Beverage Life Cycle Study
How does bottled water stack up to other beverages?
The environmental impact of bottled water has been singled out in the news recently. We wanted to understand more about it, so we commissioned a study in 2009 with Quantis, a worldwide leader in conducting Life Cycle Assessment Studies (LCA), to evaluate the environmental impact of our products. This comprehensive study looked at a variety of beverages, including water, soft drinks, sports drinks, enhanced waters, and juices. The research showed that water, whether bottled or from the tap, has the lightest environmental footprint of all beverages. And because water has no sugar or calories, it's also one of the healthiest choices of the beverages studied.
Beverage Footprint vs. Other Lifestyle Options
Total Beverages = 0.92%
Water has the lightest environmental footprint of packaged beverages studied.
Bottled water is less than 1/10 of 1% of the average consumer's carbon footprint.
| 35% Transportation | • Whether it’s driving to work or school, taking trains and buses, or flying, transportation has the largest impact on each of our average carbon footprints |
| 26% Running our homes | • Heating, air conditioning, and electricity contribute to the second largest impact |
| 23% What we buy | • Whether it's clothes, newspapers, or gadgets, what we buy makes up close to a quarter. |
| 16% Food | • Food represents 16% |
|
1% Non-alcoholic beverages
< 1/10 of 1% Bottled water |
• All non-alcholic beverages combine to less than 1% and bottled water is less than 1/10 of 1% |
Bottled water is the best packaged beverage option for the environment.
In all its varieties – whether tap or bottled – water has the smallest environmental footprint of all the beverages analyzed. Tap and filtered waters have the lightest footprint, followed by bottled water. The relatively large footprint of other beverages is due, in part, to the fact that these products have added product ingredients such as sugar.
Compare the Environmental Impact of Various
Beverage Choices
Carbon Emissions (kg CO2 eq.) Resulting From Consuming 2L of Respective Beverage Everyday for 1 Year
Our half liter Eco-Shape® bottle has the lightest footprint of all packaged beverages examined in this study.
This relatively smaller footprint of bottled water is reflected in the relatively smaller contribution it makes to an average persons' total footprint compared to bottled waters "share of stomach." Water accounts for 41% of the beverages an average person consumes but only accounts for 12% of their environmental footprint. On the other hand, other beverages account for 59% of the average persons consumption but makes up 88% of their environmental footprint.
And when consumers recycle Eco-Shape® bottles they can decrease their environmental impact even more – by 25%. Recycling matters.
Our Citizenship Goals
