Spritzer celebrates 30 years, reinforces environmental stewardship

Spritzer Berhad (Spritzer), Malaysia’s leading producer of bottled natural mineral water, turns 30 this year and the company is celebrating its anniversary with a roadshow that aims to reinforce its commitment toward environmental stewardship. 

Speaking at the official launch of the roadshow titled “30years of Natural Goodness” held at the Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall, Dr. Chuah Chaw Teo, Spritzer’s director of R&D, said that environmental preservation has been at the core of the company’s operations from its earliest history. 

Dr  Chuah Chaw Teo, Director of R&D, Spritzer, provided the opening speech

“From the very beginning of our operations, we viewed environmental pollution with great concern because we understood how it can affect the quality of water, as well as damage the already limited sources of water in the country,” said Chuah.

 “It is with this concern that Spritzer took the initiative to invest in a vast landbank measuring 330 acres, approximately the size of 266 football fields, surrounded by a pristine tropical rainforest, located far away from all pollution and creating a safe zone around our water source, hence protecting the integrity, quality, safety and purity of its natural mineral water,” he said, elaborating that the company’s natural mineral water is untouched by human hands, from source to bottle.

Dr Chuah explained the importance of protecting the environment for a brighter future.

 “Then, as part of our corporate social responsibility and to create awareness among the public on the importance of embracing sustainability as a lifestyle, we erected a Spritzer EcoPark in the midst of this facility, where visitors are welcomed to relax and unwind in quiet, surrounded by natural flora and fauna in their original environment, undisturbed by humans,” Chuah said. Spritzer EcoPark was opened to the public in July 2015. 

The park features various recreational, educational and tourism-related activities and attractions includes jungle trekking, bird-watching, golfing at an 18-hole mini golf course, a visitor gallery, guided tours of the company’s water bottling process and more. “Our efforts didn’t stop there and we continuously carry-out initiatives at the park to strengthen the ecosystems there, as well as create greater awareness towards the need to protect and preserve our environment,” Chuah said and added that the company had recently planted over 16,000 trees at the park to enhance its biodiversity. Chuah also stated that Spritzer’s environmental efforts goes beyond protecting the company-owned water sources and supply. 

“We also strive to ensure that our efforts are not limited to just conserving and protecting the environment, but also to achieve a more sustainable practice by intertwining some of these into our own product life-cycle,” he said. As an example, Chuah pointed to the company’s mineral water bottles that comes with a special ‘twist and turn’ feature, making the container collapsible which would save up to 57% of space in a recycling bin. 

“We are also introducing ACILIS, a new silica-rich natural mineral water from Spritzer that comes in plant-based bottles that are non-toxic and compostable ̶ a first in Malaysia,” he said. “The introduction of ACILIS is another significant effort that aims to offer customers who are environmentally-conscious with high-quality, great tasting natural mineral water that uses alternatives to the regular mineral bottles found on shelves,” Chuah said.

 “These plant-based bottles are eco-friendly as 30% of the plastic material used to make them come from the fibre and other discarded, unused parts of the sugar cane or corn,” he explained. “Moreover, manufacturing these bottles produces less CO2 emissions, while the bottles are 100% recyclable,” he elaborated. “As for ensuring environmental sustainability of our operations, I’m proud to announce that we are investing in a fully-automated warehouse that is equipped with green building features, and is expected to commence operations early next year,” he revealed. 

“This warehouse, also being built at our current site in Taiping, costs over RM45 million, and will feature state-of-the-art equipment, smart connected systems and leverages on IoT to drive greater efficiency in our operations,” he said. Spritzer’s 30 Years Anniversary roadshow is being held at Sunway Pyramid from August 22-25, and is open to the public. Visitors to the roadshow can learn more about the company’s efforts toward greater sustainability and take part in the various programs and activities prepared such as potting plants with Spritzer’s mineral water, photo booth, tea mixology, cooking demonstration and more.