When selecting a water refill option, it’s important to consider the following logistics: Access to a potable water supply. Access to taps. Number of daily customers. Whether your team also needs a dedicated water refill station.  Your budget. Temperature and water demand - if you’re located in a warm, humid climate, your customers will have a higher water demand. Suitable locations for your refill stations. This could be at your canteen/cafe/restaurant/bar, outside your club rooms or beside your spectator seating area. How many stations you’ll need. If your club is grassroots/community based, check whether your local council or water authority has a free water refill station for community groups to hire. There are a diverse variety of water refill stations available. This section of the guide includes interactive tool to help you decide. You can access it here.

Once you’ve selected a refill option, you can plan for set up and management. Some things to consider include: Locate stations in high-traffic areas. Ensure safe access to refill stations. Reduce trip hazards and cordon off areas to maintain visibility and access. Consider space for increased traffic or queuing. Provide shade. Use shade structures or place refill stations undercover to keep water cool if needed. Place large, bright signs with clear messaging at the stations.  Display reminder signage throughout your departure point or vessel/vehicle with prompts like “Bring your cup!”.  Monitor water levels and cleanliness. Assign volunteers or staff to monitor water levels and refill as needed, check water flow and keep the area clean. Provide reusable cups for customers who may have forgotten their water bottle.

Offer affordable bottles for sale. It’s a great idea to brand these with your club logo to promote team spirit.

It’s important to provide your food and beverage team with support to help them transition away from single-use water bottles. Things to consider include: Let them know early on that you are making the switch to reusable water bottles and work through any concerns or logistical questions they have. Provide them with any assistance they need. If they will be sourcing the reusable bottles, this could include advice on places to source more sustainable alternatives or help communicating with suppliers. Provide them with details of all the water refill stations you are installing and instructions on how to manage and clean them. Be sure to let your procurement team know about your project as soon as possible. They may have preferred suppliers, so it is best to seek their feedback on what is available that may suit your club’s needs. Provide them with information about the refill stations so that they can purchase reusable water bottles to suit the design.

Be sure to promote a reuse and refill message to your customers and wider community. Action 6 of this guide includes more information on how to best do this. You may also like to connect your customers with other public water refill stations in your area.

Collect data on plastic bottles avoided to measure impact. You can do this by measuring the amount of water used and equating this into the number of single-use bottles avoided. Promote your results on social media, internal club communications and your website’s sustainability page.