Chrissy Cooley
Sustainbility Manager
Pacific Lutheran University
Banning Bottled Water on Campus:
Beyond Excuses
Remembering our Connection
The Cuyahoga caught on fire in 1868, 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941, 1948, and
in 1952. The 1952 fire caused over 1.5 million dollars in damage. This is a picture
from the 1969 fire, the fire most often remembered.
3
Remembering our Connection
Aftermath of the 1969 fire
Cleanup efforts continuing to this day
4
Remembering our Connection
Bottled water is not safer, not tastier
5
Environmental Impact
o Waste Stream – only about 30% of plastic bottles
end up in the recycling
o Virtual Waste - ie transportation, refrigeration,
water use in the manufacturing of temporary bottles
o Mining of the Water
6
Social Injustice
• Privatization of drinking water
• Communities right here in the US are giving up their
free public water to be bottled at a cost
• Bottled Water plants bring very few, low -wage jobs
6
The University Connection
As Sustainability Professionals an average day at the office
probably includes:
• Waking up early to bus/bike/carpool
• Entering utility bill data
• Managing all of the recycling, irrigation, natural gas &
electricity policies on campus
• Being available to anyone at all that pops in
• Saying the words “people, planet, prosperity” at least
500 times a day
Generally being too busy to take on a campaign that no one
is talking about anyways.
The Challenge
The challenge is not banning bottled water!
A Ban on Bottled Water meets a deeper need. The challenge
is really to:
• find ways to apply our efforts to real sustainability
goals
• change systems, not minimize the symptoms
• find a way to not just be “less bad” but to do real good
• work on a cause that will simultaneously build bridges
across your entire campus
• float an idea that will open minds to the full definition
of sustainability
The Way to Do It
There are currently over 90 higher education institution in
North America that have limited bottled water on campus
Change Management
Unfreezing
1. Introduce Urgency
2. Assemble your guiding team
3. Create a common vision
4. Communicate for buy-in
5. Empower Action
Change
6. Create Short Term Wins
7. Do not let up!
Refreezing
8. Build into existing structures
- John Kotter
Unfreezing
Introduce Urgency
• The power of public narrative
• Start with your connection, and be able to
move into a shared purpose
I should say that it is disturbing that the banning
of bottled water is too often thought of as a
waste reduction initiative (i.e. we'll use fewer
plastic bottles)… The issue is about the co
modification of water and about all of the
environmental impacts of the beverage
industry. – University of Winnepeg
Unfreezing
Assemble your guiding team by identifying your mavens and
seek out your opposition
“In spring, 2011, an undergraduate student proposal was
presented to the University Sustainability Council that sought
to reduce the consumption of bottled water on campus. The
Council recognized the many issues surrounding bottled
water and established a Bottled Water Committee to review
the matter. This Committee consisted of key stakeholders
including students, faculty and staff representing Dining
Services, Student Affairs, Business Services and Athletics.”
- University of Maryland
Unfreezing
Empower Action
• Thank you notes!
• Leave ample time for dialogue
• Allow students to be inspired – and get out of their way
• Provide resources where needed
• Student Green Fees
• Sample campaigns
• Film showings
Food and Water Watch
TBTT National Forum Group
Katy Kiefer, Activist Network Coordinator
(kkiefer@fwwatch.org)
Unfreezing
Create a common vision and communicate for buy-in
“Water privatization is the reason why the student
body voted to ban the sale of bottle water as
selling bottled water is in direct conflict with
Jesuit values of social responsibility.”
– Loyola University Chicago
The Change
Create Short Term Wins and do not let up!
• Getting reusable bottles in hands
• Filtered Water Stations
• Communicate positively for events
Refreezing
Build into existing structures
• Catering Contracts
• Vending agreements
• Written posted policy
• New student orientation
• Keep the coalition strong for this stage
Change Management
“I think students often think that the administration will be
resistant to changes and that's not always the case. This was
an example where students wanted something, provided a
case for it and reasoning behind it, and CDS worked hard to
implement it -- and it worked! It is something people can
look to and note that CDS (and College administration) is a
lot more receptive to ideas than the students might think.”
- Oberlin College
Inhibitors to Change
Fear
Hope
Apathy
Anger
Self-Doubt
You Can Make a
Difference
Inertia
Urgency
~ Marshal Ganz
When to Tap Out
Don’t forget that even if a ban is not possible, work to
reduce the existing demand now will make it possible in
the future.
• Fringe users such as vending machines, sports
events, leased spaces, etc, should not stop you in your
tracks
• This is not a zero-sum game
Your University
What would stop you from
removing bottled water from
your campus?
Chrissy Cooley
cooleysc@plu.edu
253.538.6060
#beyondexcuses
The Way to Do It
University of Ottawa David Rousseau
University of Washington
St. Louis - Deborah Singer
Howard
Pacific Lutheran University
September 2010
Dining &Sustainability
January 2009
Chancellor& Sustainability
April 2011
Students &Sustainability
Food sales went up instead Changing image to be more Able to relate sustainability
of down
innovative
directly to social justice
Defining bottled water
apart from juice
Hostility in working from a
top-down model
Vending machine
contracts/image