Costa Coffee and Harvey Nicks join our campaign for tap water

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Stickers supporting our initiative will be put up in all 160 of its London branches and tap water will be offered at all of its 1,000 outlets worldwide.

Harvey Nichols is also backing the campaign at all of its restaurants, including the Oxo Tower and the venue at its Knightsbridge store.

The campaign aims to persuade restaurants to stop offering "still or sparkling" bottled water to customers - without mentioning it is available on tap. Diners often feel stigmatised asking for free water.

It also aims to reduce the impact of bottled water on the environment - Britons drink three billion bottles a year and half a billion are flown or shipped from overseas.

Hundreds of restaurants across the capital, including chains such as Starbucks and McDonald's, have joined the campaign, along with Michelin-starred chefs such as Tom Aikens and Aldo Zilli.

Adrian Johnson, Costa Coffee's chief operating officer, said today: "Costa is delighted to encourage the use of tap water in restaurants and cafés across the UK. We are proud to display the Water On Tap stickers in our all stores in London. Joining this campaign serves to reinforce our commitment to tap water."

Jacinta Phelan, general manager of the OXO Tower and Prism restaurants, said: "At all Harvey Nichols restaurants we have always been more than happy to offer customers tap water if they ask for it and will continue to do so. Our customers' experience is our number one priory."

Thames Water calculates that one litre of tap water accounts for 0.3 grammes of carbon dioxide and costs about 0.097p a litre. A 750ml bottle of mineral water can have a carbon footprint 300 times higher, depending on where the liquid was shipped from. Research by the National Consumer Council found that 70 per cent of people think mineral water in restaurants is too expensive.

It also found nine in 10 restaurants pushed diners to buy bottled water and failed to offer them tap water. Some charged up to £3.50 for a bottle they would have bought for around 35p.