Free Your Event from Bottled Water

Differentiate your event from others by joining the surging nationwide movement to kick the bottled water habit and Take Back the Tap. Instead of buying into the myth of purity in a bottle and littering the landscape with empty water bottles, use this guide to free your event from bottled water.

Big city mayors, including those in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and New York City, are joining in this effort by prohibiting the use of city funding for bottled water — effectively eliminating it in all city buildings and city-funded events. Restaurants are stopping the sale of non-carbonated bottled water. Event planners are also joining this movement. From small, catered events to large conferences and trade shows, freeing events from bottled water is becoming more and more common.

During the Labor Day weekend in 2008, San Francisco will host the inaugural convention of Slow Food Nation. The event, expected to attract up to 50,000 people over three days, will exclude bottled water. Food & Water Watch will coordinate the delivery of tap water for all attendees. As part of this mass hydration effort, we've developed this guide to ease the way for other event planners who want to break free from bottled water.