Daryn Kuipers Of Boxed Water On How They Are Breaking the Cycle of Non-Renewable Consumption
An Interview With Monica Sanders
People are creatures of habit — we are humans, we are not perfect, and we don’t like change. It’s not realistic to think we are going to make everyone change their routine. For our team, we believe one small change can make a big impact. At the end of day, we all have choices. We don’t want Boxed Water to just be the environmental choice. We want it to be the easy choice, the fun choice, the tasty choice, and the better business choice. To realistically compete with the status quo, we need to be better than the status quo on all fronts.
Although the United States has had a long trend of non-renewable consumption, the tides are turning. Many companies are working hard to break this cycle, moving towards renewable consumption. In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who are sharing the steps they are taking toward renewable consumption. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Daryn Kuipers.
Daryn Kuipers is the CEO and Co-founder of Boxed Water™, establishing the first renewable alternative to single-use plastic water bottles. Founded in 2009, Boxed Water™ continues to set the bar as the most renewable brand in the water aisle compared to plastic and aluminum.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
So many names and faces come to mind from family to friends, and advisors to leaders I’ve met along the way. There, of course, were the helpful and supportive ones. Yet, it’s the ones that told me “no” that have helped give me the drive. “No, you can’t do that. No, we don’t want that. No, that won’t work.” More than that, when I think about how we got here, it’s the brilliant team members and players that maintained the momentum and growth trajectory of Boxed Water™ that got us here. I am learning every day from our diverse crew of professionals who embody our mission.
What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve? What is your “why”?
Our mission is proudly conveyed in our brand name. We came into existence to offset plastic and aluminum waste.
Right now, roughly 38 BILLION (with a “b”) single use plastic bottles are landing in our landfills and waterways — in the U.S. each year. That’s factoring the current recycling rate of single use plastic water bottles of around 25%. That is the huge problem we are trying to mitigate.
In 2009, we decided to be the sustainable, convenient choice for pure, clean water. With Boxed Water™ we created a new category and changed the way water is shipped, sold, and enjoyed. It’s a simple equation: the least amount of plastic and the most renewable materials, the better the package. Only trees are truly renewable; plastic and aluminum cannot be put back into the earth once it’s extracted.
As confirmed by an independent ISO-certified Life Cycle Assessment, Boxed Water™ is the most renewable brand in the water aisle. Our box is FSC certified and 92% plant-based, made from paperboard and paper waste. The paper in our boxes comes from sustainable forests, which not only offsets our carbon footprint, but also ensures that the harvested trees are continually recycled. Our FSC- and ISCC-certified cap is made of pine tree waste, which is responsibly harvested from Nordic forests. The caps are manufactured using existing infrastructure here in the U.S., which keeps our carbon footprint low.
Our products are also 100% reusable and recyclable, with a majority of US residents living in municipalities that recycle cartons. (While aluminum and plastic recycling rates are decreasing, cartons recycling rates are increasing.) Cans and plastic bottles that end up in landfills will last over 700 years before they break down; it takes about 12 minutes to drink but lasts for centuries.
While we were first to market, we have refused to rest on our laurels. We are a bit obsessed with one-upping our own sustainable design. It’s been quite a ride from our launch 14 years ago as the first sustainable alternative to plastic water bottles and aluminum cans, to announcing our plant-based cap, to our recent CarbonNeutral certification.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
A time that sticks out to me was our first in person meeting with Alaska Airlines. They had opened a new corporate office, The Hub, in early Covid and it was clear people had yet to move in. After many calls and Teams meetings, we were in a good spot to meet people in person. The interesting point was that it took me to travel to Seattle to bring some of their team together for the first time since March 2020 and for some it was their first time meeting their colleagues in person. The bond that formed that day has only strengthened our relationship and partnership between our two ESG driven brands.
Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?
“Progress over perfection,” is a mantra that I think needs to dominate the renewable and plastic waste effort. We can’t afford to wait around for the perfect solution, we must constantly move the needle and focus on the next best available thing to reduce the onslaught of generated waste. As a brand, we fully own that refill is best. If you can get clean municipal water and put it in a refillable water bottle, please do that first. From a distribution standpoint, we play in arenas where refill is challenged, like hospitality, airlines, arenas, theme parks, visiting attractions, catering, restaurants, etc. Unfortunately, today — our single use plastic consumption is rising while recycling rates are dropping.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our interview. Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to help break the cycle of non-renewable consumption? What specific problems related to non-renewable consumption are you aiming to solve?”
Plastic has created massive problems for the planet, and the issue continues to stack up at exponential rates. More than 8M metric tons of plastic flow into the oceans annually, and by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our seas. Our recycling rates are dropping while our single use plastic consumption is increasing. It’s not a good trajectory. Despite the “where it ends up” problem, the plastic industry is planning to triple production in the next few years.
Can you give a few examples of what you are implementing to help address those issues? How do you measure the impact of your company’s sustainability initiatives, both in terms of environmental benefits and business growth? Can you share any key metrics or success stories?
With sustainability in mind, Boxed Water™ was created to provide a practical solution to the single-use plastic challenge. Boxed Water™ is packaged in recyclable cartons made using paper from well-managed forests.
The goal with environmental stewardship, is to constantly move the needle in the right direction. With strategic partnerships — and working with companies like Alaska Airlines, Universal Studios, SoulCycle — we have been able to put real numbers to the amount of plastic waste offset by moving to Boxed Water™ Just with our Alaska partnership, we are eliminating 1.8 million pounds of single-use plastics per year. That’s not nothing.
What challenges have you faced while implementing sustainable practices in your company, and how did you overcome them? Can you share a specific example?
We are active in exposing waste problems, and some big industries don’t like that. They want to maintain the status quo. Plastic is from petroleum, so it’s likely that Big Oil and plastic interests are funding many smear campaigns against renewable brands and climate change initiatives — under the faux guise of environmentalism. Some of our biggest detractors have been eco-reporters using Big Plastic’s propaganda. Some of our most active social trolls have been associated with major aluminum interests.
On a different front, we have folks claiming that since we are not a perfect solution, we are not a worthy solution. It’s the “perfection over the planet” mentality that can be the biggest detriment to moving the needle on plastic waste.
People love to use the word “recycle,” thinking it means they did the right thing. Recycling is not the fix; it’s a leg of the stool. While we support the progress being made, as long as there is an “I need it delivered tomorrow” “Prime mentality,” we need to keep pressing the gas pedal on upping recycling rates — and quickly.
On the carton side, recycling is a good story for us. When we started Boxed Water™ we didn’t realize only 16% of US homes had access to carton recycling, we only knew that our impact on shipping and the environment was less than a bottle or can. Now, more than 62% of homes have access to carton recycling which helps so many beyond just our brand.
The real number we should focus on is the amount of waste we generate. Plastics used in the U.S. have roughly tripled since the 1980s to more than 80 million metric tons annually, with huge volumes ending up in our landfills. A garbage truck of plastic being dumped into our oceans every minute. Recycling percentages are fine, but if consumption numbers are going up — that just means more waste.
We need to focus on less. The last leg of that stool, Refill. It’s the best option, and hopefully (someday) a majority of consumers will fully adopt and embrace the refill mindset. In the wake of Covid, and the reality of this “Prime mentally,” we have a long way to go, so in the meantime we’ve got to “stop loss” in every measure possible.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
We are at a good point where the single use plastic bottle holds a negative stigma. It’s a stigma that still hasn’t won out over convenience, but — like cigarettes of the past — that “yuck” association is building. I’d push any hotel group or service organization: Is that branded label on a cheap plastic water bottle really the message you want to convey to your current and emerging customers? Is that how you want to market your brand into the future?
I think it’s the right time for big corporations to make meaningful shifts in waste. Consumers and customers are building loyalty around companies that reflect their higher interests.
We are also much more than the products we create. This year, Boxed Water™ achieved CarbonNeutral® Certification for its top selling 500 ml carton and we continue to push R&D to stay at the helm as the most renewable water brand (as verified by an ISO-certified, independent life cycle analysis).
Rather than spending dollars on celebrity spokespeople, we are investing in trees. So far, we have funded the planting of 1.4 million trees with the National Forest Foundation and are embarking on other urban planting initiatives with One Tree Planted, bringing trees to underserved communities including New York, Inglewood, Boston and Orlando. We are also committed to cleaning 3000 miles of beaches with Ocean Blue Project.
This is the signature question we ask in most of our interviews. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started promoting sustainability and climate justice” and why?
1 . People are creatures of habit — we are humans, we are not perfect, and we don’t like change. It’s not realistic to think we are going to make everyone change their routine. For our team, we believe one small change can make a big impact. At the end of day, we all have choices. We don’t want Boxed Water to just be the environmental choice. We want it to be the easy choice, the fun choice, the tasty choice, and the better business choice. To realistically compete with the status quo, we need to be better than the status quo on all fronts.
2 . Honor the hierarchy of need — We are in the business of bringing awareness to a convenience/waste problem, but if there is someone hurting, that takes precedence. When hurricane Irma hit in 2017, we received a ton of requests for water. We quickly got a truck together and sent it. Only to find out it went to a staging warehouse and 4 months later we were asked where it should be sent. The takeaway: If people need water, it doesn’t matter if it’s in a carton, plastic, or a glass when it’s essential to life. We no longer send water after a disaster. Instead, we support the Red Cross with water donations throughout the year and allow them to manage its circulation.
3 . Haters gonna hate — I was raised to see the good in people and think the best. At our core we want what is best for ourselves and those around us. I was driven by those who didn’t believe in the vision with the assumption that the best intentions always win in the end. In today’s world of social media and the 24/7 news cycle, it seems the only thing people are entertained by is the negative. It is too easy for people to disagree or drag people down while hiding behind their cell phone. People used to talk about differences. If they had questions they’d research and ask others. I remind myself that the troll narrative, while the most charged, isn’t representative of the broader perceptions.
4 . People say one thing and do another. This is not always a result of ill intent, it’s often just forgetful and/or not sure if what they do will matter. The example that sticks out to me is when there was a sustainability summit and the event organizer posted a picture of the event space with beautiful linens, flowers, and a plastic water bottle from an exotic island at every seat (oops).
I believe the majority of people want to do good. However, this starts with how it impacts you personally, then your family, friends, and others…then the planet. Some just care more than others and will take on the climate justice cause at all costs. (This group would never buy packaged water.) It’s the next group that we want to educate. They see themselves as eco-friendly but when thirsty, they opt for convenience usually packaged in plastic. Price and ease of availability will be the next barrier as many consumers expect things immediately.
5 . Sustainability is challenged by out of sight out of mind. Many of us don’t recognize our individual impact because we literally don’t see it. Our haulers come by on a weekly basis and whisk it away — clear bins, clear conscious.
More recently we have become a tracking society, which could present an opportunity for climate justice. We track our steps, our hours of sleep, our calories. Electric and water companies are tracking, sharing, and comparing our energy and water usage to our neighbors. We need to get there with waste. We need to get as competitive with our ability to reduce waste as we do with closing our rings on our fitness trackers.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Pairing the renewable economy with impoverished communities and nations. There is a huge potential for prosperity in creating renewable materials, upcycling trash, and developing ways to process waste more environmentally. Nations who are creating big trash (America is #1 per capita) should up our investments into new technologies to manage that trash — processing, upcycling and (safely) speeding up decomposition while subsidizing and supporting countries/communities who are managing those technologies and processes.
Oyster mushrooms have been shown to decompose plastic — while still serving as a food source. Regenerative ocean farming is not only supporting farmers but providing sustainable kelp and shellfish food sources, while pulling carbon from the air. As we are experiencing firsthand, our own cartons can be upcycled to create sustainable building tiles. We should be scaling these processes and approaches quickly while creating economic opportunities at the same time.
Also…Creating a breaking news story on our ocean Garbage Patch. What if the state/size of our garbage patch was shown as a breaking news story, like the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, where $1 billion was raised in just a matter of days because of the sense of urgency. We need a telethon for the new age that can rally the world around a common climate goal, a Eurovision for the environment, a Live Aid concert for the planet.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Follow our blog at www.boxedwater.com join our conversation on social media and plant trees with us by tagging your social post with #betterplanet
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org.
