Top Wedding Venue Switches to Vero Water
One of the UK’s top wedding and events venues, Elmore Court, in Gloucestershire, has invested in a Vero Water on-site purified drinking water system as part of its vision to become a truly sustainable and eco-friendly business.
Article first appeared on ecohustler.co.uk
Elmore Court is a unique and award-winning country house which has been in the Guise family for 750 years. Current owner Anselm Guise is passionate about running the historic venue in a sustainable way that minimises impact on the environment.
“We strive to offer a contemporary sustainable experience, and as part of this we seek out modern solutions that enable us to reduce waste and be self sufficient wherever we can,” explains Anselm.
“The Vero Water system is just such a solution, and it made perfect sense for us. As a large venue we were buying in a huge quantity of high-end, branded bottled water for guests. The glass and plastic waste this created was insane, irresponsible really, so I wanted to find an alternative, one that would slash our waste, but also offer superb quality drinking water and make sound economic sense.
“This appeared to be a tall order, but then I read an article in the Guardian about WHOLE WORLD Water, a registered UK charity that aims to end the global water crisis by helping the hospitality and tourism industry to filter, bottle and sell their own water. Venues like us contribute 10% of the proceeds to the WHOLE WORLD Water Fund, and 100% of the monies raised are invested in clean and safe drinking water projects throughout the world.
“I loved this idea, it was a perfect fit with our ethos of sustainability and our desire to challenge the norm and do things differently. I contacted WHOLE WORLD Water and they told me that Vero Water, who is their preferred supplier in the UK, had developed the technology to provide us with a drinking water system that would meet our needs.
“We had a Vero unit on trial for four weeks and I was very impressed with it on several counts. Firstly, the unit connects directly to our own mains water, but purifies it so that it tastes superb. It has a delicious, crisp flavour, as good as any well-known brand of bottled water, so the quality was absolutely right for us.
“Secondly, there is zero bottle waste with the Vero Water system because we can refill bottles again and again for tables at events and bedrooms. We can cater for up to 200 people, plus of course we have people staying here, and using the bar. The system can cope with these large volumes and it’s such a boon having lovely fresh-tasting water on tap.
“Lastly, the Vero system makes very good financial sense to us. By switching from expensive branded pre-bottled water we are saving around £300 per month, which is a significant amount. We provide the water free at our events and in rooms, but we also sell it to guests, for example at the bar, and we can offer it at a much lower price compared with traditional bottled water. We are giving 10% of this revenue to WHOLE WORLD Water.”
The perfect alternative to traditional bottled water
Vero Water systems are the perfect alternative to traditional bottled water, enabling conference venues, hotels, bars and restaurants to offer purified, chilled and great-tasting still and sparkling water on tap, while dramatically reducing their environmental impact and costs.
Elmore Court is using the new Vero +4, which is capable of delivering 1 litre of water per 20 seconds, making it ideal for big venues where hundreds of guests need to be catered for.
Like all Vero Water units, the new Vero +4 connects directly into the customers’ existing water source, and removes impurities, chemicals and imperfections via a unique 5-stage filtration process, delivering a taste far superior to ordinary filtered water.
Ian Baragwanath, Vero Water UK managing director, says: “We are delighted that Elmore Court has chosen to install one of our machines and excited to be working with WHOLE WORLD Water. We have a shared interest in helping restaurants and hotels to provide pure, great-tasting water at a low cost and without creating a large environmental footprint.”
Karena Albers, founder of WHOLE WORLD Water, says: “We chose Vero Water as preferred supplier because, like us, they have recognised that the hospitality industry produces far too much bottle waste and are dedicated to finding alternative solutions. After vetting several water purification systems, Vero UK was by far the finest service available.
“Their systems are unique in their ability to deliver water of the highest quality, giving hotels a sustainable alternative to bought-in bottled water that is both cost-effective and eco-friendly.”
Anselm Guise says: “We have had the Vero Water unit for a couple of months now, and we are thrilled with it. It totally delivers on its promise to be completely sustainable, high quality, easy to use, reliable and cost-effective. We have had some great feedback from guests, not only about the delicious taste and low cost, but about the environmental benefits as well.
“Our guests also invest in our dream of becoming a sustainable venue, so we tell them as much as we can about how we are doing this. Vero Water offers beautiful branded bottles, but we have chosen to use WHOLE WORLD Water branded bottles because we felt they would be more effective at getting the message across.
“There really is no down side with the Vero Water system. It’s the ideal common sense solution to a growing environmental problem. I would recommend it to anyone seeking to reduce waste and provide customers with a responsible alternative to branded water.”
About WHOLE WORLD Water
Today, more than a billion people worldwide are without access to clean and safe drinking water. This is a global issue that affects us all. The good news is that there are more solutions than problems. In accordance with SDG #6, WWW seeks to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to clean and safe water by 2030.
Developed to end the global water crisis, WHOLE WORLD Water works to unite the hospitality and tourism industry to filter, bottle, and sell their own water, and contribute 10% of the proceeds to the WHOLE WORLD Water Fund. 100% of the monies raised are invested in clean and safe drinking water projects.
Founded in 2014 by award winning documentary filmmaker Karena Albers, and Jenifer Willig, former CEO of the (RED) campaign. The core belief of WHOLE WORLD Water is that businesses can play a significant part in solving environmental and social issues, while also improving their bottom line.
The WHOLE WORLD Water Fund is a UK registered charity (#1154199). It was established to radically increase resources to provide access to clean and safe water to communities around the world. To-date, the Fund has invested in 17 projects, bringing access to clean and safe water to over 250,000 people worldwide. Ambassadors include: Sir Richard Branson, Rich Wolf, David de Rothschild, Yves Behar, Graham Hill, Ben Elliot, Waris Ahluwalia, Gabriel Byrne, Stanley Johnson, Natasha Khan, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, among others.
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