PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (July 21, 2019) – Visitors to The 148th Open golf championship in Portrush, Northern Ireland this week noticed a remarkable new addition to the prestigious event – cool looking personal stainless steel refillable water bottles were being carried by thousands of visitors to Royal Portrush instead of previously used single-use plastic water bottles.
The change was masterminded by The R&A, organizers of The Open, in a bid to show the world how major events can shape a more sustainable future.
The R&A collaborated with Bluewater, a world leader in clean water technology and solutions, to provide unique free-standing outdoor and indoor hydration stations and specially designed BPA-free stainless steel refillable water bottles for use by the 40,000 daily visitors to the championship.
“We’re honored The R&A chose to work with Bluewater to find an innovative and resilient strategy at one of the biggest sporting events in the world that demonstrates how feasible it is to provide visitors a viable solution for ending the need for single-use plastic water bottles and their transportation,” said Anders Jacobson, co-founder and CEO of Blue, the impact-led investment company that owns Sweden-based Bluewater.
Bluewater provided 18 individual hydration stations that deliver ambient and chilled purified local water free of charge at key locations across the golf course at Royal Portrush where The Open is being staged. Bluewater hydration stations were also installed in the players’ locker room, lounge and gym.
The R&A provided players, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari, with unique Bluewater Players’ Edition dual-skinned BPA-free stainless steel bottles that have been personalized with the names of the individual competitors engraved on the front.
In addition, the public was able to purchase specially-branded The Open 400-ml stainless steel refillable bottles at a discounted price of £4.50, which they were able to keep filled from an on-site Bluewater hydration station and take home for future use.
“We’ve all seen the television programs warning about the single-use plastic scourge, but The R&A has taken the initiative to demonstrate a here-and-now solution that has been carefully evaluated and will redefine how major events can shape new business models that help shape a sustainable future that’s good for the planet and humans alike,” said Anders Jacobson.
Background
The 148th Open, established in 1888, and considered one of the world’s leading links courses. Always played on a coastal links golf course, The Open is the world’s oldest professional golf championship, first played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland.
For more information, please contact David Noble, PR and Communications Director at Bluewater, at david.noble@bluewatergroup.com or +44 7785302694.
