Cardiff Council has found an environmentally friendly solution to its staff drinking water needs in the form of mains fed water dispensers from PHS Waterlogic.
Prior to the PHS Waterlogic contract, bottled fed coolers made up the majority of Cardiff Council’s water requirements, with a small minority of departments using mains fed dispensers by different manufacturers. To enable full control and efficient management over the drinking water suppliers, Cardiff Council completed an EU tender process for a mains fed provider.
The evaluation process relied on 70% cost and 30% associated factors. “PHS Waterlogic won the tender for a number of reasons; its project experience, quality of service and delivery capabilities as well as its environmentally friendly credentials, which match our company ethos,” explains Lee Bunkham, Procurement Department at Cardiff Council.
Local authorities are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact procured services can have and Cardiff Council is no exception. “We aim to promote greater sustainability through investigating the influences of the organisation’s spending in order to ensure that environmental criteria are used in the award of contracts,” says Lee Bunkham. “Our goal is to provide opportunities for suppliers to submit offers for environmentally friendly alternatives and to guarantee that appropriate consideration is awarded to all.”
By switching to mains fed dispensers, Cardiff Council has experienced less health and safety risks as well as efficiency savings in the form of less ordering and responsibility for bottled water. There is no more lifting of heavy bottles that can lead to associated back ailments and no problems caused by ensuring adequate storage. PHS Waterlogic’s dispensers guarantee a constant, fresh supply of water, far preferable to water that has been stored in bottles. If bottles are not used regularly there can be a health risk of storage in direct light, causing discolouration, and a need to order replacements at additional cost.
Not only has Cardiff Council been able to save on its annual expenditure, but it is also able to condense its carbon emissions, by reducing the need for delivery lorries and the consumable waste such as empty non-recyclable bottles. In this way Cardiff Council is making a concerted effort in guaranteeing a sustainable procurement programme for its drinking water requirements.
“PHS provide a solution which is cost effective to the authority, reduces the health and safety risk and fits in with the Sustainable Procurement Policy, including the impact of transportation, so as to reduce the Council’s environmental impact and ecological footprint,” comments Lee Bunkham.
