Why should
we bother about our water footprint?
Freshwater is a scarce resource; its annual availability is
limited and demand is growing. The water footprint of humanity has exceeded
sustainable levels at several places and is unequally distributed among people.
Good information about water footprints of communities and businesses will help
to understand how we can achieve a more sustainable and equitable use of fresh
water.
There are many spots in the world where serious water depletion or pollution takes place: rivers running dry, dropping lake and groundwater levels and endangered species because of contaminated water. The water footprint helps to show the link that exists between our daily consumption of goods and the problems of water depletion and pollution that exist elsewhere, in the regions where our goods are produced. Nearly every product has a smaller or larger water footprint, which is of interest for both consumers that buy those products and businesses that produce, process, trade or sell those products in some stage of their supply chain.
There are many spots in the world where serious water depletion or pollution takes place: rivers running dry, dropping lake and groundwater levels and endangered species because of contaminated water. The water footprint helps to show the link that exists between our daily consumption of goods and the problems of water depletion and pollution that exist elsewhere, in the regions where our goods are produced. Nearly every product has a smaller or larger water footprint, which is of interest for both consumers that buy those products and businesses that produce, process, trade or sell those products in some stage of their supply chain.
Why should
we bother about our water footprint?
Freshwater is a scarce resource; its annual availability is
limited and demand is growing. The water footprint of humanity has exceeded
sustainable levels at several places and is unequally distributed among people.
Good information about water footprints of communities and businesses will help
to understand how we can achieve a more sustainable and equitable use of fresh
water.
There are many spots in the world where serious water depletion or pollution takes place: rivers running dry, dropping lake and groundwater levels and endangered species because of contaminated water. The water footprint helps to show the link that exists between our daily consumption of goods and the problems of water depletion and pollution that exist elsewhere, in the regions where our goods are produced. Nearly every product has a smaller or larger water footprint, which is of interest for both consumers that buy those products and businesses that produce, process, trade or sell those products in some stage of their supply chain.
There are many spots in the world where serious water depletion or pollution takes place: rivers running dry, dropping lake and groundwater levels and endangered species because of contaminated water. The water footprint helps to show the link that exists between our daily consumption of goods and the problems of water depletion and pollution that exist elsewhere, in the regions where our goods are produced. Nearly every product has a smaller or larger water footprint, which is of interest for both consumers that buy those products and businesses that produce, process, trade or sell those products in some stage of their supply chain.
Why should
my business bother about its water footprint?
First of all, environmental awareness and strategy is often
part of what a business regards as its ‘corporate social responsibility’.
Reducing the water footprint can be part of the environmental strategy of a
business, just like reducing the carbon footprint. Second, many businesses
actually face serious risks related to freshwater shortage in their operations
or supply chain. What is a brewery without secure water supply or how can a
company in jeans survive without continued supply of water to the cotton
fields? A third reason to do water footprint accounting and formulate measures
to reduce the corporate water footprint is to anticipate regulatory control by
governments. In the current stage it is not so clear how governments will
respond, but obviously regulations in some sectors of business may be expected.
Finally, some businesses see a corporate water footprint strategy also as an
instrument to reinforce the corporate image or to strengthen the brand name.
Consumers can reduce their direct water footprint (home
water use) by installing water saving toilets, applying a water-saving
showerhead, closing the tap during teeth brushing, using less water in the
garden and by not disposing medicines, paints or other pollutants through the
sink.
What can consumers do to reduce their water footprint?
The indirect water footprint of a consumer is generally much larger than the direct one. A consumer has basically two options to reduce his/her indirect water footprint. One option is to substitute a consumer product that has a large water footprint by a different type of product that has a smaller water footprint. Examples: eat less meat or become vegetarian, drink tea instead of coffee, or even better drink plain water. Not wearing cotton but artificial fibre clothes saves a lot of water. But this approach has limitations, because many people don't easily shift from meat to vegetarian and people like their coffee and cotton. A second option is to stick to the same consumption pattern but to select the cotton, beef or coffee that has a relatively low water footprint or that has its footprint in an area that doesn’t have high water scarcity. This requires, however, that consumers have proper information to make that choice. Since this information is generally not available in the world of today, an important thing consumers can do now is ask product transparency from businesses and regulation from governments. When information is available on the impacts of a certain article on the water system, consumers can make conscious choices about what they buy.
What can consumers do to reduce their water footprint?
The indirect water footprint of a consumer is generally much larger than the direct one. A consumer has basically two options to reduce his/her indirect water footprint. One option is to substitute a consumer product that has a large water footprint by a different type of product that has a smaller water footprint. Examples: eat less meat or become vegetarian, drink tea instead of coffee, or even better drink plain water. Not wearing cotton but artificial fibre clothes saves a lot of water. But this approach has limitations, because many people don't easily shift from meat to vegetarian and people like their coffee and cotton. A second option is to stick to the same consumption pattern but to select the cotton, beef or coffee that has a relatively low water footprint or that has its footprint in an area that doesn’t have high water scarcity. This requires, however, that consumers have proper information to make that choice. Since this information is generally not available in the world of today, an important thing consumers can do now is ask product transparency from businesses and regulation from governments. When information is available on the impacts of a certain article on the water system, consumers can make conscious choices about what they buy.
As a consumer, your water footprint is sustainable when (a)
the total remains below your equal share of the available freshwater resources
in the world, and (b) no component of the total water footprint presses at
places where or times when local environmental flow requirements are violated.
Generally the price paid for water is far below its real
economic cost. Most governments subsidise water supply on a huge scale by
investing in infrastructure like dams, canals, distribution systems, and
wastewater treatment. These costs are often not charged to the water users. As
a result, there is insufficient economic incentive for water users to save
water. Besides, due to the public character of water, water scarcity is
generally not translated into an additional component in the price of goods and
services that are produced with the water, as happens naturally in the case of
private goods. Finally, water users generally do not pay for the negative
impacts that they cause on downstream people or ecosystems.
No, some components of the water footprint can have negative
environmental impacts, but other components may be without any problem.
Besides, it deserves consideration whether one has a total water footprint
below or beyond one’s equal share of the available freshwater resources in the
world.
The water footprint shows the plain volumes of water consumption and pollution, including where and when, in all phases of the supply-chain of a product. This is interesting from two perspectives. First, the water footprint tells the total water volume apparently appropriated for a certain product. Since freshwater availability on earth is limited it is important to know how it is allocated over various purposes, to feed debates such as water for nature versus food, water for food versus energy, or water for basic needs versus luxury goods. Besides, it is interesting to see how water is shared among people. Second, the water footprint forms the basis for a detailed impact assessment. The water footprint map (showing where and when what volumes of water are being appropriated) is the basis for assessing the local impacts of the various water footprint components. For this purpose the water footprint map can be overlaid with a map showing local water stress. In this way one can identify the hotspots where water footprint reduction is most urgent.
The water footprint shows the plain volumes of water consumption and pollution, including where and when, in all phases of the supply-chain of a product. This is interesting from two perspectives. First, the water footprint tells the total water volume apparently appropriated for a certain product. Since freshwater availability on earth is limited it is important to know how it is allocated over various purposes, to feed debates such as water for nature versus food, water for food versus energy, or water for basic needs versus luxury goods. Besides, it is interesting to see how water is shared among people. Second, the water footprint forms the basis for a detailed impact assessment. The water footprint map (showing where and when what volumes of water are being appropriated) is the basis for assessing the local impacts of the various water footprint components. For this purpose the water footprint map can be overlaid with a map showing local water stress. In this way one can identify the hotspots where water footprint reduction is most urgent.
There is no general answer to this question, because it
depends on the product, available technology, local context, etc. Besides, one
has to keep in mind that the question includes a normative element, which
implies that it needs to be answered in a societal-political context. A few
general things can be said, however. First of all, one has to distinguish
between reduction targets with respect to the green, blue and grey water
footprint. As for the grey water footprint, which refers to water pollution,
one can demand a reduction to zero for all products, at least in the long term.
Pollution is not necessary. A zero grey water footprint can be achieved by
prevention, recycling and treatment. Only thermal pollution (by water use for cooling)
is difficult to reduce to zero. The blue water footprint in the agricultural
stage of products can often be brought down by a factor two by reduction of
consumptive water losses; in the industrial stage it will depend very much on
the sector and what has already been done. Technologically, industries can
fully recycle water, so that the blue water footprint can everywhere be reduced
to the amount of water that is actually being incorporated into the product.
Benchmarks can be developed for specific products by taking the performance of
the best producers as a reference. Another general rule for any water footprint
mitigation strategy is to avoid the water footprint pressing in areas or times
where environmental flow requirements are violated. A final rationale for a
water footprint mitigation strategy can be the fair sharing of water resources.
This may be the basis for water footprint reduction particularly for large
water users.
The two concepts nicely complement each other, each concept
addressing another environmental issue: the carbon footprint addresses the issue
of climate change, the water footprint relates to the issue of freshwater
scarcity. In both cases, a supply-chain perspective is promoted. There are also
differences, however. For a carbon emission it doesn't matter where it happens,
but for a water footprint is does matter. A carbon emission in one place can be
offset by carbon emission reduction or sequestration in another place, which is
not true for water: one cannot reduce the local impact of water use in one
place by saving water in another place.
Desalination of salt or brackish water can only be a
solution for freshwater scarcity in a limited number of applications, not
because one cannot obtain the right quality of water for all purposes, but
because desalination requires energy, another scarce resource. In fact,
desalination is a way of substituting one scarce resource (freshwater) by
another one (energy). If at a certain spot the freshwater issue is pressing
even more than the energy issue, one can decide in favour of desalination, but
in general it doesn’t make sense to propose desalination as a general solution
to freshwater scarcity. Besides, apart from the energy argument, desalination
is still expensive, too expensive for use in agriculture where most of the
water is used. Finally, salt or brackish water are only available along coasts,
which means that bringing desalinated water elsewhere would imply additional
costs (again including energy).
In a world where many products are related to water
depletion and pollution it is very useful to make the history of products more
transparent. It is good to have the facts publicly available, so the consumer
has a choice. Information can be provided on a label or can be made available
through internet. This is most useful for products that often have large
effects on water, like products that contain cotton or sugar. For consumers it
would be helpful to integrate a water label in broader labels that include
other issues as well, like energy and fair trade. Ideal would be a world in
which we don’t need labels because we can trust that all products meet strict
criteria.
First of all, environmental awareness and strategy is often
part of what a business regards as its ‘corporate social responsibility’.
Reducing the water footprint can be part of the environmental strategy of a
business, just like reducing the carbon footprint. Second, many businesses
actually face serious risks related to freshwater shortage in their operations
or supply chain. What is a brewery without secure water supply or how can a
company in jeans survive without continued supply of water to the cotton
fields? A third reason to do water footprint accounting and formulate measures
to reduce the corporate water footprint is to anticipate regulatory control by
governments. In the current stage it is not so clear how governments will
respond, but obviously regulations in some sectors of business may be expected.
Finally, some businesses see a corporate water footprint strategy also as an
instrument to reinforce the corporate image or to strengthen the brand name.
Consumers can reduce their direct water footprint (home
water use) by installing water saving toilets, applying a water-saving
showerhead, closing the tap during teeth brushing, using less water in the
garden and by not disposing medicines, paints or other pollutants through the
sink.
What can consumers do to reduce their water footprint?
The indirect water footprint of a consumer is generally much larger than the direct one. A consumer has basically two options to reduce his/her indirect water footprint. One option is to substitute a consumer product that has a large water footprint by a different type of product that has a smaller water footprint. Examples: eat less meat or become vegetarian, drink tea instead of coffee, or even better drink plain water. Not wearing cotton but artificial fibre clothes saves a lot of water. But this approach has limitations, because many people don't easily shift from meat to vegetarian and people like their coffee and cotton. A second option is to stick to the same consumption pattern but to select the cotton, beef or coffee that has a relatively low water footprint or that has its footprint in an area that doesn’t have high water scarcity. This requires, however, that consumers have proper information to make that choice. Since this information is generally not available in the world of today, an important thing consumers can do now is ask product transparency from businesses and regulation from governments. When information is available on the impacts of a certain article on the water system, consumers can make conscious choices about what they buy.
What can consumers do to reduce their water footprint?
The indirect water footprint of a consumer is generally much larger than the direct one. A consumer has basically two options to reduce his/her indirect water footprint. One option is to substitute a consumer product that has a large water footprint by a different type of product that has a smaller water footprint. Examples: eat less meat or become vegetarian, drink tea instead of coffee, or even better drink plain water. Not wearing cotton but artificial fibre clothes saves a lot of water. But this approach has limitations, because many people don't easily shift from meat to vegetarian and people like their coffee and cotton. A second option is to stick to the same consumption pattern but to select the cotton, beef or coffee that has a relatively low water footprint or that has its footprint in an area that doesn’t have high water scarcity. This requires, however, that consumers have proper information to make that choice. Since this information is generally not available in the world of today, an important thing consumers can do now is ask product transparency from businesses and regulation from governments. When information is available on the impacts of a certain article on the water system, consumers can make conscious choices about what they buy.
As a consumer, your water footprint is sustainable when (a)
the total remains below your equal share of the available freshwater resources
in the world, and (b) no component of the total water footprint presses at
places where or times when local environmental flow requirements are violated.
Generally the price paid for water is far below its real
economic cost. Most governments subsidise water supply on a huge scale by
investing in infrastructure like dams, canals, distribution systems, and
wastewater treatment. These costs are often not charged to the water users. As
a result, there is insufficient economic incentive for water users to save
water. Besides, due to the public character of water, water scarcity is
generally not translated into an additional component in the price of goods and
services that are produced with the water, as happens naturally in the case of
private goods. Finally, water users generally do not pay for the negative
impacts that they cause on downstream people or ecosystems.
No, some components of the water footprint can have negative
environmental impacts, but other components may be without any problem.
Besides, it deserves consideration whether one has a total water footprint
below or beyond one’s equal share of the available freshwater resources in the
world.
The water footprint shows the plain volumes of water consumption and pollution, including where and when, in all phases of the supply-chain of a product. This is interesting from two perspectives. First, the water footprint tells the total water volume apparently appropriated for a certain product. Since freshwater availability on earth is limited it is important to know how it is allocated over various purposes, to feed debates such as water for nature versus food, water for food versus energy, or water for basic needs versus luxury goods. Besides, it is interesting to see how water is shared among people. Second, the water footprint forms the basis for a detailed impact assessment. The water footprint map (showing where and when what volumes of water are being appropriated) is the basis for assessing the local impacts of the various water footprint components. For this purpose the water footprint map can be overlaid with a map showing local water stress. In this way one can identify the hotspots where water footprint reduction is most urgent.
The water footprint shows the plain volumes of water consumption and pollution, including where and when, in all phases of the supply-chain of a product. This is interesting from two perspectives. First, the water footprint tells the total water volume apparently appropriated for a certain product. Since freshwater availability on earth is limited it is important to know how it is allocated over various purposes, to feed debates such as water for nature versus food, water for food versus energy, or water for basic needs versus luxury goods. Besides, it is interesting to see how water is shared among people. Second, the water footprint forms the basis for a detailed impact assessment. The water footprint map (showing where and when what volumes of water are being appropriated) is the basis for assessing the local impacts of the various water footprint components. For this purpose the water footprint map can be overlaid with a map showing local water stress. In this way one can identify the hotspots where water footprint reduction is most urgent.
There is no general answer to this question, because it
depends on the product, available technology, local context, etc. Besides, one
has to keep in mind that the question includes a normative element, which
implies that it needs to be answered in a societal-political context. A few
general things can be said, however. First of all, one has to distinguish
between reduction targets with respect to the green, blue and grey water
footprint. As for the grey water footprint, which refers to water pollution,
one can demand a reduction to zero for all products, at least in the long term.
Pollution is not necessary. A zero grey water footprint can be achieved by
prevention, recycling and treatment. Only thermal pollution (by water use for cooling)
is difficult to reduce to zero. The blue water footprint in the agricultural
stage of products can often be brought down by a factor two by reduction of
consumptive water losses; in the industrial stage it will depend very much on
the sector and what has already been done. Technologically, industries can
fully recycle water, so that the blue water footprint can everywhere be reduced
to the amount of water that is actually being incorporated into the product.
Benchmarks can be developed for specific products by taking the performance of
the best producers as a reference. Another general rule for any water footprint
mitigation strategy is to avoid the water footprint pressing in areas or times
where environmental flow requirements are violated. A final rationale for a
water footprint mitigation strategy can be the fair sharing of water resources.
This may be the basis for water footprint reduction particularly for large
water users.
The two concepts nicely complement each other, each concept
addressing another environmental issue: the carbon footprint addresses the issue
of climate change, the water footprint relates to the issue of freshwater
scarcity. In both cases, a supply-chain perspective is promoted. There are also
differences, however. For a carbon emission it doesn't matter where it happens,
but for a water footprint is does matter. A carbon emission in one place can be
offset by carbon emission reduction or sequestration in another place, which is
not true for water: one cannot reduce the local impact of water use in one
place by saving water in another place.
Desalination of salt or brackish water can only be a
solution for freshwater scarcity in a limited number of applications, not
because one cannot obtain the right quality of water for all purposes, but
because desalination requires energy, another scarce resource. In fact,
desalination is a way of substituting one scarce resource (freshwater) by
another one (energy). If at a certain spot the freshwater issue is pressing
even more than the energy issue, one can decide in favour of desalination, but
in general it doesn’t make sense to propose desalination as a general solution
to freshwater scarcity. Besides, apart from the energy argument, desalination
is still expensive, too expensive for use in agriculture where most of the
water is used. Finally, salt or brackish water are only available along coasts,
which means that bringing desalinated water elsewhere would imply additional
costs (again including energy).
In a world where many products are related to water
depletion and pollution it is very useful to make the history of products more
transparent. It is good to have the facts publicly available, so the consumer
has a choice. Information can be provided on a label or can be made available
through internet. This is most useful for products that often have large
effects on water, like products that contain cotton or sugar. For consumers it
would be helpful to integrate a water label in broader labels that include
other issues as well, like energy and fair trade. Ideal would be a world in
which we don’t need labels because we can trust that all products meet strict
criteria.
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