Meet Quench CEO Anthony Ibarguen
- By Helen Craig -
- May 09, 2012
We catch up with Tony Ibarguen, CEO of Quench, to find out more about their approach to sustainability...
Name: Anthony Ibarguen
Company: Quench USA, Inc.
Role: CEO
Length in role: 18 months
Loves: Winning, family, great people, great dogs and great stories
Hates: Losing, negative people, wasting time
Recommends: Do business the right way the first time and every time.
What is Quench for those who don’t know it?
Quench is a clean-technology company that leases and services filtered water coolers (also known as point-of-use or “bottle-less” water coolers) and ice dispensers for businesses across North America. Quench systems purify tap water using state-of-the-art technology, providing a more cost-effective and environmentally responsible solution than delivery of water in five-gallon plastic jugs.
What is Quench’s connection to Virgin?
Virgin Green Fund is one of our significant clean technology private equity investors. Virgin has been helping us grow since 2010.
What is Quench’s approach to sustainability?
We’re proud to have played a part in making tens of thousands of businesses across North America more sustainable. Quench filtered water coolers make it possible for our customers to eliminate their use of bottled water delivery service and get off of the gas guzzling delivery truck route. Over the span of nearly twenty years, Quench’s customers have had a staggering impact on the environment by switching to our sustainable office water solution: 120,000 five-gallon plastic jugs kept out of landfills; enough fuel saved to drive a water delivery truck around the globe 52 times; and 3,500 tons of carbon dioxide kept out of the atmosphere. This is the same impact on greenhouse gas reduction as planting close to five million trees!
We also take our role as environmental steward very seriously, striving to “walk the walk” ourselves. We are the first water cooler company to completely offset the carbon footprint of its vehicle fleet. This year we’ll begin using a route optimization program that will further reduce our fuel consumption and emissions. Quench recycles our used filters and UV bulbs, and we employ innovative water recycling and energy conservation practices in our warehouse facility.
What are the main environmental challenges for Quench?
Like many businesses our size, we are constantly looking for ways to operate more efficiently, reduce waste, and employ the most environmentally-friendly practices available. For example, Quench strives to be as paperless as possible in our billing and administration. Over the past two years, we have invested in new software platforms which have enabled us to take much of our operation paperless, even as we process thousands of contract invoices each month. I’m pleased to say that Quench was awarded the “Forever Green” Manufacturing Award earlier this year in recognition of these efforts.
What is the difference between using Quench and water coolers or bottled water?
Let’s face it: bottled water has a massive environmental footprint. The bottled water delivery lifecycle consumes energy, burns fossil fuel, and overruns landfills with plastic that never gets recycled.
The sustainability benefits of upgrading to a filtered water cooler system are immediate and profound. The minute a new Quench system is installed, that office is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But unlike other many other “green” initiatives there are no infrastructural changes associated with the new cooler and no cost premium. Switching to a Quench water filtration system is one of simplest, least expensive, highest impact sustainability improvements a company can undertake.
What does Quench do to ensure the coolers have a low environmental impact?
Our Energy Star certified coolers use up to 65% less electricity than bottled water coolers. And there are fossil fuel savings to consider: plastic jug delivery trucks burn six million gallons of fuel and 1.5 million barrels of oil are used in making those plastic bottles each year. What’s worse, 80% of those plastic bottles will never see the recycling bin. Additionally, one gallon of water is wasted for gallon of water that is bottled – our coolers prevent the significant waste of water found in the bottling process.
What is your favorite water memory?
My favorite water memories date back to my youth in Puerto Rico, where I spent many awesome days on and in the water.
Follow Quench at:
Website: www.quenchonline.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/quenchwater
Twitter: @QuenchWater
YouTube: www.youtube.com/quenchwater
Google+: https://plus.google.com/100829639496791657827/post
Related article: GreenRoad rolled out at UK bus company
By Helen Craig. Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at Virgin. Tweets @helcraig
