Evian Natural Spring Water Expands Sustainable Development Strategy

The World's #1 Brand of Premium Spring Water Establishes Three New
Eco-Friendly Initiatives

ATLANTA, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- This Earth Day Evian(R) Natural Spring
Water, the world's leading luxury spring water, pronounces its continued
dedication to playing a leading role in sustainable development. Through the
creation of the Evian Water Protection Institute, which will work in
conjunction with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the introduction of the
use of recycled plastic (r-PET) to its most popular bottle sizes and the
launch of a new partnership with RecycleBank, Inc. in the US, Evian carries
forward its commitment to the environment.
"Evian first implemented a sustainability strategy decades ago, being the
first bottled water to introduce compactable bottles and incorporating the
most efficient methods of transportation in our shipping process," said Elio
Pacheco, President of Evian North America. "Evian has always been an
exemplary model of innovative eco-friendly initiatives and continues its
commitment to these efforts with the introduction of our three newest
programs."
Evian Water Protection Institute
The newly instated Evian Water Protection Institute will build upon the
brand's original project with Ramsar, now giving it a global dimension. The
Evian Water Protection Institute's first three projects will focus on the La
Plata basin in Argentina, Nepal's Jagadishpur Reservoir in the heart of the
Himalayas and Bung Khong Long Lake in Thailand and will help these local
populations autonomously manage their water resources in a sustainable
fashion. Evian is creating the Water Protection Institute as a means to:

- Help maintain and/or restore wetlands, with the aim of promoting the
wellbeing of local communities and fair access to resources
- Develop exchanges of knowledge about sustainable and concerted
management of water resources
- Encourage local communities to play a role in the management of wetlands

While water is a renewable resource, it still faces many threats that need
to be addressed quickly. The ever-looming danger of water pollution leads to
shortages of potable water across the globe, with developing countries
suffering the brunt of the problem. Protecting wetlands, which are natural
catchment areas and natural freshwater resources, will naturally help
replenish underground aquifers, filter water, reduce CO2 and help naturally
protect against climatic events such as floods and erosion. Finally, wetlands
often also provide a source of economic development to local communities.
"Currently, it is estimated that one billion people in the world do not
have access to clean drinking water," said Pacheco. "Through the best
practices garnered from protecting our own unique resource in Evian, France,
we are committed to sharing this expertise with communities around the globe
where local water resources maybe at risk; and thus help support their efforts
focused on the maintenance and protection of valuable water resources."
Recycled PET and RecycleBank
Another of Evian's top priorities involves reducing the brand's
environmental impact. It has focused its efforts on reducing water and energy
consumption, production processes and transport, as well as packaging -- an
area that provides an important opportunity to improve the brand's impact.
Currently, the 1.5L bottle is compactable, a design first introduced by
Evian. Additionally, Evian will advance its commitment to eco-friendly
innovation by introducing the use of post-consumer recycled polyethylene
terepthalate (r-PET) in its most popular bottles, the 1L and the 750 mL sizes.
"Evian has not only strived to counteract its effect on the environment,
but to truly lessen its footprint on the world by improving our packaging,"
remarked Pacheco.
Evian is the first bottled water to join the RecycleBank program to
motivate households to recycle. RecycleBank and Evian will achieve this goal
through measuring the amount of recyclables from each participating home and
converting the weight into RecycleBank Reward Points. These Points can be
viewed and redeemed online with more than 400 national and local RecycleBank
Reward Partners.
By offering rewards to households for their recycling efforts, the
RecycleBank program provides Evian with an outlet to target its like-minded
consumers to lessen their environmental footprint. In addition to minimizing
its impact, Evian has also positioned itself to educate consumers on the
benefits of recycling and protecting our planet.
"Recycling is an effortless way for consumers to lessen their
environmental impact,'" said Pacheco. "For our loyal customers that are just
as committed to improving their community as we are, we partnered with
RecycleBank as a way to say 'thank you.'"
Evian's History in Sustainable Development
Evian first partnered with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1998 with
the creation of the Danone Evian Water Fund. Evian's support of Ramsar helps
the Convention to communicate the need to protect wetlands, apply in actual
situations the fundamental principle of the rational use of water resources
and promote significant achievements in this field (Ramsar Evian Prizes).
In addition to its longstanding relationship with Ramsar, Evian also
initiated the APIEME (Association Protection Impluvium de l'Eau Minerale
Evian) over 15 years ago in Evian, France to help ensure the continued
protection of the Evian resource. Evian's involvement in its aquifer
protection is an example of a best practice which Ramsar is able to implement
in other countries.
Continuously pushing the frontier of sustainability, Evian has always been
a pioneer of eco-conscious efforts and modernizing its methods as technology
has evolved over the years. Past examples include:
- The first company to switch from PVC to PET bottles
- Introduced the first compactable bottle aimed at reducing wasted space
within recycling bins, fitting more crushed bottles into the bin and
helping the overall recyclability of its bottles
- Ships 80 percent of its bottles from its plant in Evian, France by rail
to European ports
- Ships to North America and throughout the world using maritime
containers, one of the most fuel efficient means of transportation
- The maritime transport containers are unloaded at several ports
strategically located along the coasts of North America to minimize
transport from the port to the final distribution point

Evian's long history of commitment to sustainable development, as well as
efforts to support the protection of the world's fresh water resources and
providing consumers with eco-friendly product where possible, will only
continue to become stronger as the brand continues to grow. In order to
communicate these practices, Evian has launched a new section within its
current website dedicated specifically to its sustainable development
initiatives. For more information, please visit www.evian.com .
About Evian
Bottled since 1826, Evian Natural Spring Water is the world's #1 brand of
premium spring water. Every drop of Evian takes over 15 years to filter
through mineral rich glacial sands in the pristine French Alps. Bottled at the
source in a state of the art facility, Evian comes from the Cachat Spring
located on the Southern shore of Lake Geneva, in the town of Evian-les-Bains.
Evian provides a uniquely balanced mineral composition and subtle flavor as a
product of its unhurried journey.
Today, Evian is a brand of the Danone Group, a leader in the food industry
and number one by volume in the world for packaged water and dairy products.
Evian first entered the U.S. market in 1978, where it was served in the finest
bars and restaurants in distinctive glass bottles, and is now accepted as the
natural spring water for those, including many of Hollywood's elite, who like
to treat themselves to the very best.
About Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on
February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the
Caspian Sea. Nowadays, it has become popularly known as the Ramsar
Convention. Ramsar is the first of the modern global intergovernmental
treaties on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. The
Convention's focus is on maintaining healthy wetlands, because healthy
wetlands bring many benefits to people whether they live near wetlands or far
away. Ramsar believes that people and wetlands are closely linked and that
wisely used wetlands can maintain biodiversity, sustain local populations and
decrease poverty.
About RecycleBank
RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle. It does
this by quickly and easily measuring the amount of material each home recycles
and then converting that activity into RecycleBank Reward Points that can be
used at hundreds of local and national rewards partners. RecycleBank is simple
to implement, market-driven and proven to work, saving municipalities' money
and rewarding citizens for their environmental stewardship. RRE Ventures and
Sigma Partners are the largest institutional shareholder group and Ron Gonen,
the co-founder and CEO is the largest individual shareholder. Visit
www.recyclebank.com for more information.

Press Contact: Katie Murphy
5W Public Relations
Tel: (212) 999-5585
kamurphy@5wpr.com

SOURCE Evian Natural Spring Water

Katie Murphy of 5W Public Relations, +1-212-999-5585, or kamurphy@5wpr.com,
for Evian