Swing with purpose was the message from the 2023 Volvo China Open golf tournament held at the stunning Shenzhen Hidden Grace Golf Club. This year saw the event, the longest-running and largest golf tournament in China, set itself apart from the previous 27 editions by stopping sales of single-use plastic bottles across the venue with the help of unique refill stations from Bluewater, a world leader in hydrating events with innovative refill stations.
In a move that saw 41,215 throwaway 330ml plastic water bottles saved from polluting the planet’s oceans, landfills, and natural environments, some 17 Bluewater stations were installed across the Volvo China Open event to provide complementary purified drinking water to players, tens of thousands of fans, and staff. Harnessing Bluewater’s market leading SuperiorOsmosisTM technology, the stations served purified water free of known contaminants, including toxic metals, chemicals, and microplastic particles.
Zhao Qin, chairperson of the Volvo China Open, told a press conference that Volvo and Bluewater both hale from Sweden and share the same environmental and sustainability values. She said that doing the right things that are right for the environment is core to Volvo as a brand, adding that ‘our engagement with Bluewater sets a new standard for protecting the environment, which is something we intend to keep doing at future events’.
Ms. Zhao Qin was joined in front of journalists by Bluewater China General Manager China Steven Tan, who said the company was honored to have helped Volvo ‘green’ the tournament, the first-ever golf event in China to kick out plastic bottles to prioritize a more sustainable future.
Mr. Tan said: "The Bluewater activity at the Volvo China Open builds on our experience delivering a sustainable water ecosphere with the likes of The Open and AIG Women’s Open golf tournaments in the UK over the past few years. It fully aligns with our sustainability mission to innovate hydration technologies and beverages that allow consumers and businesses to generate pure water at the point of use and thereby avoid the need for single-use plastic bottles and their polluting production and transportation."
Bluewater reusable bottles were available for sale at fan-friendly prices throughout the tournament for those who forgot to bring their own bottle or who wanted a uniquely branded souvenir from the Volvo China Open.
The Volvo China Open engagement came just days after the famous St Andrews Links Trust in Scotland appointed Bluewater as its Official Hydration Supplier to provide a next-generation drinking water solution for golfers and visitors to the Home of Golf. The agreement sees Bluewater provide purified drinking water across the St Andrews Links estate through its innovative refill stations, supporting a commitment to remove single-use plastic bottles from the Trust’s facilities.
"Bluewater has yet again shown organizers of major events that they have it in their power to ultimately halt the sale of single-use plastic bottles and contribute to a healthier planet for future generations," said Bluewater founder and CEO, Bengt Rittri (photo above). One of Sweden’s foremost environmental entrepreneurs, Mr Rittri said the company has successfully invested in new innovative technologies that allow consumers and businesses to generate healthier drinking water free of all known contaminants directly from the tap.
"Our growing cooperation with major corporate brands in the events space underlines their commitment to challenging the stranglehold of single-use plastic bottles with smart hydration alternatives, changing the way we consume water because the hard truth is that such plastics pose a tangible threat to planetary and human health," Mr. Rittri said.
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