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Press release 13.05.08
London On Tap carafe competition launched
Thames Water to award £5,000 prize to winning entrant
London’s brightest and best designers are today urged to pick up their pencils, stand by their drawing boards, and polish up their Apple Macs, as a new competition is launched to test their mettle.
A £5,000 prize is on offer to the London designer who most impresses the judges of the London On Tap competition to design a sustainable water carafe for London. In addition, the chosen design will be mass manufactured in 2009 to grace the tables of the capital’s bars, restaurants and hotels.
The London On Tap campaign was launched in February, to promote the serving, and consumption of London’s tap water in its thousands of restaurants, bars and hotels. The campaign has garnered support from celebrity chefs, environmental groups, and even the House of Lords, and thousands of restaurants and bars have already pledged their support.
The heart of the campaign is the competition to design a stylish and sustainable carafe, with national design agency, and campaign supporter the Crafts Council lending its expertise to run the competition on London On Tap’s behalf.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said:
"I am pleased to offer my wholehearted support to this campaign to encourage Londoners to choose tap water when they are eating out. Bottled water is environmentally damaging because it causes unnecessary waste and pollution. Tap water is a cheaper option, which will also help protect the environment. This competition to design a beautiful carafe for tap water is a great idea, and I urge talented designers to take part.'
David Owens, Chief Executive of Thames Water said:
“London probably has the best drinking water in the world - we also have fantastic designers and creative ability. By combining the two, we can give London something iconic that you won’t find anywhere else. The carafe will demonstrate the City’s commitment to providing high quality drinking water whilst reducing the environmental impact of packaging and transporting bottled water”.
Crafts Council Executive Rosy Greenlees said:
“The Crafts Council is delighted to be part of the London on Tap initiative. As the national development agency for contemporary craft, we are always looking at ways of bringing craft to new contexts, and the competition to design a water carafe is an ideal opportunity to showcase the very best in contemporary craft to a wide audience”.
The competition is open to all London designers and final year design students currently living, working or studying in the capital. Entrants are invited to design a 1-litre capacity glass carafe embodying the best qualities of contemporary design and craftsmanship, while meeting exacting criteria on sustainability. In addition, the design will need to be strong enough to withstand the pressures of commercial catering environments.
Judging the competition will be key figures from the worlds of design, hospitality and the environment, including celebrity chef Aldo Zilli; Zaha Hadid, architect of the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre and Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth.
Designers can enter the competition online at http://www.londonontap.org/competition, where they will also find a full design brief, as well as a short film of the judges discussing the various requirements and functionalities of the carafe. The closing date is 31 July. All short-listed entries will be prototyped and announced in September, with the winner announced in December.
Notes to Editors
For more information about the London On Tap campaign, visit http://www.londonontap.org or contact Amy Dutton at Thames Water Press Office, Tel: 0118 373 8921
Manufacture of the winning design is due to begin in January 2009 with carafes expected to start appearing in outlets across London from April 2009.
The Competition judges are:
- David Owens - CEO, Thames Water;
- Jenny Jones - London Assembly Member for the Green Party;
- Aldo Zilli - Restaurateur and Celebrity Chef
- Tony Juniper – UK Director, Friends of the Earth
- Lynda Relph Knight - Editor, Design Week
- Professor Jeni Colbourne - Chief Inspector of Drinking Water, DEFRA
- Zaha Hadid - London 2102 Olympic Aquatics Centre architect
- Rosy Greenlees - Executive Director, Crafts Council (Chair of Judging Panel)
- Andrew Neather - Wine Critic, Evening Standard
- Andrew Cook - Deputy Chief Executive, WaterAid.
The London On Tap logo is available for use in editorial and broadcast pieces and can be downloaded from http://www.londonontap.org/press
Each year Thames Water carries out almost half a million tests of drinking water, complying with 99.98% of stringent national and European standards. London tap water costs less than a tenth of a penny per litre and emits 300 times less CO2 than bottled water alternatives.
A taste test comparing bottled water brands with tap water was carried out by Decanter magazine in December 2007 and broadcast by the BBC’s Panorama programme on 18 Feb 2008. Thames Water's tap water was rated third out of 24 varieties tested.
London On Tap is a partnership with the British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation, WaterAid and London Remade. The British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation represents the UK's glass industry. WaterAid is the international charity, which enables the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Any proceeds from sale of carafes will go to support WaterAid's work in the developing world. London Remade helps London reduce, reuse and recycle its waste by developing markets for recycled materials to be made into new products.
Thames Water is the UK's largest water and wastewater company, supplying clean drinking water to 8.5million customers and wastewater services to 13 million customers across London and the Thames Valley.
To find out more about Thames Water, visit http://www.thameswater.co.uk
The quality of Thames Water's tap water is independently monitored by the Drinking Water Inspectorate
Press release 19.02.08
The clear choice
Thames Water and Mayor of London launch new campaign to promote tap water in London's restaurants, cafes and pubs.
Thames Water and the Mayor of London have joined forces to launch a new campaign to promote tap water across the watering holes and eating establishments of the capital. By using less bottled water, Londoners can help to cut climate change carbon emissions associated with its production, storage, transportation and disposal.
London On Tap, sponsored by Green Party London Assembly member Jenny Jones, and supported by Environment Minister Phil Woolas aims to:
- Raise awareness of the high quality of London's tap water, the impact of bottled water on climate change and the environment, and its benefits to health and well-being
- Empower customers in bars and restaurants to ask for tap water rather than feeling obliged to ask for more expensive bottled brands
- Encourage restaurants, bars and hotels across London to support London On Tap and proudly serve tap water to customers, giving them a real choice about what water they can drink.
The centrepiece of the campaign will be a competition, open to all London-based designers, to design an iconic carafe made from recycled glass to be used in bars, restaurants and hotels across London to serve tap water to customers. The competition will kick-off in May this year, with the challenge to come up with a design that matches good looks with environmental sustainability.
The former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said:
"My message is very simple: don't be embarrassed to ask for tap water when you eat out. You will save money and help save the planet. By drinking less bottled water, we can cut the climate change carbon emissions coming from its production and transportation, and cut the problem of disposing of used bottles. Choosing tap water is cheaper and a perfectly acceptable alternative to bottled water, and it will help to protect the environment. I have joined forces with Thames Water on this campaign to help people feel more confident in asking for tap water rather than bottled water in our restaurants and cafes, and to encourage businesses make it easier for their customers to make that choice."
Thames Water Chief Executive David Owens, said:
"We all know the benefits of keeping hydrated and luckily in London we have probably the best drinking water in the world. We should all be proud to drink it. Each year, our water meets more than half a million stringent quality tests, and in a recent independent taste test rated higher than 20 more expensive, bottled brands.
"At less than a tenth of a penny a litre, it's up to 500 times cheaper than bottled water, and is kinder to the environment, emitting 300 times less CO2 to process it than bottled alternatives.
"So tap water is not only good for you - it's good for London and good for the environment".
Environment Minister Phil Woolas said:
"We've got some of the best tap water in the world and we should be prouder of that. I'm not going to tell people what to drink, but I believe there is no place for snobbery about tap water, and no excuse for making people feel small if they ask for it. If this move by Thames Water and the Mayor of London gives people confidence to ask for what they want in restaurants that has to be a good thing."
Jenny Jones, Green Party member for the London Assembly, said:
"Londoners want to be greener and its important to make it as easy as possible, so ordering tap water with your meal, or at the pub, is fashionable and the right thing to do. The idea of the carafes is to help Londoners take a stand against one of the biggest con jobs of the last two decades. Selling water in bottles and burning massive quantities of fossil fuels for its transportation does not make economic or environmental sense. This is a simple, money-saving way to brush up your eco-credentials. Say ‘no' to bottled water and help save the planet."
The campaign has been welcomed by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.
Friends of the Earth, Executive Director Tony Juniper, said:
"Drinking tap water cuts plastic and glass waste and reduces the size of our carbon footprint. Shipping water around in bottles, sometimes over thousands of miles, is mad from an environmental point of view. In facing the pressing challenge of climate change, we need to reduce the amount of resources we use up and cut the distance that products travel. In both respects tap water is a far better choice than bottled. We hope that restaurants, bars and clubs across the capital will make London a sustainability leader by offering tap water first"
Notes to Editors
- For more information about London On Tap, visit http://www.londonontap.org or contact Nicola Savage or Amy Dutton at Thames Water Press Office, Tel: 0118 373 8921
- The London On Tap logo is available for use in editorial and broadcast pieces and can be downloaded from our website (see below).
- A taste test comparing bottled water brands with tap water was carried out by Decanter magazine in December 2007 and filmed by the BBC for Panorama. The programme was broadcast on BBC1 at 18 Feb 2008 at 8.30pm. Thames Water's tap water was rated third out of 24 varieties tested.
- The design competition will be launched in all London design colleges in May 2008. Rules and information will be available from the London On Tap website.
- Entrants will be judged by a panel in December 2008. Manufacture of the winning design is due to begin in January 2009 with carafes expected to start appearing in outlets across London from April 2009.
- London On Tap is a partnership with London Remade and WaterAid.
- London Remade helps London reduce, reuse and recycle its waste by developing markets for recycled materials to be made into new products;
- WaterAid is the international charity, which enables the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Any proceeds from sale of carafes will go to support WaterAid's work in the developing world.
- Thames Water is the UK's largest water and wastewater company, supplying clean, drinking water to 8.5million customers and wastewater services to 13 million customers across London and the Thames Valley.
- The quality of Thames Water's tap water is monitored by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
Previous press release
Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli has lent his support for the London On Tap campaign, banning the sale of bottled water in his restaurants.
Downloading logos
Logos for London On Tap and Thames Water are available to download from this site.
Please note that these logos are for press and editorial use ONLY.
No unauthorised use of these marks for commercial or promotional purposes is permitted.
For further information please contact: press@thameswater.co.uk
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