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| Source: GROHE. The GROHE Blue system in action. |
The GROHE Blue smart water system has seen significant takeup in Asia since a May 2014 study* which found that its carbon footprint is smaller than that of bottled mineral water.
Estimated greenhouse gas emissions were 17.96 g CO2-eq/litre for the GROHE Blue system against emissions of 70 to 600 g CO2-eq/litre for bottled mineral water, depending on the type of packaging and the place of origin. The values achieved by GROHE Blue are also lower than those of conventional water dispensers, which range from about 35 to 50 g CO2-eq/litre. This means that GROHE Blue allows users to save greenhouse gas emissions of at least 25 to 50% over other alternatives.
The system supplies filtered and chilled water in three different variants - sparkling, medium and still - directly from the same custom kitchen faucet, allowing different users in an organisation to enjoy their preferred type of water at any time. Unlike typical office potable water arrangements, no bottles have to be filled, transported or recycled in order to obtain the three types of water from a GROHE Blue system, which adds to its environmental friendliness.
Dorit Grueber, GROHE’s Vice President (Marketing), Asia, noted that Asian businesses are becoming more green and are attracted to GROHE Blue especially in matured markets, where their employees are more time-strapped.
There is definitely an increasing trend as consumers become more environmentally conscious," she said, naming Vodafone and Miele as customers of the product. "Since the publication of the study, we’ve seen a significant increase in orders that have been recorded, especially in the B2B sector. The main attraction for GROHE Blue for businesses would be the convenience of getting filtered water straight from the faucet, and an outstanding design which combines pure drinking water and washing water in a single faucet."
*The May 2014 study was carried out by the Production and Logistics Chair of GeorgAugust University in Göttingen in cooperation with Grohe. Between July and November 2013, the scientists of Göttingen University compared the carbon footprint of one litre of water tapped from the GROHE Blue system with the footprint of one litre of bottled water. The scenario was based on the assumption of 30 users per day who drink one litre of bottled water on 220 days of the year over a period of five years. The calculation of the carbon footprint covered all five lifecycles of GROHE Blue and of bottled mineral water, which range from production and transport of the raw materials as well as transport of the finished product to consumption and disposal.
