drawbacks for the average consumer and has positive answers to its environmental detractors. In fact, it can make such a strong contribution to society’s health and well-being that I believe the leading companies and associations should join forces to agree a common set of principles and messages about wider goals in a global protocol.
This global protocol should have three key dimensions: public health, environmental impact and social contribution. The protocol statements under these headings should be regarded as a general call to action. The idea is that companies should sign up to the protocol as a set of objectives, and should then seek to implement them over an agreed period of time.
Here is what I think a global protocol should include.
The two major concerns about environmental impact relate to the use of materials and then their reusability. No single industry can resolve all the issues affecting consumer choice in a market-based economy, but the bottled water industry can and should do as much as possible.
Beyond health and the environment, but also closely related, the industry has every reason to reaffirm its wider social commitment and contribution.
Support for any implementation of such a protocol would improve public health and help tackle obesity while reducing health service costs and environmental concerns.
Consultation within the industry would undoubtedly clarify the goals and refine the details, but I would hope for real progress towards such a protocol by the time of the next Global Bottled Water Congress in Rio de Janeiro on 13-15 September.
Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International. You can also read his blog at BevBlog.
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