Tap That

Tap That UBC is a campaign for more alternatives to bottled water on campus.

Bottled water has been an important topic of discussion on campus for the past few years. Extensive research has been conducted both by UBC Food Services and by students in the SEEDS Program. The waste and costs associated with bottling, transporting, and selling water has significant negative implications for the environmental, social, and economic wellbeing of the UBC community.

The Tap That campaign was created to move the university further along the road towards sustainability by advocating for a phase-out of the sale of bottled water. The campaign kicked off in early 2013, spearheaded by the Tangible Solutions team, in partnership with the Student Environment Centre, Sustainability in Residence, CUS Sustainability, and the CHBE Sustainability Club, along with numerous individuals with an interest and passion in the initiative!

A petition calling for the phase-out of bottled water on campus was created and the campaign’s organizing committee began to collect signatures both online and in-person, through booths and classroom announcements. The campaign also received endorsements from a variety of faculty undergraduate societies.

After just over a month, the petition received over 3000 signatures. The petition was then presented to the University, which led to the creation of the Tap Water Declaration Working Group and a commitment to improved tap water infrastructure and branding.

You can find out more about the initial petition campaign on the archived Tap That website.

Tap That has continued on since then, although it has now morphed into a campaign focused on raising awareness and educating students, and is now run by the Campaigns team.

For new updates on the continuing campaign, make sure to check out the Facebook page!