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

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.

The winners were selected by a panel of seven judges, including three sustainability experts: Cody Sisco, manager of Advisory Services at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR); Daniel Esty, green thought leader and co-author of Green to Gold; and Mike Sweeney, executive director of The Nature Conservancy’s California chapter.

FIJI’s IT team has been hard at work finding ways to make our software and hardware systems greener. In May 2008, the team reconfigured our enterprise software systems – using a tool called Oracle VM – so that we could put them all on one physical machine. This achievement reduced the need for extra hardware and cabling, physical space, and electricity, and we now use 8 CPU boxes where we once used 32. This work, along with replacement of old servers with energy-efficient ones, resulted in data center energy savings of 20% for production servers and 59% for test servers. There are also financial benefits; the energy bill for our hosted servers has dropped by about two-thirds.

In addition, the IT team has used Oracle’s auto-notification features to eliminate paper usage for invoices and purchase orders in our Fiji offices. This will help us avoid printing about 12,000 pages per year. While the direct impact of this change is relatively small – equivalent to saving one tree – we believe every bit makes a difference.

“Global businesses recognize that environmental responsibility is good business,” said Oracle Chairman, Jeff Henley. “Whether green projects are driven by an organization’s desire to protect the environment, reduce costs, produce eco-friendly goods to meet growing consumer demand, or comply with increasing levels of government regulation, the results can be both good for the environment and good for business. Oracle’s ‘Empower the Green Enterprise’ awards showcase the success of environmental IT initiatives and the tangible business benefits our customers across the world are realizing by pursuing green practices.”

Other award recipients included: Alcoa, Australian Vintage Limited, BT, Dell, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Ingersoll-Rand, Intercall, Interface, Motorola, National Ignition Facility & Photon Service, Novartis International AG, PG&E, Standard Parking, Sun and Supervalu.

What made Australia an appropriate venue for sharing the story of FIJI Water’s path to sustainable growth?

• FIJI Water and Australia are in the same boatÖoften literally when it comes to their products.
• The effects of climate change are already apparent in both Fiji and Australia, with rising sea levels in Fiji, and heat waves, less rain, and increased drought in Australia.
• The food & beverage category represents a vital export contributor and economic growth opportunity for both countries. FIJI Water comprised almost 20% of Fiji”s exports in 2007, while food exports comprised almost 20% of Australian merchandise exports in 2005, with beef, dairy, fish, grain, and wine as the leading contributors.
• Because of their distance from their major export markets, both FIJI Water and Australia are sometimes challenged by “food miles” misconceptions.

As Barbara explained in her introduction, “What I want to do today is share what we’ve been doing at FIJI Water, of course, but more importantly share with you the lessons we’ve learned on our path to sustainability in the hope that it would be helpful to you as well.” At FIJI Water, we think of sustainability as a journey, not a destination, since there is always room for improvement in how a company does business and how we as individuals live our lives. And it’s much easier (and more fun!) to travel this road when we can all help each other do so.

The more than 300 islands that comprise the nation of Fiji are a true biological wonder. Dramatic volcanic mountains that gave birth to these islands tower above lush verdant forests. Many of Fiji”s plants and animals are unique to the islands and have evolved very little since their ancestors inhabited the forests.

The crown jewel of Fiji”s spectacular biodiversity is the Sovi Basin, located on the island of Viti Levu. The basin is surrounded by volcanic peaks which form a bowl shape between them. The end result is one of the world”s most impressive geological structures.

At Conservation International, our goal is to protect the world”s natural biological diversity and demonstrate that human society can live harmoniously with nature. That is our mission and it guides us in everything we do.

Our partnership with FIJI Water reflects that spirit. Ours is a strategic and focused partnership whose primary goals include the protection of Fiji”s Sovi Basin, a crucial source of freshwater for the nation of Fiji and for the planet.

To that end, Conservation International”s Global Conservation Fund will contribute to a trust fund set up by The FIJI Water Foundation to protect the Sovi Basin. The fund was launched with initial funding from FIJI Water owners Lynda and Stewart Resnick and the combined donations of more than 700 FIJI Water employees. The fund will go to support the annual management costs of protecting the Sovi Basin.

One of the most unique aspects of this funding is the compensation of local communities to protect the land around the basin. The goal of that is to provide a different source of income to communities who traditionally become susceptible to logging interests and the one-time payoff that comes with cutting down a forest. The trust will also support a facility to distribute small-scale grants for community development in and around the Sovi Basin – providing new opportunities to those communities to prosper and thrive. The National Trust of Fiji is responsible for management of the Sovi Basin, and will receive and administer revenues from the fund.

But this is not just good news for Fiji. This is good news for the planet because this ambitious and forward-thinking partnership to protect the rainforests of Fiji will result in about ten million tons of carbon dioxide stored in these forests will remain out of our atmosphere. Since deforestation accounts for 20-25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in our atmosphere – double that of all the world”s cars, trucks, and planes combined – protecting Fiji”s rainforests protects us all.

So join us and help protect an acre of rainforest by visiting www.conservation.org and click the “Protect an Acre of Forest” button. For as little at $15 you can help Conservation International protect an entire acre of tropical rainforest. Because what is lost there, is felt here. We”ve enlisted longtime Conservation International board member Harrison Ford to help with the cause. Click here to view the startling public service announcement that”s generating a lot of buzz.

But the part I thought was really cool was how the local people lived in the rainforest – mainly because it looked like fun to move around your neighborhood on rafts instead of on land. Now I realize that’s not actually the case in every rainforest or in all seasons…but when you’ve only got a few years under your belt you miss some of the finer details.

Well, I’m a bit older now, but I’ve learned my initial instincts were sound…and also learned more about why rainforest conservation is so important. Here are the facts:

• Deforestation is the second largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions today, following only the power generation sector; it accounts for almost 20% of those emissions, or twice the emissions from all the world’s cars, trucks, and airplanes combined
• Tropical deforestation in developing countries is responsible for nearly all (96%) of the emissions from deforestation
• Forests protect water and soil quality and provide livelihoods for over 1.6 billion people around the world; many of them are the world’s poorest people in Africa, South America and Asia
• But less than 5% of tropical forests are managed sustainably, putting these livelihoods at risk
• Tropical forests play a critical role in protecting unique animals and plants you can’t find anywhere else in the world

Yet incentives to prevent deforestation were somehow not included in the Kyoto Protocol. You might wonder why the protocol didn’t address this if it’s so important.

To paint it in simple strokes: Developing nations wanted compensation for not cutting down their rainforests. After all, they argue, if they’re giving up income from forestry and logging, they should be able to make up the lost funds in another way. But industrialized nations didn’t want to pay developing nations for “doing nothing.” So they reached an impasse.

It’s our hope that future international agreements will incorporate effective action to reduce deforestation. In the meantime, we’ve been seeking to do our part by partnering with Conservation International to protect the Sovi Basin. Now, we obviously don’t treat the Sovi Basin project as an “offset,” because it’s already there – we didn’t plant it. But we knew the benefits the Sovi Basin would provide to Fiji and the rest of the world – shelter for unique species, watershed protection, erosion control, and carbon sequestration – were benefits we wanted to ensure forever.

And hopefully I’ll get to ride on a raft in the rainforest for real one of these days…whee!

To learn more about conservation and reforestation efforts going on around the world, check out Conservation International’s web site.

FIJI WATER

What interests me most in Fiji water is that they are a carbon-negative company — this means that their net activities actually reduce carbon emissions!! – how is that even possible?

To understand, I imagined a world without Fiji water, where their company had not existed. In this world, there was no effort to replant old rainforest. In this world there was no profit set aside to offset carbon emissions — no money put into offset programs that plant trees and build infrastructure for clean energy. In fact this world had the island of Fiji exporting timber, depleting the beautiful Sovi basin. Fiji water shows us that any company, even one that is up against a literal ocean’s worth of emissions can still have a positive impact on the environment. It takes real dedication and I applaud them for setting this example.

Taking advantage of new advances in green technology, Fiji water fits into my philosophy on Environmentalism – they are targeting a way of operating cleanly, realizing it takes time to get there, so starting now. Fiji water is not abandoning their business, but taking something that is part of the problem and turning it into a solution.

It is in this train of philosophy that I have started the Ben Jelen Foundation. As a musical artist consistently writing and talking about these problems, the foundation has been an amazing outlet for me, and a real way of helping with the environmental issues out there, focusing on solutions rather than problems. We kicked the foundation off at South by Southwest earlier this 2008 and it was a great success – since, I’ve continued to raise money – the money will be donated to the four following areas, with the specific recipients changing from time to time.

• Education: Local (New York) education of teens on environmental issues.
• Political: Donations to groups that lobby for environmental protection at the political level.
• Humanitarian: Give to those worse affected by climate change.
• Investment: Continue the long process of investing in clean energy infrastructure.

We’re excited to partner with Fiji water, talk about the issues and watch our progress – Something we can all help out with now is to recycle all plastics. Once the product is in our hands we do also have the responsibility of ‘completing the cycle.’

Please enjoy the video for my song “Wreckage” – This song is about hope, that the choice of taking care of our planet is very much in our hands. I’m so glad to see companies change the landscape from the inside out, its exciting and real!

For any more info, visit www.benjelen.com/foundation