ATLANTA, GA -April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- This Earth Day Evian(R) Natural Spring Water, the world's leading luxury spring water, pronounces its continued dedication to playing a leading role in sustainable development. Through the creation of the Evian Water Protection Institute, which will work in conjunction with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the introduction of the use of recycled plastic (r-PET) to its most popular bottle sizes and the launch of a new partnership with RecycleBank, Inc. in the US, Evian carries forward its commitment to the environment.

"Evian first implemented a sustainability strategy decades ago, being the first bottled water to introduce compactable bottles and incorporating the most efficient methods of transportation in our shipping process," said Elio Pacheco, President of Evian North America. "Evian has always been an exemplary model of innovative eco-friendly initiatives and continues its commitment to these efforts with the introduction of our three newest programs."

Evian Water Protection Institute

The newly instated Evian Water Protection Institute will build upon the brand's original project with Ramsar, now giving it a global dimension. The Evian Water Protection Institute's first three projects will focus on the La Plata basin in Argentina, Nepal's Jagadishpur Reservoir in the heart of the Himalayas and Bung Khong Long Lake in Thailand and will help these local populations autonomously manage their water resources in a sustainable fashion.

Evian is creating the Water Protection Institute as a means to:

- Help maintain and/or restore wetlands, with the aim of promoting the wellbeing of local communities and fair access to resources

- Develop exchanges of knowledge about sustainable and concerted management of water resources

- Encourage local communities to play a role in the management of wetlands

While water is a renewable resource, it still faces many threats that need to be addressed quickly. The ever-looming danger of water pollution leads to shortages of potable water across the globe, with developing countries suffering the brunt of the problem. Protecting wetlands, which are natural catchment areas and natural freshwater resources, will naturally help replenish underground aquifers, filter water, reduce CO2 and help naturally protect against climatic events such as floods and erosion. Finally, wetlands often also provide a source of economic development to local communities.

"Currently, it is estimated that one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water," said Pacheco. "Through the best practices garnered from protecting our own unique resource in Evian, France, we are committed to sharing this expertise with communities around the globe where local water resources maybe at risk; and thus help support their efforts focused on the maintenance and protection of valuable water resources."

Recycled PET and RecycleBank

Another of Evian's top priorities involves reducing the brand's environmental impact. It has focused its efforts on reducing water and energy consumption, production processes and transport, as well as packaging -- an area that provides an important opportunity to improve the brand's impact.

Currently, the 1.5L bottle is compactable, a design first introduced by Evian. Additionally, Evian will advance its commitment to eco-friendly innovation by introducing the use of post-consumer recycled polyethylene terepthalate (r-PET) in its most popular bottles, the 1L and the 750 mL sizes.

"Evian has not only strived to counteract its effect on the environment, but to truly lessen its footprint on the world by improving our packaging," remarked Pacheco.

Evian is the first bottled water to join the RecycleBank program to motivate households to recycle. RecycleBank and Evian will achieve this goal through measuring the amount of recyclables from each participating home and converting the weight into RecycleBank Reward Points. These Points can be viewed and redeemed online with more than 400 national and local RecycleBank Reward Partners.

By offering rewards to households for their recycling efforts, the RecycleBank program provides Evian with an outlet to target its like-minded consumers to lessen their environmental footprint. In addition to minimizing its impact, Evian has also positioned itself to educate consumers on the benefits of recycling and protecting our planet.
"Recycling is an effortless way for consumers to lessen their environmental impact,'" said Pacheco. "For our loyal customers that are just as committed to improving their community as we are, we partnered with RecycleBank as a way to say 'thank you.'"

Evian's History in Sustainable Development

Evian first partnered with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1998 with the creation of the Danone Evian Water Fund. Evian's support of Ramsar helps the Convention to communicate the need to protect wetlands, apply in actual situations the fundamental principle of the rational use of water resources and promote significant achievements in this field (Ramsar Evian Prizes).

In addition to its longstanding relationship with Ramsar, Evian also initiated the APIEME (Association Protection Impluvium de l'Eau Minerale Evian) over 15 years ago in Evian, France to help ensure the continued protection of the Evian resource. Evian's involvement in its aquifer protection is an example of a best practice which Ramsar is able to implement in other countries.

Continuously pushing the frontier of sustainability, Evian has always been a pioneer of eco-conscious efforts and modernizing its methods as technology has evolved over the years. Past examples include:

- The first company to switch from PVC to PET bottles

- Introduced the first compactable bottle aimed at reducing wasted space within recycling bins, fitting more crushed bottles into the bin and helping the overall recyclability of its bottles

- Ships 80 percent of its bottles from its plant in Evian, France by rail to European ports

- Ships to North America and throughout the world using maritime containers, one of the most fuel efficient means of transportation

- The maritime transport containers are unloaded at several ports strategically located along the coasts of North America to minimize transport from the port to the final distribution point

Evian's long history of commitment to sustainable development, as well as efforts to support the protection of the world's fresh water resources and providing consumers with eco-friendly product where possible, will only continue to become stronger as the brand continues to grow. In order to communicate these practices, Evian has launched a new section within its current website dedicated specifically to its sustainable development initiatives. For more information, please visit http://www.evian.com.

About Evian

Bottled since 1826, Evian Natural Spring Water is the world's #1 brand of premium spring water. Every drop of Evian takes over 15 years to filter through mineral rich glacial sands in the pristine French Alps. Bottled at the source in a state of the art facility, Evian comes from the Cachat Spring located on the Southern shore of Lake Geneva, in the town of Evian-les-Bains. Evian provides a uniquely balanced mineral composition and subtle flavor as a product of its unhurried journey.

Today, Evian is a brand of the Danone Group, a leader in the food industry and number one by volume in the world for packaged water and dairy products. Evian first entered the U.S. market in 1978, where it was served in the finest bars and restaurants in distinctive glass bottles, and is now accepted as the natural spring water for those, including many of Hollywood's elite, who like to treat themselves to the very best.

About Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Nowadays, it has become popularly known as the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar is the first of the modern global intergovernmental treaties on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. The Convention's focus is on maintaining healthy wetlands, because healthy wetlands bring many benefits to people whether they live near wetlands or far away. Ramsar believes that people and wetlands are closely linked and that wisely used wetlands can maintain biodiversity, sustain local populations and decrease poverty.

About RecycleBank

RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle. It does this by quickly and easily measuring the amount of material each home recycles and then converting that activity into RecycleBank Reward Points that can be used at hundreds of local and national rewards partners. RecycleBank is simple to implement, market-driven and proven to work, saving municipalities' money and rewarding citizens for their environmental stewardship. RRE Ventures and Sigma Partners are the largest institutional shareholder group and Ron Gonen, the co-founder and CEO is the largest individual shareholder. Visit www.recyclebank.com for more information.

Evian North America

Evian North America

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