“Drinking water has not only become more accessible; it’s also a team sport. Two or three colleagues at a time will head down to the ground floor to refill their bottles, creating a new social interaction point.”

– Evelien de Bot, Operational Manager at Sodexo

GAME CHANGERS

APM Terminals is a Dutch-headquartered port operating company. It’s part of Danish shipping company A.P.Moller-Maersk. APM Terminals is the fifth largest container terminal operator in the world, with a global presence in 58 countries.

THE NEED FOR BETTER BEVERAGE OPTIONS

APM Terminals is the main tenant of the building, and brought the Aquablu REFILL+ to the attention of Facilities Manager Sodexo proactively after coming across the system. The building previously offered canned diet soft drinks, like Coca Cola, Fanta, and Sprite. There were also coffee machines and a Qooker tap on every floor for water.

The Facilities team wanted to prompt people to choose water more often than soft drinks when picking up a beverage at work, so adding extra flavors proved to have a clear benefit for the team, as did the REFILL’s filtration system, which made even plain tap water taste better. The additional sustainability aspect of the REFILL+ was also appealing, as the team wanted to waste less plastic and stop relying so heavily on canned drinks.

THE SOLUTION

Since implementing the REFILL+ Evelien has noticed that drinking water has not only become more widely accessible; it’s also a team sport. Two or three colleagues at a time will head down to the ground floor to refill their bottles, creating a new social interaction point. Bringing reusable water bottles has also become the norm, and it’s common to see employees heading for refills first thing in the morning or straight after lunch.

The team enjoys the personalized reports they receive on bottles saved, too. They found that it keeps them aware of their environmental impact, and also shows them where consumption is highest – IMMUNITY, the fresh lemon flavor, in this case.

“It's very user-friendly" - Evelien de Bot, Operational Manager

CHANGE IN THE WATER

For Evelien as the Operational Manager, the best feature is the system’s user interface, which she added is “very user-friendly”. It’s easy to learn how to perform general maintenance tasks for the first time, for example replacing the flavor boxes when they run out, because the system provides step-by-step guides.

Because the REFILL+ offers so many different options, from regular ambient water to sparkling cold beverages, Evelien says “there’s something for everyone”. The dispenser’s modern look and feel, too, invites you to come and take a drink.