A-to-Z Index

Policy #1705
Bottled Water Use

Date of Current Revision:  March, 2012
Responsible Officer: Assistant Vice President for Finance

1. PURPOSE

The university has made Environmental Stewardship a matter of strategic emphasis. If the university’s mission is to be fulfilled, students, faculty, staff, and the community must develop a campus culture that reflects the importance of effectively managing its natural and social resources. A critical element for the commitment to Environmental Stewardship is the effective management of bottled water use, which this policy addresses.

2. AUTHORITY

The Board of Visitors has delegated to the President the authority to oversee campus operations and establish university policy.

3. DEFINITIONS

Environmental Stewardship:
The responsibility for environmental quality shared by all those whose actions affect the environment.

Sustainability
Sustainability encompasses human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations. (Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2009 http://www.aashe.org/about/about.php) 

Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability (OESS)
A university department that facilitates sustainability by coordinating environmental stewardship efforts across campus, advocating for priorities, and challenging all members of the James Madison University community to think critically about their role in achieving the long-term stewardship of Earth. The OESS serves as an internal and external point of contact for university-wide environmental stewardship activities.

4. APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to all individuals who have the authority to purchase water.

5. POLICY

Individuals who provide water for their constituencies should consider alternatives to water in individual bottles. Such alternatives may include purchasing re-useable recyclable plastic water bottles such as those that are available for purchase from the Institute for the Stewardship of the Natural World or from the University Bookstore.

If it is determined that bottled water is the best option for the particular use, the university encourages the purchase of water in recyclable plastic bottles such as those that are available for purchase from university dining services and special events (Aramark).

6. PROCEDURES

Re-useable recyclable water bottles may be purchased by contacting the Institute for the Stewardship of the Natural World or the University Bookstore.

Any bottled water purchased from JMU Dining or Special Events will be in recyclable containers.

7. RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervisors of those who provide or purchase water are responsible for the application of this policy.

8. SANCTIONS

Sanctions will be commensurate with the severity and/or frequency of the offense and may include termination of employment.

9. EXCLUSIONS

None

10. INTERPRETATION

Authority to interpret this policy rests with the President and is generally delegated to the Associate Vice President for Finance.

Previous version: July, 2010
Approved by the President: October, 2009

Index Terms
Environment
Environmental Stewardship
Environmental Sustainability
The Institute for the Stewardship of the Natural World
Water
Bottle Water