“The past two years have seen exceptionally poor summer weather compounded by a deteriorating economy,” commented Zenith Chairman Richard Hall. “Consumer research shows that people are switching to other beverages rather than tap water and that environmental issues have yet to make a substantial impact. These are just some of the factors giving us confidence in a return to growth of around 5% a year from 2012”, he continued. “As to the environment, bottled water has the lowest carbon footprint of any beverage on retailer shelves, all bottles are 100% recyclable and recycling rates are rising rapidly. On World Water Day, it is worth noting that bottled water is one of the most efficient uses of water, its sources are naturally replenished and the total market represents under 0.01% of all fresh water use worldwide. When you look at other countries, UK consumption is lower than East Europe or Latin America and one third of the average in West Europe and North America. So we anticipate a return to growth by 2010, though a good summer could make all the difference this year,” he concluded.