Drink local – think global!
Already heard of Lokales Wasser 37?
It was by chance that Urs Grütter discovered in the land register that the house of Max Ditting AG at Rennweg 35 has had the right to draw water from the Albisrieder pipeline in exchange for a spring since 1559. And he claims this right for the following reasons.
Local: To decrease the proportion of imported water thus reducing transport distances and associated CO2 emissions – a sensible alternative with shorter transport routes than imported water.
Switzerland is the water tower of Europe, yet we import almost half of our mineral water. In 2020, we imported more than 452 million litres, and this trend towards more mineral water imports continues unabated. Counteracting this increase in mineral water imported from abroad via long transport routes with Lokales Wasser 37 reduces CO2 emissions. Lokales Wasser 37 commissioned a life cycle assessment to show that every bottle of Lokales Wasser 37 drunk in place of mineral water from other regions actively contributes to protecting the climate.
Additionally, Lokales Wasser 37 uses the maximum available proportion of Swiss PET recyclate for its PET bottles. Its glass bottles come with a specially developed label that allows them to be repeatedly cleaned and reused in a closed cycle.
Regional: The idea is designed to be multiplied.
While the goal is to get people drinking local water, the idea of offering local water there where it is available, thus preventing the amount of imported mineral water from increasing, is something Lokales Wasser 37 would like to roll out across the whole of Switzerland and in nearby countries. So, if you happen to have your own spring…
Global: To support projects where good drinking water is rare.
Following projects in Rajasthan, India in 2016, Lokales Wasser 37 went on to collaborate with Swisscontact to implement a further water project in La Paz, Bolivia in 2017-2020. A pilot project will be carried out together with the same organisation in Bangladesh in 2022-2023.
In this most recent project, water being treated next to a school building is available to the children for free and offered in the neighbourhood at a flexible price that depends on individual purchasing power. Experience gained during this project will be used to implement this concept in other areas. Lokales Wasser 37 supports this and other projects with a fixed financial contribution and, once the profit zone has been reached, with the entire profits.
A huge thanks to Lydia Feller and Lokales Wasser 37!
