As part of the ACE Sustains awards created by the Association of Catering Excellence (ACE), a lifetime achievement award has been presented to Stephen Charles, Managing Director of Vivreau, in recognition of his contribution to sustainability across the hospitality sector.
Vivreau is a privately owned company, founded in the late 1980’s as a family business by Stephen Charles and his late father, Howard Cohen.
Pioneers of water bottling systems
The pioneers of water bottling systems, Stephen and his dad invented the very first Table Water Bottling System. Frustrated by the cost and inconvenience of buying and storing bottled mineral water, an Indian restaurant in Wembley was their first customer. They went on to create a business that has had a massive impact on the hospitality sector by reducing the need for bottled water to be imported and transported all around the globe at a huge cost to the environment.
Innovators
Vivreau are renowned for being the innovators of the industry and as well as being the original designers of the Table Water Bottling System, they went on to create the LinkLine system, which enables their many clients to network their water to a variety of different Vivreau Drinking Water systems. They also led the way by becoming one of the first manufacturers of a single tap dispensing chilled still, sparkling and boiling water, in the dynamic form of the Vi Tap.
Today they have established their position as the global market leader with Vivreau water being served around the world with offices in 15 countries on 4 continents.
Industry standard
Vivreau is the industry standard for all hospitality and catering environments from corporate headquarters and leading hotels to Michelin starred restaurants, and now services the needs of the world’s leading companies including approximately 75% of the top 100 UK companies and many fortune 500 companies. Vivreau water is now even served in The White House!
From its inception, Vivreau’s purified drinking water systems provided an environmentally positive alternative to pre-bottled mineral waters, a fact that has become a key driver in recent years for clients who have become increasingly concerned about their environmental impact.
ACE Sustains was launched last year to celebrate those that stand out in the food service sector for innovation in their approach to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The 2014 awards took place at London Zoo on Wednesday 16 July at ACE’s annual summer networking event.