Make an Impact: Give Clean Water, Track Your Footprint and Stay Hydrated

The Office of Sustainability and the Faculty Student Association (FSA) have partnered to launch a new sustainability program called Fill it Forward. The Fill it Forward program offers free cup tags to students to promote sustainability, hydration and philanthropy.

Since its inception this program has prevented 566,426 disposable cups from going into landfills and 2,000 pounds of plastic from being polluted into oceans. In addition, 2.7 million cups of water have been given to those in need around the world. The Fill it Forward program is offered through Cupanion and its partnership with WaterAid has made clean water possible for so many people.

“Partnering with the FSA on a project like Fill It Forward will have a tremendous impact on our campus. The Office of Sustainability has always stressed the importance of material conservation and limiting the use of plastic bottles on campus. This project will help illustrate just how dedicated we are to achieving our goals,” stated Greg Monaco, Stony Brook University Sustainability Coordinator.

Start using the program with three easy steps:

1. Bring your dishwasher-safe refillable water bottle or mug to campus and adhere your new cup tag to it. You can get a red SBU logo tag for your water bottle or a black SBU logo tag for your coffee mug at the FSA Services Office located in East Side Dining.  
2. Download the Fill it Forward app onto your smartphone, to begin scanning your tag each time you refill, then easily track waste diverted, see emissions saved, and observe how much ocean pollution has been avoided.
3. Observe the positive environmental impact that you create and keep track of your water consumption to ensure proper hydration.

Each time users refill their reusable water bottles and scan their tags, a clean cup of water is given to poverty-stricken people around the world. Every cup that is given helps fund water projects for indigent people. Through the app, users can keep up with the progress of the projects, and they will be informed when projects are successfully completed. So, the more you refill, the more you give back!

Plus, students can earn reward points by scanning their tags. Rewards are tracked by the Office of Sustainability, which enters participants into weekly drawings for awesome prizes like reusable water bottles, t-shirts or food and beverages.

The Fill it Forward tag can be placed on any reusable bottle, cup or mug. Stony Brook University has many convenient water refill stations across campus such as at the Campus Recreation Center, all of the residence halls, various dining halls, academic buildings and the Melville Library.