Water conservation: a look at how companies are impacting the environment

By Caitlyn Huebner
September 6, 2016

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Going Green

Water generally is not a topic of concern for those living on the eastern portion of the United States as well as other parts of the world. This, however, is quite the contrary in many other regions of the world. In the United States, one of the most modern cases of water crisis is the California drought. Globally, Africa has been facing water shortage for years.

When speaking of the environment, an emphasis has been put on carbon footprints, but with a globe in a deep-rooted water crisis, why is there not more of a focus on water footprints?

According to Water Footprint Network, water footprint can be defined as how much water is used, particularly by a business, in order for particular goods to be produced.  What happens, though, when a business not only uses water to produce goods, but is dependent upon water to do their job? How does this affect the overall water footprint? One of these companies is Sodexo.

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Sodexo is an international catering service. Cabrini, like many other schools, depends on Sodexo to feed hundreds to hundreds of thousands on campus globally every day.

Two years ago Sodexo paired with Ecolab, a company that strives for clean water and energy, in order to reduce the amount of wasted water. “Sodexo is committed to reducing our water footprint in all the countries where we operate,” Kate Shearer, general manager of food sustainability for Sodexo Headquarters, said via email. “Sodexo’s goal is that by 2020 all cites will have complete water reduction.”

According to Shearer, quite a few steps have been taken to reach their goal. Some of these steps include installing water saver or low-flow faucets, reporting and fixing leaking faucets, only running completely full dishwashers, using waterless cleaning supplies and sometimes rewriting the rules all together.

Tracy Eells, general manager of food services on campus, said Cabrini has been implementing these new rules and regulations over the past few years. “We have eliminated trays,” Eells said. “There are also very strict rules for thawing food.” In the past, food was thawed by placing the frozen food in the sink and running warm water over it until it is thawed. Now, with the intent of saving water, frozen food is placed in the fridge until it is thawed.

When asked what Cabrini’s goal is for saving water, Eells was unable to answer. She said Cabrini had no particular goal when it comes to water saving.

Is this enough?

So, the big question is whether these new rules and regulations will be enough to leave a lasting impact on the environment. President of Cabrini’s Green Team Kyle Wimmer does not think so. “I think we could do a lot more,” Wimmer said. “I don’t know how much that’s going to help.”

When looking at the amount of water Cabrini has used over the past few years, there was a decrease between 2013 and 2014 from 11,644 to 10,450 gallons, around the time Sodexo implemented these regulations. However, there was a significant spike in how many gallons of water were used on campus between 2014, 10,450 gallons, and 2015, 12,212 gallons.

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Graphic by Caitlyn Huebner

Director of facilities Dawn Barnett says there is much more to consider around campus before deciding whether or not the new regulations put in place by Sodexo are effective. Some of these considerations include the number of residential students, the re-opening of Dixon House, the climate and how it pertains to the maintenance of the landscape, construction on the Dixon Center Pavilion, increase in campus size and emergencies, such as the flooding incident at Woodcrest.

“The facilities department is also mindful of campus water usage,” Barnett said. “We have invested in water saver shower heads at the Dixon Center and in the residence halls, as well as making upgrades to essential building equipment throughout campus.”

David Dunbar, late associate professor of biology, had some more radical ideas when it came to conserving water. “Pennsylvania is a very water resource heavy state,” Dunbar said. “I’d like to see water price. It’s too cheap so we take it for granted— higher priced means more conservation.”

When talking about water issues, Dunbar saw water as a much bigger issue than many others. “Water is a woman’s issue,” Dunbar said. “Woman need to get water outside of their village and take it back.” This means woman are not receiving the education men are in other parts of the world.

Furthermore, issues with water go beyond the lack thereof. “Most folks live with filthy water,” Dunbar said. This more often than not leads to waterborne illnesses. According to World Health Organization, around 3.4 million people die globally each year due to water-related illnesses.

What can you do?

Cabrini offers two courses on water conservation: watershed ecology and watershed citizenship. Both courses focus on a deep understanding of social justice issues surrounding watersheds.

Students who are looking for an easy way to impact the environment is to join an environmentally aware club such as the Green Team. Wimmer and the rest of Green Team try to educate others on how to live a more sustainable life. Currently, Green Team is pushing for more refillable water bottle stations around campus and pushing for Cabrini to switch to clean energy methods.

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Wimmer also mentioned Green Team has big ideas for the upcoming year.

Pay very close attention to what is being put down the drain. When putting chemicals, medicine or antibiotics down the drain these always end up back in the water supply. Although water is cycled through a water treatment plant, according to Dunbar it is practically impossible to remove all traces of these additives.

In addition to incorporating these additives into one’s water-daily life, these additives create drug-resistant bacteria.

A little known fact throughout campus is that the to-go boxes offered in the café are 100 percent compostable. Eells would like to see a decrease in the number of to-go boxes that are used. Eells is aware that these boxes are not being used for the intended purpose. Although made from different material, when thrown away these to-go boxes take just as long to decompose as other non-ecofriendly materials. “I’d be more than happy to pair with students who want to help,” Eells said.

It cannot be left up to corporations like Sodexo to attempt to leave a lasting, positive impact on Earth for future generations. “It’s a huge issue,” Dunbar said. “The more water we can conserve the better. We all should do more.”

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Caitlyn Huebner

Part-time adventure seeker and full-time creative soul. I have been fortunate enough to travel to distant worlds through my imagination and bring them to life through writing. Web editor for Loquitur and Editor in Chief of The Cue

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