Victorian cafes are being urged to join forces to cut the industry’s water usage one glass at a time as part of a new environmental action and awareness campaign, Drink For Change.

Cafes can now register free for a week-long event, during which they’ll request loose change from patrons in exchange for usually-free drinking water, to fund water-saving devices and programs.

All money collected during the event, to coincide with the first week of summer (Dec 1-7 2008), will be invested by cafes in their own water saving initiatives, with the aim of effecting industry-wide change.

Registrants may also nominate their own dollar-matching commitment, which they can elect to add to a public profile on the official campaign website, www.drinkforchange.com.au.

The campaign is being run by Grow Me The Money, a partnership between the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) and the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA Victoria). Grow Me The Money helps small to medium sized businesses to reduce resource consumption and, often, save money in the process. The program is free for businesses.

While the campaign’s aim is to ‘turn loose change into real change’ across the industry, participating cafes may also benefit financially from their water-saving efforts.

Drink For Change will also help participants to demonstrate to customers their commitment to reducing their business’ environmental impact.