Around The Water Cooler.

Dwight Schrute, Assistant to the Regional Manager for paper supplier Dunder Mifflin Scranton, is always looking to get ahead at work in NBC’s hit show, The Office.  He recognizes that the office water cooler is much more than a place of hydration.

“It’s a real shame.  Studies show that more information gets passed through water cooler gossip than official business channels.  Which puts me at a disadvantage…because I bring my own water to work.”

Dwight proceeds to move the water cooler directly next to his desk, and asks lingering co-workers to let him in on the water cooler gossip,

“So what do you guys hear? What’s the scuttlebutt?”

Keeping the office healthy and hydrated is the main purpose of a bottleless water cooler, but it is also a hub for office conversation.  Boston.com’s Peter Post talks about work etiquette and the importance of office small talk around the water cooler in his piece, “Office Small Talk is Part of Business, Too”. Here are three of his 10 tips:

“Water-cooler conversations are an expected part of the day, especially during breaks or meals. Just remember, bring it to a close when it’s time to get back to work.”

If another person approaches to join the conversation, be willing to include him or her. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, and think how you would like to be treated if you were trying to join.

If it’s not a good time to talk, be honest and suggest an alternative time. “I have a report I’ve got to get finished. Can we touch base later?”

What are you talking about today at the office? The weekend, weather, work?

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides its bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Yesterday we discussed the criticism of Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck’s this week over privatizing water.  Brabeck has defended his 2005 comments and claims his thinking has “evolved,” in a Huffington post article, “Addressing the Water Challenge.”

“My critics say it shows I want to ‘privatize’ water. I want nothing of the sort…When we give water a value, we use it more carefully, and this does not mean privatization.  Governments, of course, have a pivotal role to play in managing water resources but today the resources available to governments for public spending are shrinking. Business can and should get involved to help address the issue.”

So what is the role of business in the water? Brabeck says it is where they can add “the greatest value.”

“The private sector can help governments by sharing best practice, mobilizing finance and management, and by putting forward new solutions to provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation at a lower cost.”

Business certainly can play a role in providing safe and affordable water to the entire world.  Blue Reserve hopes to do so while practicing environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility. Blue Reserve is starting with Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island by providing purified water through bottleless water coolers to offices and homes.  Blue Reserve also has the goal of displacing our national dependency on plastic bottled water.

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides its bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, CEO of Nestle, the largest foodstuff corporation in the world, has come under fire in the past few days for his response to this question. The heat was ignited by several statements in a 2005 documentary in which Brabeck discussed the issue of the privatization of water.  Here is the direct quote:

“It’s a question of whether we should privatize the normal water supply for the population. There are two different opinions on the matter.  The one, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right.  That means that as a human being you should have a right to water.  That’s an extreme opinion. The other is that water is a foodstuff like any other and like any other foodstuff it should have a market value. Personally I think it’s better so that we’re all aware it has a price. And then one should take specific measure for the part of the population which has no access to water and there are different possibilities for this…”

Brabeck’s statements have a clear origin, which he explains himself in the video.

“I’m still of the opinion that the biggest social responsibility of any CEO to maintain and ensure the successful and profitable future of his enterprise. For only if we can ensure our continued longterm existence will be we able to actively participate in the solution of the problems that exist in the world.”

When we understand this mindset, we can understand why Brabeck might promote the privatization of water. Because it is his job to do so in order to maximize profit. By Brabeck’s definition, a corporate executive cannot take earnest concern in promoting the general welfare of the world, the environment, or humanity…unless it is aligned with greater profits. Is this the reality of business or simply the status quo? Is there a solution?  Is Brabeck right, realistic, or wrong?

If you want to create more work you have to work more yourself. And with that we’ve got to create a positive image of the world for people, and I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be positive about the future. We’ve never had it so good, we’ve never had so much money, we’ve never been so healthy, we’ve never lived as long as we do today. We have everything we want and we still go around as if we were in mourning for something.

At Blue Reserve, we don’t have everything we want.  While we have all these things, we are not satisfied. We want to displace our national dependency on bottled water. How are we going to do that? By bringing market sustainable and affordable water purification technology in the pursuit to build a healthier, safer and more sustainable world, one office at a time.  Beginning in Maine, extending to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and beyond.

What are you doing to make the world a better place?

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides its bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Could there be a purpose of business beyond profits?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, believes so.   He believes business can drive positive change in the world, while delivering profit, and in fact, the two are linked. He explains in his book, Conscious Capitalism,

“With few exceptions, entrepreneurs who start successful businesses don’t do so to maximize profits. Of course they want to make money, but that is not what drives most of them. They are inspired to do something that they believe needs doing. The heroic story of free-enterprise capitalism is one of entrepreneurs using their dreams and passion as fuel to create extraordinary value for customers, team members, suppliers, society, and investors.”

Conscious businesses focus on their purpose beyond profit, according to their website.  They consider the needs of all stakeholders; employees, suppliers, customers and affected communities, as well as investors.  These needs include transparency and benefits, which has made Whole Foods a stalwart on the “Best Places to Work” list for more than a decade. Finally, these businesses are captained by conscious leaders, “primarily motivated by service to the purpose of the business and its stakeholders, and not by the pursuit of power and personal enrichment.”

At Blue Reserve, we have especially focused on his section titled “A Conscious Approach to the Environment,” the authors reasonably state: “We need to address key environmental issues creatively and in an integrated way. While global warming or climate change gets a lot of attention, we have collectively focused on it so strongly in recent years that it has taken attention away from other important environmental challenges. These include critical concerns such as freshwater availability, air purity, seafood sustainability, environmental livestock impacts and welfare, deforestation, and desertification.”

Is conscious capitalism realistic? It has appeared to work for Whole Foods, and has been employed by companies such as Starbucks, Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, Amazon.com, and Costco.

We feel it is certainly an idea worth investigating.

At Blue Reserve, we have a purpose beyond profit. Blue Reserve’s mission is to displace our national dependency on bottled water by bringing to market sustainable and affordable water purification technology. Through a steadfast commitment to environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility, we will build a healthier, safer, and more sustainable world.

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides its bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Do you ever question the tap water at your home or office?

Does your water taste Chlorinous, Salty, Metallic? How about Musty, Moldy, Earthy, Grassy or Fishy?

Is your water Brown, Yellow, or Green?

We hope not.

But we want you to know the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has an excellent info sheet on what you should know about your tap water in regard to taste, odor, and color.  The Massachusetts DEP provides common causes though, “Please note that a particular problem in your drinking water may be the result of a cause not listed here; the only way to confirm a cause is to have a certified lab analyze the water and discuss the results with drinking water professional.”

“Filtering water may remedy problems…though MassDEP also does not regulate or recommend specific treatment systems.”  We recommend Blue Reserve’s industry-leading nine-stage purification system on our bottleless water coolers for your office or home. Our multi-stage ultra filtration system removes harmful chemicals and heavy metals from your water, while our unique polishing stage infuses antioxidants and minerals while balancing the PH.

Feel good about your water

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides it’s bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Happy Earth Day from Blue Reserve! It is projected that more then 1 billion people in 180 countries will celebrate Earth Day today. How will you celebrate?

How about reducing the amount of plastic waste? A couple of Earth Day Not-So-Fun Facts:

• According to industry statistics, Americans now spend over 20 billion dollars annually on bottled water, while discarding over 50 billion bottles.
• It takes plastic and aluminum cans 500 years to break down, and organic materials, cotton, rags and paper only 6 months to break down.
• Every year, 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the oceans. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1 million sea creatures every year.

Eco-design firm KOR is doing their part by embarking on a bold campaign to #FreeWater “from the chains of bottled water.”  “Thirty years ago, the sight of people drinking continuously from plastic bottles – let alone those shipped from Fiji – would have seemed bizarre. Fast-forward to today and we barely bat an eye,” said KOR’s President, Paul Shustak. The Free Water campaign also seeks to reverse this trend and educate consumers about the many alternatives to bottled water, including filtration systems, drinking fountains and reusable bottles.

Blue Reserve provides an alternative to plastic bottled water by removing the plastic and the bottle: bottleless water coolers. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides it’s bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

What is your office doing this Earth Day?

Concord, Massachusetts is the first American city to ban bottled water. Once again the hub of the revolution, Concord attempts to combat the negative environmental impact of plastic water bottles. The bylaw, which bans the sale of bottled water under 1 liter, is the result of a three-year campaign by local activists fighting to reduce waste and fossil fuel use in plastic water bottle production. 84-year-old Jean Hill led the charge,“What I’m trying to do with this Bylaw is to increase the barriers to buying single-serve bottled water because in order to help people change, you need to put policies in place that steer them away from buying bottled water and toward considering the many other good alternatives…”

Blue Reserve has an alternative which saves plastic waste, transportation, fossil fuels, and money that is bottleless water coolers.  Blue Reserve is also trying to move away from the reliance on bottled water by tapping the water in homes and offices and purifying the office drinking water into clean, tasty, responsible bottleless water.  Plastic water bottles contribute to the 31 million tons of plastic waste in the US per year, according to the EPA.

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless drinking water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides it’s bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine is proud to announce a new partnership with Blue Reserve Water, the leading provider of purified water coolers for the workplace for Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Located in Portland Maine and Stoneham Massachusetts and recently awarded the 2011 Portland Maine’s PROPEL Enteverge Award for its innovative business, Blue Reserve offers the ideal drinking water solution for any office or home using bottled water delivery.

Whether your workplace or office currently uses bottled water coolers, pays for bottled water delivery service, or uses filtered water coolers, upgrading to a Blue Reserve bottle-less water cooler system will reduce your costs and provide a superior product. At the same time, you will be supporting the Southern Maine community, as Blue Reserve will donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters for each new client that signs up.

Click HERE to get started!

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis technology and our bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides it’s bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Blue Reserve Water of Portland Maine and Stoneham Massachusetts provides quality drinking water to offices in the form of a filtered water cooler service. Our filtered water coolers replace the need to pay for bottled water delivery for an office and is a more cost effective and environmentally friendly solution to office drinking water. Learn more about our filtered water cooler service today!

In a recent issue of the Economist, they featured a large, multiple article section on water as a global issue. Titled “A Special Report on Water,” this series of articles made reference to the inefficiency of bottled water. One quote from this piece concerning bottled water was particularly scathing.

“Bottled water often comes from the same source as tap water, where that is available (sometimes at a hundredth of the price), though it should be at least clean.  It is often indistinguishable from tap water. In rich countries, it may have come from exotic sources such as Fiji or Lapland, packed in glass or plastic destined to become rubbish, devouring energy on its travels and thus making it one of the least green and least defensible rip-offs on the market.”

Blue Reserve believes it is important to profile and expose these facts about bottled water and help consumers improve the way they purchase water service for their home or office.

Blue Reserve Water provides offices with a bottleless water cooler service. Our bottleless water coolers utilize a wide range of water purification technologies to deliver offices with the purest bottleless water. Our bottleless water coolers guarantee to provide bottled water quality without paying for office water delivery service. Learn more about our Reverse Osmosis technology and our bottleless water coolers and green your office by doing away with bottled water and switching to a Blue Reserve bottleless water cooler. Blue Reserve provides it’s bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.

Multnomah County, Oregon set a precedent for environmental consciousness.  After it was brought to their attention that the county’s convention of providing disposable bottled water or bottled water coolers for employees was costing tax-payers and the environment, the county’s commissioners decided to ban spending county funds on the amenity.  In 2008 in Multnomah, $32,000 was spent on plastic water bottles or bottled water coolers for employees, while in 2009 the cost was closer $21,000.  In bigger areas, like Portland, the total was closer to $50,000. “It’s half of a person’s salary. Every little bit counts right now,” said Sarah Brownstein, an assistant to Multnomah County Commissioner Barbara Willer.  In lieu of providing bottled water, the county has begun the installation of many water fountains and bottleless water coolers.  Thus far, 3200 bottles have been saved thanks to these new filtration systems.

Blue Reserve Bottleless Water Coolers sees the shift from disposable bottled water as a most feasible and sustainable solution to many of the superfluities we see in the world. Blue Reserve provides it’s bottleless water cooler service to offices in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut and encourages the public offices to reduce their spending on bottled water coolers and switch to a bottleless water cooler service for their office. Call Blue Reserve today at 888-880-5543 x2 to sign your office up for our premium filtered bottleless water cooler service.