• Inaugural awards inspires 275 UAE students from the Repton Family of Schools to implement sustainable practices in their daily lives using recyclable natrlTM boxes
  • The first Junior (5 – 9 Years) and Senior (10 – 16 years) natrlTM eco-architects each received AED 10,000 in scholarship prizes and more

UAE:  natrlTM box water, the UAE’s first boxed mineral water brand, successfully concluded the inaugural natrlTM eco-architect awards 2022/2023, proudly announcing the winners of the Junior and Senior categories at a gala ceremony held at Media Rotana Dubai on Saturday, 4 February 2023.

Siblings, Reissa and Raja Pardede from Repton Abu Dhabi attained the Senior natrlTM eco-architect award for their engaging and educational board game, complete with mystery cards made from natrlTM water boxes, specially-created game characters using the natrlTM water taps, and aesthetics designed by fashioning the natrlTM recyclable bladders.

Jana Barkawi, Bessma Wajih and Winona Horobin from Repton Al Barsha, attained the Junior natrlTM eco-architect award for their fully automated sweet dispenser using natrlTM boxes, and fashionably woven bags crafted from natrlTM’s recyclable bladders, which earned them a golden ticket to the final stage of the competition. 

Under the theme of ‘Reduce, Reuse, recycle,’ 275 students from Repton Abu Dhabi, Repton Al Barsha and Repton Dubai competed to build a better tomorrow, by creating fun, functional and impactful designs with their used natrlTM water boxes. Inspiring them to sustain an eco-friendly lifestyle and have a positive impact on the environment, participants were evaluated for their creative concepts based on five judging criteria: functionality, creativity, problem-solving, presentation, use of the box and ease of recreating. 

Five shortlisted entrants from each category - Junior category for 5 - 9 years, and Senior category for 10 – 16 years - attended the natrlTM eco-architect awards 2022 ceremony held at the five-star hotel, Media Rotana Dubai.

David Cook, Chief Education Officer at Excella and Headmaster of Repton Dubai says, “The natrlTM eco-architect awards has been an exciting and positive learning experience for the students. I am proud to have witnessed their innovative designs first-hand, and I would like to congratulate each Reptonian for their outstanding participation. Each student has embodied the Reptonian passion to strive for excellence during the competition.” 

The first Junior and Senior natrlTM eco-architects each received scholarship prizes worth AED 10,000 towards their academic development, in addition to AED 500 natrlTM gift vouchers, vouchers from Revolution Cycles Dubai and a family weekend getaway for four at Rotana Hotels & Resorts. The winners will also receive an internship opportunity with One Moto Electric Vehicles.

Launched in November 2022, the natrlTM eco-architect awards were introduced to support the Ministry of Education’s sustainability plan to emphasise green issues as part of the curriculum. natrlTM also developed bespoke lesson plans focused on the three ‘Rs’ in partnership with international online educational publishing house, Twinkl.

The eco-friendly Artesian mineral water brand is also creating a catalogue with ‘steps-to-follow’ to recreate the all finalists’ designs, which will be available to all participating students in the UAE when entering their submissions for the natrlTM eco-architect awards 2023. 

“We are thrilled to have received such an overwhelming response from the students for our first natrlTM eco-architect awards. I am truly amazed by the students and their vision of the future. I would like to thank all the participants for their outstanding submissions and every stakeholder for bringing the awards 2022 to life, and look forward to many successful iterations to come,” concludes James Mudie, CEO of natrlTM box water.

For further information on the natrlTM eco-architect award, please visit: https://www.natrllife.com/

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About natrl™

natrl™ box water is a paper-based alternative to conventional plastic water packaging, which allows consumers to say no to plastic bottles and make eco-friendly choices when hydrating. Our sustainable practice includes our boxes being sourced from 100% recycled paper and using small amounts of plastics that are 100% recyclable. The box and the bag can be split easily making this a truly 100% recyclable product unlike some of the boxed waters that are claiming they are recyclable yet you cannot split the plastic inside coatings from the paper casing.

natrl™ fact sheet

  • 100% Artesian natural mineral water sourced from one of the cleanest places on Earth, the Heretaunga Plains, situated in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
  • natrl™ box water is perfectly balanced drinking water for the whole family including infants as it is low in sodium (9.4mg/l) and has the ideal pH balance of 7.5.
  • natrl™ water is fluoride and BPA free.
  • Saved 522kg of plastic (approximately 26,100 1-litre bottles) since its launch in January 2022.
  • Total carbon footprint from source to delivery in UAE is approximately 50g per 10l natrl™ box water. If you compare this to 10x 1l bottles of water in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging with a carbon footprint of 1,200g for the PET alone, natrl™ box water is the more sustainable option.
  • Fully recyclable 10l box uses 90% less plastic packaging than 10x 1 litre PET bottles.
  • Only AED 6 per litre for premium natural mineral water compared to the high street average of approx. AED 9.
  • natrl™ Greenspun T-shirts are made using 10x 500ml recycled plastic bottles.
  • Brand ambassadors include one of the UAE’s greatest ever female footballers, Areej Al Hammadi.
  • First UAE mineral water brand to be endorsed by water sommelier, Allison Poerner.
  • Trusted mineral water supplier for sporting and wellness events in the region such as the Hit The Road endurance cycling race, GFX Group Fitness and the 31 hour Guinness World Record attempt for longest static cycling class in the world.
  • Committed partner with Emirates Environmental Group having planted trees in Hatta to aid sustainability.
  • Proud water sponsors for conservationists such as Emirates Environmental Group, Azraq Middle East and Shore Thing Surf Therapy.
  • Launched the natrl™ Eco-Architect Award - a children’s initiative using recycled natrl™ boxes and bladders to design environmentally-friendly structures and inventions. The top prize is an AED 10,000 scholarship.
  • Committed to meeting the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through a number of practises including using a zero carbon footprint during the production process, 100% recyclable packaging and creating sustainability focused initiatives within the community.

For media queries, please contact:
Tessa Dsouza
Tessa.d@qcomms.ae