1% for the Planet’s mission is to build and support an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet. Currently, it’s a global movement of 1,116 companies that donate 1% of their sales to a network of 1,877 environmental organizations worldwide… and growing. We’re incredibly honored to be the first premium artesian bottled water company to join 1% and one of the alliance’s top five brand members based on annual revenue and environmental contributions.

Becoming a member is part of our ongoing effort to help protect the environment. Among a number of initiatives, we’re working to preserve the Sovi Basin, the largest remaining lowland rainforest in the South Pacific, a project that will keep 10 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. We’ve also teamed up with the people of Fiji and Conservation International to work on our major reforestation project. Planting of the first 250 acres began in October 2009 and another 1,000 acres will be planted over the coming years. Here’s a video highlighting our Sovi Basin project:

If you know us, you know that we’re passionate about doing well by doing good. We know as a business, we’re responsible for giving back to the communities where we live and work. We couldn’t be more proud of our pledge to 1% for the Planet.

For more information about our 1% membership: Official FIJI Water Press Release

The reforestation of the Sovi Basin begins, in conjunction with Conservation International.

Our reforestation project that helps us to get to our carbon negative status delivers so much more. Joining forces with Conservation International and the people of Fiji, we have begun planting our new forest last month (the first 250 acres, anyway).

What does it all mean?

1. Improving Water Quality: Restoring these lands through our reforestation effort will stop erosion and improve the quality of water supply for local communities. Forests play a critical role in protecting important watersheds, especially in degraded areas such as the surroundings of the Nakauvadra range on Viti Levu, the site of our project.

2. Saving the animals: By safeguarding watersheds and expanding natural forest habitats, our project will also protect existing wildlife and biodiversity in this region. It will become a home to many native, often endangered species such as the masked shining parrot and the Fiji ground frog.

3. Supporting the Fijians: Our carbon forest project will also have an important socio-economic impact in the region. Already, more than a hundred local Fijians have been working and earning wages as a result of this program. As this program will carry on for years to come, local communities will continue to plant and maintain the 500-hectare forest, which will be a mix of native species, fruit and spice trees, and high-value timber such as mahogany and teak. As a result, community members will be able to support their livelihoods through selling agricultural products and sustainably harvested timber.

By improving water quality, saving the animals and supporting the Fijians, we’re doing all we can to commit to our pledge to be carbon negative.

Read more about our planting activities:
Fiji Sun: FIJI Water employees help forest carbon project

Let's do right by the earth.

We all know that climate change affects each and every one of us through our environment, health, and daily living. It’s a big issue, but no single person or business is responsible for everything. At FIJI Water, we believe that we”re all responsible when it comes to our earth. When it comes to environmental issues, we like to share what we”re doing and hope others will do the same. Here are some things any one of us can do to bring awareness to climate change:

Communicate: Remember the phrase “Sharing is caring?” Well, it’s true! Openly talk about your sustainability practices, your environmental solutions, and goals. Sharing your stories and progress not only holds you responsible but encourages others. At FIJI Water, we’re striving to be more transparent in our solutions by posting our latest updates right here on our blog and reporting on our progress.

Educate: Knowing is half the battle. It’s hard to decide between plastic or glass, for example, if you don’t have the facts. You can do your part by educating others about climate change issues, climate strategy, the newest sustainability practices, and renewable energy projects. By doing so you’ll be encouraging responsible decision-making and helping to pave a path towards sustainability.

Inspire: Anything and everything we do to work towards being green can inspire thought and action in others. At FIJI Water, we do what we can everywhere we can. From working with non-profits to engage in environmental or reforestation projects to advocating government recycling laws — each is but a small step towards a big goal.

By communicating, educating, and inspiring, we can all play a part in finding a sustainable solution to our climate crisis. Unlike pet rocks and Tamagotchi’s, sustainability isn’t a fad, it’s a continuous path. One of our core beliefs is that sustainable business practices are “common business sense.” Because, whether you’re a customer or a corporation, every little bit helps.

Photo courtesy of rAmmoRRisen

Kids find new uses for FIJI bottles.

Summer is in full swing and my girls and I are loving the outdoors! I particularly love that my house stays cleaner. My kids are 2 and ready for my little art lessons I dreamed of when I was pregnant. I thought I”d teach them about recycling. What better way to practice than on FIJI Water bottles!

So far we”ve made:

• A flower vase
• Musical maracas (adding popcorn seeds to the empty bottles!)
• Bowling set (We bowl using a soccer ball and eight empty FIJI bottles)
• Airplanes (ok, the hole in the neck was where the “pilot” sits)
• Cardboard cars (We used the FIJI cardboard box to make cars that we”re painting)

We”ve got some fun stuff going on. Cheers to your summer and reducing your carbon footprint by recycling your plastic bottles!

And if you’re feeling really adventurous and crafty, why not try to recycle a few cases worth of bottles into a chandelier or haute couture dress?

I bought my shiny red bike last November (prime cycling season, haha!) and haven’t been able to get enough of it since. I’m lucky enough to live near the beach, so I ride it along the oceanfront a lot, especially at sunrise when it’s quiet and peaceful out. And sometimes I ride to the farmers’ market and fill the basket with yummy fruits and veggies. Something about riding around on a bike with a basket full of good fresh produce makes me feel very Euro. I’ve even ridden my bike to special occasions dressed up and in high heels — fashion first!

I get around on my bike pretty easily now, but that wasn’t true in the beginning. I literally hadn’t ridden a bike in 25 years when I bought the Breeze. You do pick it back up pretty quickly — “just like riding a bike” — and fortunately my bike handles beautifully, but some nuances can get lost at first. My second time out, I was pedaling along, lost in thought, and then suddenly realized I was headed straight for a hedge. There wasn”t room to swerve, so I started pedaling backwards to brake, just like I used to when I was a little kid on my kid”s bike. The problem is that I have hand brakes now. Oops! Thankfully neither my bike nor I incurred serious injury — mainly just a bunch of twigs stuck in my hair and the wheel spokes. It did look pretty spectacular!

Of course, being a green gal, I’d considered the possibility that using my bike instead of a car or public transportation would reduce my carbon footprint. But one unforeseen consequence of riding my bike everywhere was an insatiable appetite. I could not stop eating!

And though I normally eat a healthy and lower-carbon diet high in vegetables, and usually eat meat just a couple of times a week, once I started riding my bike, I was craving meat and potatoes all the time. I’m pretty sure I had beef for several nights in a row at one point. I wondered if my beef-eating habits were negating all the carbon benefits from biking instead of driving. Now, I’ve heard from trustworthy sources that for most people, driving is a bigger source of carbon than eating beef, so normally that wouldn’t be the case. But I sure was eating a lot, so I don’t know…

After a couple of months, my metabolism adjusted, and I’m now back to my previous, healthier eating habits. But I was pretty worried for a while — I mean, who GAINS weight because she gives up her car for a bicycle? That said, there is no seasoning in the world that makes food taste as delicious as fresh air and lots of exercise. Everything tasted so good!

If you’re thinking about getting a bike, or riding your bike more, I highly recommend it! It’s so much fun and so relaxing, and it makes your food taste really good.

Nothing I do is extraordinary or time consuming, but I feel good about my little part. Here’s a list of what I do:

• I have two garbage cans in my kitchen, one for soiled stuff, the other for recycling.
• I recycle all my used coffee grains and filters and feed them to my yard as natural fertilizer.
• I replaced all my household cleaners with earth-friendly and non-chemical solutions. Vinegar and water on my hardwood floors make them shine better than any other product I”ve ever used!
• When running the water for my kids’ bath, I don”t let the water warm up before putting the drain plug in.
• I replaced every bulb in the house with those CFL light bulbs.
• We have large fish tanks and bought a pump to water the lawn when we clean the tanks. The water has great fertilizer in it!
• We use the door hanger advertisements as coloring books for my kids, and recycle the ones that don”t get put on the refrigerator for display!
• On the weekends, we try to walk more and drive less.
• I sign up for paperless statements when they’re offered.
• I re-use envelopes for shopping lists, etc… blank, white envelopes are perfect!
• I turn off the water when I”m brushing my teeth.
• We unplug electrics after using them.
• We purchase predominantly organic food.

I”d love to hear little steps you take that help you live a healthy, greener life!

FIJI Water and its hundreds of employees in Fiji were proud to join Fiji”s Earth Hour celebrations this year. On March 28th from 8.30pm to 9.30pm, the factory in Yaqara shut down bottled water operations and used critical lighting only, as did the logistics, finance, and foundation offices in Lautoka and Suva. We encouraged our employees, friends, and neighbors in the communities around our factory to do the same, supplied water to Earth Hour volunteers in the West, and also assisted in the collection and recycling of those donated bottles.

Elsewhere in Fiji, landmark buildings turned off their lights, restaurants held candlelit dinners with live guitar serenades, and at resorts guests were guided to their rooms by tiki torch.

Participating in this year”s Earth Hour is a part of our ongoing commitment to energy efficiency and the environment. As we work on big projects – cutting emissions across our products’ entire life cycle, promoting local recycling, investing in forest carbon and renewable energy projects- we also remember that there are small things we can all do every day to make a difference on our planet.

For more information about Earth Hour, visit www.earthhour.org and see how you and your community can be a part of next year”s celebration.

Celebrities like Hayden Panettiere and Nicole Richie have been spotted at Ecco, and Discovery Channel’s Planet Green – recognizing the eco-friendly milestone Ecco will establish in the nightlife industry – will feature the venue on its show “Alter Eco,” hosted by “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier.

Ecco serves FIJI Water as its exclusive bottled water and also offers two cocktails made with FIJI Water:

• Absinthe-Minded (Enjoy with Caution!): Organic Lucid Absinthe, Sugar, FIJI Water, Wormwood
• Alter Eco: Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin, Fresh Lemon Juice, a Few Drops of Rose Infused FIJI Water

So the venue is a place to see and be seen, the water tastes great, and the cocktails are yummy. But what makes Ecco eco-friendly? Well, it features (among other things):

• Multi-colored, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art LED lighting system, exclusively designed and installed by Disco Designer and Cosmos Lighting
• Power supplied by LA Department of Water & Power”s Green Power resources
• Superior Organic cuisine and liquors
• Cold & Heat Insulation, saving 20% of standard energy use through high quality insulation
• Energy efficient recycled steel air pressure toilets and waterless urinals
• State of the art “Dyson Airblades” hand dryers
• Free valet for hybrid vehicles
• Paperless Solution for ticketing and reservations – Provided by UpCode Solutions USA and its Mobile Access & Interaction technology (MAI)ô
• Audio provided by Turbosound, winners of the Best Club Awards 2008 “Best Sound System & Best Sound Product”

It’s amazing to see how many details the club owners, designers, and operators thought about as part of their effort to minimize Ecco’s environmental impact. Click here to learn more!

I figure there’s no time better than the food-filled holiday season to update you on my progress. Some great ideas that readers shared with me included preparing food that tastes good as cold leftovers, going for raw foods, incorporating ingredients from the local farmers’ market, and just eating cereal sometimes (thanks to dropofkim, CatieB, and Betty!). (You know, I love eating cereal with fruit for dinner. It’s yummy and nutritious, and it reminds me of college! Can’t believe I’d forgotten that was an option, so thank you for the reminder.)

Especially during summertime, it was lovely to pull together simple but delicious salads, use the abundance of gorgeous produce to make vegetarian entrees that taste good without reheating the next day, and have more light and refreshing options in the warm weather. And of course, with my eating less meat and using less gas and electricity to heat food, my carbon footprint dropped too. One of my favorite dishes is a simple cannellini dip that takes five minutes to prepare, tastes amazing and flavorful, and is even better after a day in the refrigerator. With some pita bread for dipping and salad and fruit on the side, it makes at least a couple of easy and satisfying meals.

But with the colder weather settling in, I’m eager for warmer dinner options. Apart from substituting oatmeal for cereal, I now know how to reheat food properly on the stove, thanks to dropofkim: Add a little water and heat on low. And I’ve found doing this means the food heats up evenly and stays hot much longer than when warmed in a microwave. I’ll also visit favorite restaurants from time to time to enjoy a good meal. Especially with the economic downturn, I’m feeling keen to support neighborhood businesses where I can.

I haven’t given up entirely on getting a microwave. There’s still a lot to be said for the convenience! But I’m going to keep in mind jcwindsor’s suggestion to find an EnergyStar appliance and CatieB’s suggestion to find a kitchen cart made of recycled and/or repurposed materials. In the past, I’ve found some gorgeous furniture for great prices at consignment shops, garage sales, and the like – I love finding antiques and artisan pieces at bargain prices! Now, I suspect “antique microwave cart” is an oxymoron, but I still like the idea of finding a way to repurpose materials and keep them out of landfill. Another option could be to find a cart made of rapidly renewable resources like bamboo, which also looks beautiful.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions – I love the creativity, the variety, and most of all the delicious results!