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‘Reducing waste and promoting a circular economy are key priorities for the NSWA and its members. This is why we have long been supporters of an effective deposit return scheme (DRS) in Scotland, and have worked extensively over the past three years with Zero Waste Scotland, Circularity Scotland and the Scottish Government on the scheme’s development. We look forward to continuing our work on the scheme with the First Minister’s new Government moving forward.

We would like to reiterate our commitment to a successful launch of this landmark environmental initiative on 16^th August. Our members, as responsible producers, have been planning for the scheme’s introduction for some time and have invested a significant amount of resource to ensure readiness.

It is our view that any move to exempt small producers or phase the introduction would create an unlevel playing field and cause huge consumer confusion, while creating additional complexities for producers and retailers. We believe DRS needs to remain an all-in scheme for both producers and retailers.

We would also like to underline our strong preference for the schemes to be aligned and interoperable across all four nations as far as possible. This will help reduce complexity and cost for consumers, producers and retailers, as well as diminish the risk of fraud.

We hope decision makers will focus on making DRS a success by maintaining a level playing field and ensuring the scheme can be delivered on time this summer.’

Kinvara Carey, General Manager, NSWA

The natural source waters category in the UK has grown in both value and volume demonstrating its resilience, despite ongoing supply challenges.

Simon Oldham, Managing Director of Highland Spring Group commented, “Up until the end of February, the category has been performing well, with an increase in volume of 1% and a value increase of 19.7%[i]. This positive performance from the healthiest option on the soft drinks shelf comes despite a myriad of pressures and shows the crucial role the category has to play in providing a healthy choice to consumers”.

Industry leaders came together today (22.03.23) to address key issues and recent challenges, as well as looking to the future, at the Zenith Global UK Water Drinks Conference 2023 in Central London. Last summer’s challenges which meant producers were unable to meet demand at peak times, CO₂ shortages, and priorities for a successful implementation of deposit return schemes (DRS) across the UK were all discussed, amongst other topics.

Keynote speaker, Henry Dimbleby MBE highlighted the role for water, “If people drank water instead of soft drinks, it would have a huge impact on the obesity crisis”.

Kinvara Carey, General Manager of the Natural Source Waters Association (NSWA), said, “Consumers receive confusing messages when it comes to choosing a healthy drink, as many contain more sugar or calories than perhaps expected. The NSWA and its members are working hard to tackle this and have invested £1.73 million in 2022 on initiatives which promote water as the healthiest option on the soft drinks shelf.

The planned introduction of a Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) for Scotland and the rest of the UK formed a major part of the day’s discussions. The NSWA and its members have long supported the introduction of an effective and well-designed DRS and have been working with the Scottish and UK Governments, and many others on their development. NSWA members support an all-in DRS, which must be aligned and interoperable across the UK.

NSWA members, representing approx. 60% of the category volumes

, said that they valued the opportunity to come together and discuss the major issues facing the category. “It is great to see the category continuing to recover after COVID but last year brought its own challenges with supply chain issues and the long hot summer making it challenging to keep up with the surge in demand. We’ve worked really hard so the category doesn’t face the same issues again this year. The ability to collaborate as members to discuss the key topics, challenges, and opportunities facing our sector particularly around health and sustainability is really valuable.”

[i] Neilsen data. 52 weeks ending 25^th February 2023

The NSWA has partnered with Zenith to offer a 10% discount to the UK Water Drinks Conference 2023 event.

Purchase your ticket for Water Drinks Conference 2023

To receive the discount, simply enter the promotional code NSWA10 on the “Summary” page when purchasing your tickets.

NSWA have secured Henry Dimbleby MBE, National Food Strategy Part One lead, as keynote speaker for the event entitled Planet Positive for a Healthier Future. Other speakers include Tam Fry, Chair of the National Obesity Forum; MDs from NSWA member companies; market updates on category performance from Zenith and Kantar; and retailers.

Water Drinks Conference 2023

Henry Dimbleby said, “It is positive to see the natural source waters category bringing the industry together to tackle two critical issues: the health of the nation and the environment. Clearly more needs to be done to encourage consumers to choose and enjoy healthy food and drink products, and there is an urgent need for continued collaboration across the supply chain to protect the natural environment and tackle climate change.”

Kinvara Carey, General Manager of the Natural Source Waters Association, added: “This is an important time for the supply chain to come together. The event will provide excellent insights on trends, the fast-moving policy environment, and opportunities for market collaboration. As key supporters of the event, our members who produce the majority of natural source waters sold in the UK, will be sharing their views and expertise and we look forward to seeing other industry leaders and retail customers there too”

The NSWA is partnering with Zenith Global Ltd on their UK Water Drinks Conference on 22 March 2023. NSWA have secured Henry Dimbleby MBE, National Food Strategy Part One lead, as keynote speaker for the event entitled Planet Positive for a Healthier Future. Other speakers include MDs from NSWA member companies, market updates on category performance from Zenith and Kantar, and retailers.

Tickets can be obtained here.

PressRelease-UKWDC-Final with HD

The First Minister of Scotland, Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP, has officially opened Highland Spring Group’s new rail freight facility in Blackford, Perthshire.

The facility enables Highland Spring to transport goods more sustainably while supporting the company’s ambition to reach net zero by 2040. It will offer long-term environmental benefits through the removal of 8,000 HGV movements from the road, saving 3,200 tonnes of C02 every year. Forty percent of the water supplied from the main bottling plant in Blackford will now be transported by train.

Ten years in development, the project is part of Highland Spring’s long-term strategy to invest in and develop innovative solutions to provide healthy hydration in an environmentally sustainable way.

The project has been planned in partnership with Transport Scotland, Network Rail, and the Scottish Government.

The NSWA has long supported the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme and we are pleased to have confirmation from the Scottish Government of the launch date of August 2023. Our members are already working hard to ensure it will be a successful component in delivering a circular economy for Scotland.

Now producers, retailers and support system providers can focus their work with Circularity Scotland Ltd to deliver a scheme that meets its objectives of capturing 90% of drinks containers. This will help provide high quality material that can be made into new, 100% recycled content drinks containers that natural source water companies want to use more of, and reduce the amount that are littered.