PRESS RELEASE • Amersfoort, 29 September 2022

Yesterday, Dopper launched its latest innovation in the fight against disposable plastic: the Dopper Water Tap. As a launching partner, Onemeeting.com donates a first Dopper Water Tap to the Planetarium Meeting Center Amsterdam to help make the meeting industry more sustainable even faster. After the launch of the Single Use Plastic Free label in 2021, the booking platform once again reinforces its sustainable ambitions. Onemeeting.com supports Dopper in its mission to make refilling water bottles the new normal and to combat plastic pollution.

The Dopper Water Tap was festively unveiled yesterday in Naturalis by Dopper CEO Virginia Yanquilevich in the presence of hundreds of attendees, including launching partners Alfa Accountants, Auping, Blooming Hotel, de Bijenkorf, Circl (ABN AMRO), Jaarbeurs, NHL Stenden and Onemeeting. com.

Collaboration Dopper & Onemeeting.com
Since July 2021, Dopper and Onemeeting.com have been actively working together in the fight against disposable plastic. “With the wide reach that we have as a platform, it is our moral obligation to use that decisiveness for social contributions. Since the launch of the Single Use Plastic Free label fourteen months ago, more than a hundred of our Venue partners have started operating Single Use Plastic Free. With the innovative Dopper Water Tap, we believe we can further accelerate the movement towards sustainable meetings”, says Kevin van Grondelle, Chief Business Development Officer of Onemeeting.com.

After the first example in Naturalis, the water tap will be installed at the eight other launching partners, including De Bijenkorf, Jaarbeurs and Onemeeting.com. Dopper CEO Viriginia Yanquilevich: “From school to department store and from office building to town hall: we are proud to stimulate behavioral change together with environmentally conscious organisations. In this way we jointly contribute to a better world.”

Savings per year
Onemeeting.com books their locations for more than 400.000 guests per year. As locations that can encourage guests not to use disposable water bottles, but to refill their water bottles at the tap point, they can save over 800.000 disposable water bottles. The Onemeeting.com platform contains more than 1600 locations where bookers can search, compare and book sustainable locations for their meetings.

The good example for Planetarium Meeting Center
Onemeeting.com donates the first Dopper Water Tap to the Planetarium Meeting Center Amsterdam as a sign of support for their sustainable mission. “Water is essential for every gathering, we all drink it. The importance of doing this as sustainably as possible is greater than ever. With its well thought-out sustainability policy, such as the VIT movement, the Planetarium Meeting Center is one of the leaders in our industry. We are happy to contribute to this based on our sustainability philosophy”, says Luc van Bussel, CEO of Onemeeting.com.

“We constantly ask ourselves: What else can we offer our guests, besides a pleasant meeting environment and heart-warming hospitality? And how can we contribute to a better environment and the well-being of our guests in a responsible and sustainable way? By participating in this 'movement of sustainable frontrunners', we encourage our guests in an inspiring way to combat Single Use Plastic. And thanks to the insightful dashboard of the Dopper Water Tap, our guests see exactly what positive impact they have made together in the fight against plastic waste,” says Marcha Workel, Director Planetarium Amsterdam. The Planetarium gains insight into the total statistics via an online dashboard, such as how much plastic has been saved. “Connecting the Dopper Water Tap to the water mains was very easy. I can recommend the Water Tap to any location because it helps to strengthen environmental awareness among the general public, clarify their own sustainability policy and realize a positive impact together with their guests.”

Refill as new normal
Research by Tabula Rasa, which specializes in behavioral change, shows that 'convenience' is the main reason for buying disposable plastic bottles. In addition, public water taps are experienced as difficult to find. To make refilling reusable bottles the norm and to change the behavior of both the user and the owner of the tap, Dopper spent two years working on a recognisably designed tap. Nudging is used via the specially designed drop-shaped LED screen, a motivation technique in which positive reward stimulates behavioral change. Each tapping moment gives the user direct insight into the positive impact they have achieved via the screen. Repetition is encouraged by making refilling the water bottle a unique and fun experience.

Bart de Vos, behavioral researcher at Tabula Rasa: “People tap water to quench their thirst, so you first have to respond to that need. However, refilling a bottle in public areas is not yet a daily habit for most people. Because they don't think about it now, it helps to make tapping a special experience. The Dopper Water Tap will help to change behavior by making people aware of the positive impact they have.” *

Sustainable mission Onemeet.com
Onemeeting.com and its CSR task force, headed by Sustainability Manager Saviëlle Roemeling, are constantly working on new initiatives to help make the meeting industry more sustainable. In addition to the collaboration with Dopper, there are therefore partnerships with MVO Nederland, Green Key Nederland, GroenBalans and Great Place To Work Nederland, among others. WCARE.one, founded by Onemeeting.com in 2022 as the MVO Movement, offers the meeting industry concrete tools by connecting 20+ sustainable initiatives to meeting locations with sustainable ambitions.

“As an intermediary, we are in the middle of the meeting industry. We are also in the middle of society. We believe that we should try every day to make a positive contribution for a better world. For this we look at the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. We are convinced that we must take our responsibility to pass on the world sustainably to the next generation”, says Saviëlle Roemeling, Sustainability Manager of Onemeeting.com.

Doppers next step in her mission
The launch of the Dopper Water Tap – after the introduction of the well-known water bottle, the Dopper Wave movement and the most recent initiative to make all public water taps findable in Google Maps – is another major step in Dopper's mission to increase the purchase of combat disposable plastic bottles by making refilling reusable water bottles a matter of course.

Eight million tons of Single Use Plastic finds its way to our oceans every year and 1 million disposable plastic bottles are sold every minute. During the launch in Naturalis, the digitally present American oceanographer Sylvia Earle emphasized the urgency of clean oceans for a liveable world. Dopper CEO Virginia Yanquilevich adds: “On the one hand, we see that many people have a reusable bottle, but at the same time the sale of disposable plastic bottles is still increasing. With our innovative water dispenser, we want to make it easier, more fun and more natural to refill your reusable water bottle on the go.”

* Qualitative research by Tabula Rasa among 75 Dutch people in public spaces. This showed that convenience is the main reason for purchasing disposable plastic bottles. Respondents also said that they do not use public water taps because they cannot find the water taps.
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For more information, images and interviews, please contact:

onemeeting.com
Luc van Bussel | CEO The One Meeting Company | Onemeeting.com | One Meeting Services +31 6 45002468 or [email protected]
Kevin van Grondelle | CBDO The One Meeting Company | Onemeeting.com | One Meeting Services +31 6 41511565 or [email protected]
Savielle Roemeling | Sustainability Manager The Onemeeting Company +31 6 30406840 or [email protected]

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Laurha Damen or Maarten Spanje from Gardeners Creative Agency via [email protected]/ [email protected] / 020-2619126. Dopper CEO Virginia Yanquilevich is available on request for more information about the Dopper Water Tap and Dopper's mission.

More information about:
Onemeeting.com can be found at this page
The Onemeeting Company can be found at this page
WCARE.one can be found at this page
Dopper can be found at this page