Hotel operator imposes bottled water ban

Hotel chain Scandic is to phase out the sale of bottled water in its restaurants and during conferences.

The Stockholm-based company, which has 141 hotels, mainly in the Nordic region, calculates that the decision will cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 160 tonnes a year. Scandic currently sells about 1.2 million litres of bottled water every year.

The move is part of Scandic’s programme to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its direct activities to zero by 2025, with an interim target of halving emissions by 2011.

Scandic has targeted bottled water mainly because of the impact that shipment to hotels has on emissions. ‘Everyone is starting to realize the madness of transporting water around on our roads', said Jan Peter Bergkvist, vice-president of sustainable business. Bergkvist added that a recent study by the Stockholm Consumer Co-operative Society showed that bottled water supplies generate 1000 times as much carbon dioxide emissions as the same quantity of tap water. Scandic will now be offering its guests filtered tap water on site.