Partnering with third-sector organisations offers brands the opportunity to create real change.
Can you explain how Water Unite partners with retailers and brands to improve water hygiene and reduce plastic waste? Water Unite’s model involves asking brands and retailers to add a one cent contribution to every bottle of water they sell in store. This is donated to us and invested in schemes aimed at ending water poverty and substantially reducing plastic pollution worldwide.
To overcome the funding gap in water sanitation and plastic recycling, we need a large base of donors. By tapping into the global packed water market – which hit 520 billion litres in 2020 – we have the potential to raise up to £5 billion per year for vital schemes and services.
This approach works well because it doesn’t impact the price sensitivity of products in any way. The consumer doesn’t notice the one cent increase and it is small enough for retailers to use as a trade promotion.
Consumers are also increasingly choosing to shop with retailers and brands that reflect their own attitudes and beliefs – particularly around issues such as the environment. As a result, partnering with charities like Water Unite creates a powerful CSR message for our partners.
What expertise do you bring within your role as Chief Executive Officer of Water Unite? What do you hope to achieve as a charity over the next few years? My key priorities involve bringing insight and experience in the retailer and consumer goods marketplace, understanding the economics, supply chain and the use of data behind a retailer’s business.
Over the coming years, we want to continue generating funds that eliminate water poverty and plastic pollution for future generations. But for this legacy to continue, the principles of our model must be sound from a business point of view as well as functioning within a charity environment.
Water Unite aims to raise more funds and become an integral part of the sector. By working with a select group of companies, analysis shows that it is feasible for us to raise an additional $100-200 million per year and we’re working tirelessly to achieve this.
What is your model for building more retail partners? Our model is on a retailer-by-retailer basis. It’s important to understand an individual company's CSR needs so we can tailor our offering for them. We directly engage with retailers whose values align with our mission to tackle environmental and social issues.
Since our inception we have built up a network of champions within many retailers and brands. We are working closely with them to see the micro-contribution model implemented in their stores and products.
Why are retailers increasingly partnering with third sector organisations to tackle important issues such as sustainability and climate change? What are their motivations at a brand and industry level? Many environmental challenges require systemic changes that are beyond the capabilities of individual companies. As a result, a good approach for businesses can be to partner with third-sector organisations which are already working towards these causes. These third sector organisations have effective strategies, useful contacts and most importantly, an experienced team that can provide insight and guidance.
Partnerships also allow retailers and brands to collaborate with their peers to address issues which put the sector at risk. The unprecedented social and environmental problems being faced by the industry today cannot be tackled by individual organisations. It is only by uniting and pooling resources that solutions can be developed at scale.
How does partnering with Water Unite generate more exposure and credibility for brands? Working with Water Unite increases the brand's profile as a socially responsible firm that has aligned its values with those of their consumers. This enables them to capture and retain a higher proportion of consumer wallet, by growing consumer engagement, loyalty, and penetration.
We also provide our partners with regular updates on the impact of their customers’ donations, which they can use in communications to boost engagement and grow advocacy.
Which markets are you seeing the most demand/interest for partnerships? Compared to other markets around the world, Europe is more advanced in terms of sustainability, as shown by the number of Eco Actives in Germany and other markets in the region being higher, so our work tends to resonate most with consumers and retailers based here.
On the other hand, the US retail market is lagging slightly behind. The main reason for this is its sheer size. However, it could be that US retailers tend to focus their CSR efforts on uniquely American issues and concerns, rather than global ones. The US consumer mindset is starting to consider international issues within retail supply chains, however it is still playing catch up.
Interestingly, we have observed a particular interest in Water Unite from brands and retailers in Latin America (LATAM). This is likely due to a combination of visible plastics, sanitation and water scarcity issues married with a large consumer population. These issues are front of mind for LATAM consumers, so retailers are actively looking for ways to tackle them.
Our research has found that most shoppers want to buy more environmentally friendly packaging, but only a few regularly avoid it. How is Water Unite bridging the gap between desire and action? Information about the lifecycle of packaging isn’t readily accessible for consumers. Therefore, consumers are often not fully informed or simply don’t want to address problems associated with the origin or the post-use lifecycle of the products they buy.
Consumers look to retailers to help them make better choices, socially, economically, and environmentally. Water Unite is bridging the gap between desire and action by partnering with retailers and brands across the globe to incorporate the micro-contribution scheme on a number of products. In doing this, consumers have more opportunities to buy products that contribute towards the plastics recycling and circular economy sector.
How do you work with retailers and brands to educate shoppers about what Water Unite does? We have a well-developed set of collateral and case studies aimed at inspiring our audiences to change their behaviour. The messaging is conveyed through both in-store and online platforms. In the case of in-store, we work with partners to find messaging and imagery that resonates with their consumers when they pick products off the shelf.
In the case of online messaging, social media and website platforms allow us to share case studies and animations demonstrating where the donations are invested. We also provide retail partners with a detailed evaluation of the programmes they fund. These help consumers to understand the real impact of their donations.
