PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Volvic, the unique, volcanic natural spring water that comes from a protected source, unveils a new grant and campaign designed to support local NGOs, social businesses and non-profit organizations working to protect nature. “Thirsty for Action” is a new step for the brand on its journey to fight for nature protection and to keep the planet and people healthy and strong. This new initiative will give a platform to local nature protectors and foster a global community2 motivated to act and to support the grant winners and their projects on www.volvic.com/thirstyforaction.
Volvic benefits from a unique filtration system only protected nature can provide and so has made it its mission to help protect nature. The brand’s “Thirsty for Action” grant will support three local NGO’s, social businesses and non-profits organizations associations2 who are thirsty to:
- protect and/or restore natural ecosystems
- promote circularity (by eliminating unnecessary packaging to reduce waste and/or systems for collection of wastes and recycling)
- reduce or capture carbon emissions
A committee of passionate nature protectors has been formed to review all applications and select three NGOs, non-profit organizations and social businesses2 which will receive grants of $11,700 USD (€10,000) each. Members of the committee include: Kilian Jornet, global outdoor athlete and climate advocate, whose foundation - the Kilian Jornet Foundation - works on the preservation of mountains and their environment; Peter Naumann Forester, Management CSR and Public Relations, Bergwaldprojekt; an expert for the German Commission of UNESCO; Nathan Gilbert, Executive Director, B Lab Europe; Eliza Yavchitz, Executive Director, Les Canaux; and Elizabeth Lazuttes, Head of Waters and Sustainability, Volvic Global.
In addition to awarding the $11,700 USD (€10,000) grant, Volvic will promote the work of the winning organizations across Volvic’s national media space for a full year to amplify their work and inspire people to support the organizations and their work as nature protectors.
“Volvic has always valued the strength it receives from nature, and our mission is to help keep both the planet and its people healthy and strong, and ensure that around the world natural ecosystems like Volvic’s are protected,” said Rita Pestana, Global Vice President, Volvic. “And while our achievements such as carbon neutral certification3 and B Corp certification4 make a difference and were part of the early steps on our journey, this new grant will help to collectively support change and continue to make positive impact on nature. This is only the beginning.”
Alongside this new initiative, Volvic is continuing to push boundaries with its ambitious sustainability commitment to 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate1 (rPET) packaging in Europe by 2025, which will begin to roll out on small formats in France and Belgium, on the full range in Switzerland and Germany by the end of 2020, and in the US by 2021. To achieve this goal within the next five years, Volvic is working to eliminate unnecessary packaging and increase recycled content in its materials.
In June 2020, Volvic achieved B Corp5 certification and was certified carbon neutral by The Carbon Trust4. To reach the carbon neutral milestone and reduce its own carbon footprint, Volvic has been continuously increasing the proportion of recycled materials in the bottles, switching to 100% renewable energy at the plain water bottling site in 2020, and promoting the use of low impact transport. In parallel, the brand is working with the climate solutions company South Pole to contribute to the support of the continued protection of two billion square meters of natural ecosystems in volcanic countries6. Aside from these more recent commitments, Volvic has prioritized the preservation and sustainability of its water reserves and has been committed to protect the area through the CEPIV for more than 15 years.
1except the cap and label
2Non-Governmental Organization, non-profits and social businesses. NGOs, non-profits organizations and social businesses can apply on www.volvic.com/thirstyforaction via a dedicated application form. There will be 3 (three) winners, 1 from France, 1 from Germany and 1 international. Each winning applicant will receive a 10,000 EURO grant each and 1 year of global media coverage. The fields of the project are circularity, climate change, and nature protection. Full terms and conditions available on the site www.volvic.com/thirstyforaction.
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
About Volvic (WWW.VOLVIC.COM)
Volvic is a unique natural spring water born in a volcanic natural ecosystem in the Auvergne region of France. 13,500 years ago, a volcanic eruption created an immense natural filter where water flows through six layers of volcanic rock; this creates a one of a kind filtration system that only nature can provide and that is how Volvic comes to life. The activist water brand has been fighting to preserve these ecosystems for years in an effort to restore balance to allow nature to continue to give us its strength and guarantee the purity of the water. As a part of Danone, Volvic has committed to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices and is doing so through several environmentally focused efforts. To learn more about Volvic, please visit their website.
Volvic is part of the #WeActForWater movement.
Through #WeActForWater Danone Waters brands are:
- Halving the amount of virgin plastic used by their water brands, reaching 50% recycled PET (rPET) use worldwide and 100% across Europe in 2025;
- Accelerating towards carbon neutrality in Europe by 2025, with evian and Volvic becoming carbon neutral this year;
- Matching every liter of water sold with a liter for people in need, by creating a fund to help 50M people in developing countries access safe drinking water by 2030;
- Enhancing watershed and wetlands preservation around the world;
- Expecting the collective of its water brands to achieve B Corp certification worldwide by 2022.
WeActForWater falls within Danone’s recently announced €2 billion investment acceleration plan, investing between 2020-2022 to further transform their agriculture, energy and operations, packaging and digital capabilities.
About Kilian Jornet Foundation:
The main mission of the Kilian Jornet Foundation is the preservation of mountains and their environment. Mountains have played an essential role in Kilian Jornet’s athletic and personal growth, which is why their preservation has become both a passion and a priority. The changes the planet is undergoing directly affect mountain settings, but also all those who depend on them: fauna, flora and us, as humans.
The Foundation will work in three main areas to help preserve mountain environments:
- Direct actions: Creating or financing projects aimed at solving environmental problems in the mountains, such as clean-up in polluted areas or the installation of sustainable infrastructures to reduce human impact
- Raise awareness and educate: Through its own communication channels and external ones, the Foundation will work to raise awareness for the importance of preserving the environment, using education to establish a better relationship between humans and mountains
- Research: By investing in studies and monitoring services to better understand the effects of climate change on mountain environments and establish the best possible tools to address them
For more information, visit www.kilianjornetfoundation.org or follow them on Instagram.
4Volvic carbon neutrality certification
Volvic has been certified carbon neutral to the internationally-recognised standard PAS 2060 by the Carbon Trust, a global climate change and sustainability consultancy with almost two decades of experience in the sustainability sector. Achievement of this standard reflects the commitment and measures taken by Volvic to reduce direct carbon emissions arising from its own operations (Scope 1 and 2), indirect emissions from the value chain, and where residual emissions exist Volvic has compensated for these through good quality offsets achieved through its partnership with South Pole.
From now on, Volvic must be recertified every year to maintain its carbon neutral status. This requires the development and implementation of a yearly carbon reduction and management plan. Each year the certification process becomes more challenging as Volvic must begin to rely less on the compensation (the investment in funds which generate carbon credits) and more on a low carbon business model. The carbon emission reduction figures are based on the global life cycle assessment of the product.
5B Corp™ Certification:
Volvic is the biggest natural mineral water brand (revenue based) to receive this distinction.
B Lab® is a nonprofit that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. B Lab’s® initiatives include B Corp™ Certification, administration of the B Impact Management programs and software, and advocacy for governance structures like the benefit corporation.
Certified B Corporations® are new kinds of businesses that balance purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
Certified B Corporations® achieve a minimum verified score on the B Impact Assessment—a rigorous assessment of a company’s impact on its workers, customers, community, and environment—and make their B Impact Report transparent on bcorporation.net. Certified B Corporations® also amend their legal governing documents to require their board of directors to balance profit and purpose. Companies must recertify every three years.
In 2020 Volvic achieved the certification with a score of 81.1., being part of the less than 4% of companies that have engaged with B Impact Assessment online and achieve the score required. The B Corp assessment certifies 5 pillars: Governance, Workers, Community Environment and Customers. B Lab® has highlighted the company’s leadership in 3 mains areas:
- The culture of Health & Safety
- The efforts reducing energy, water and material usage in operations
- Defining social and environmental goals at all levels. This builds a culture of ownership for the company impact.
While Volvic scored highest in governance practices and legal mission including societal and environmental impact on stakeholders in the decision making; employee benefits such as pension and healthcare plans; and the environmental policy and management, including rigorous monitoring and target, also identify the following areas of improvement: regular performance reviews for all employees and further engage with our suppliers on social and environmental aspects.
6About South Pole
South Pole is a leading project developer and provider of global climate action solutions, with over 300 experts in 18 global offices. South Pole helps companies, capital markets, and the public sector reduce their impact on the climate while mitigating risk and creating value. South Pole is a science-based company and its expertise covers project finance, data collection, and climate risk analysis, as well as the development of environmental commodities, such as carbon and renewable energy credits. South Pole has mobilised climate finance to over 700 projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable land use. For more information, visit www.southpole.com or follow them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
7CEPIV: protecting the natural environment and biodiversity since 2006
Société des Eaux de Volvic is strongly committed to preserving the natural heritage, including the 38-km2 area where Volvic natural spring water originates.
The Volvic impluvium is located in the unique geographical site of “Chaîne des Puys / Limagne fault”, inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2018.
Protecting and preserving the natural spring water resource is at the heart of Volvic’s DNA. Co-created by Société des Eaux de Volvic in 2006, the Environmental Committee for the Protection of the Volvic Impluvium (CEPIV) is a public-private partnership with the 4 local communities of the catchment area. Its mission is to implement actions with all territory stakeholders that reconcile local development and the protection of the catchment area and its biodiversity.
The mission of CEPIV focuses on three areas:
- PRESERVE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
- DEVELOP ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
- PROMOTE THE CAREFUL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF VILLAGES, ROADS AND RAILWAYS
