The European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW), representing the interests of natural mineral and spring water producers in Europe, is happy to announce the election of Muriel Lienau, CEO of Nestlé Waters in Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMENA), as its new president for the next two years.

Mrs. Lienau, a French national, leads both the Nestlé Waters Business in EMENA and the Global Strategic Business Unit of Nestlé Waters. The mother of four children has been working with Nestlé for 29 years in France, Germany and Switzerland. Mrs. Lienau has always made a priority of ensuring that the outstanding quality of natural mineral and spring waters is recognised and maintained by rigorously protecting catchment areas across Europe.

Mrs. Lienau said she was honoured to be taking over the presidency for the upcoming two years, with a clear ambition to develop the category to a greater purpose, promoting natural mineral and spring waters as the most natural and healthy source of hydration and to further strengthen the sector’s sustainability credentials.

“Our category wants to be a leading force to achieve a circular economy and sustainable food systems; we want to be the inspiration for others”, says Mrs Lienau.

She continues, “supporting Europe’s ambition to be carbon neutral and a leader in biodiversity, the Natural Mineral and Spring Waters sector has the responsibility and determination to be a leading force. NMW producers have a long history of source protection to guarantee the purity of their waters, naturally contributing to a healthy environment and biodiversity. They are pioneers in setting up and financing packaging collection schemes and using fully recyclable packaging materials. As a sector we strongly advocate for a circular economy. Now we will step up our efforts on collection, including advocating for well-designed Deposit Refund Systems, so we can use more food-grade recycled materials in our packaging”.

Mrs. Lienau follows in the footsteps of Jean-Pierre Deffis, who was at the helm of EFBW from 2014. Mr. Deffis played a pivotal role in introducing a strong roadmap focusing on retaining the quality of natural mineral waters and playing a leadership role in the field of sustainability and circular economy.

EFBW Secretary General Patricia Fosselard said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing president, Jean-Pierre Deffis, for his unwavering commitment to push the sector’s sustainability agenda. I am delighted to welcome Muriel as our new president and look forward to working with her. With a strong collective action, driven by the EFBW team and the help of our national associations, company members and partners, I am very confident that we can achieve our goals.”

Mr. Udo Kremer (Verband Deutscher Mineralbrunnen), Gavin Partington (British Soft Drink Association), Alessandro Pasquale (Mattoni 1873), and Francisco Vallejo (ANEABE - Aguas Minerales de España), will second Mrs. Lienau as EFBW’s Vice-Presidents and Treasurer respectively.

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Contact:

Anna Meusburger, Communications Manager, anna.meusburger@efbw.org, +32 493 183 297

About EFBW

The European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW) is the voice of the bottled water industry, dedicated to promoting the unique qualities of natural mineral and spring water among EU institutions and international organisations. EFBW is a registered international not for profit federation with a membership base of national trade associations and direct member companies. EFBW represents almost 550 natural mineral and spring water producers in Europe.