Want to Save the Planet? Start with Smarter Shopping – A Procurement Professional’s Simple Guide

My children always joke with me, calling me the "cheap dad." As condescending as that sounds, it is true—and you know what? I am proud of it. I suppose it is a by-product of being a procurement professional for many years.

This "saving mindset" becomes especially apparent when I shop for drinking water in the supermarket.

On my recent supermarket trip, I fell down a rabbit hole—reading articles, measuring the weights of water bottles I purchased, and calculating their carbon footprint. Below, I will summarize my findings and offer some recommendations for how small adjustments in our shopping habits can contribute to saving the planet.

Initially, I planned to share all of my calculations here, but I realized it was too complex for a single LinkedIn post—though I would be happy to share my data with anyone interested.

Yes, there are many more factors to consider when accurately assessing the carbon footprint of a product. While my below findings could be refined further, I believe they provide useful general guidance

Here’s a quick summary of some striking examples for the "on-the-go audience".

1. Uluda? Mineral Water – 750ml ($2.1)

• Bottle weight: Glass 568g (I doubt a water bottle can get any heavier than that).
• 492g CO? footprint per liter of water (equivalent to driving your petrol car for 1.1 km).

2. Damla Natural Water – Glass 750ml ($1.2)

• Bottle weight: Glass 336g.
• 291g CO? footprint per liter of water (equivalent to driving your petrol car for 0.7 km).
• Similar-sized glass water bottles from other brands (e.g., Uluda?, Erikli, Hamidiye) have similar weights.

3. San Benedetto Mineral Water – 250ml ($1.7)

• Bottle weight: Glass 174g (for comparison, Kizilay 200ml weighs 132g).
• 452g CO? footprint per liter of water (equivalent to driving your petrol car for 1.0 km).
• The Italian label mentioned a 10 Eurocent deposit, but there is no way to return the bottle for a refund in Istanbul.

4. Hamidiye Natural Water – PET 1.5L ($0.4)

• Bottle weight: 20g PET (a typical weight for most 1.5L PET water bottles).
• 30g CO? footprint per liter of water (equivalent to driving your petrol car for 70 meters).

Some further footnotes:

• The Carbon footprint calculations assume a 50% recycling rate for both glass and PET. While my research indicates that the actual recycling rate for glass is closer to 40%, I increased it to avoid stirring controversy with glass packaging fans who strongly believe that glass is more environmentally friendly.
• These figures exclude transportation, which can significantly add to the Carbon footprint. For context: Uluda? water travels about 250 km to reach Istanbul. Damla water comes from 120 km away. San Benedetto water travels a hefty 1,700 km. Hamidiye water is sourced just 40 km from Istanbul.

An off-track thought:

In some European countries, like the UK, restaurants often serve tap water. In Istanbul, poor municipal water infrastructure and questionable water sourcing make this difficult for public acceptance. However, new technologies like home reverse osmosis systems and advanced filtration are promising alternatives. Restaurants could also serve water from 19L jugs, refilling customers' glasses at the table.

Main takeaways (general rules of thumb)

Personally, I do not differentiate much between types of water—it all tastes the same to me. Some claim there are huge differences, while others argue that PET poses various health risks. So yes, I might be oversimplifying things with the below rule-of-thumbs.

1. Please avoid buying water in fancy, cologne-like bottles. The fancier the packaging, the worse it is for the environment.
2. Choose cheaper water. The less expensive it is, the fewer “earthly” resources it likely consumed.
3. Encourage restaurants to serve tap water or water from large jugs whenever possible.
4. The bigger the water container, the lower the carbon footprint.
5. Avoid glass-bottled water and opt for PET: Producing and recycling glass requires enormous amounts of energy. And flash news for the glass fans out there: sand (silica) is not an infinite resource! Most experts agree that PET is more sustainable than glass.
6. Consider changing customs regulations to ban the import of products with deposit based packaging unless the importing country has an established deposit return system.

Ultimately, companies exist to sell products and generate profits for their shareholders. 'Sustainability' has become a buzzword, often used to protect market share rather than reflect true environmental commitment—and that’s okay. In our capitalist world, it is your shopping habits and genuine consumer pressure that can truly drive them toward a sustainable path.