Posted on 28 February
2011
Enschede, Netherlands: A major step toward
standardisation of water footprint measurement
has just been achieved, with the issuing
of a global assessment manual by the Water
Footprint Network.
The assessment manual,
issued by the 139-member network and scientists
of the University of Twente in the Netherlands,
complements the recently completed Global
Water Footprint Standard in giving consistency
to measures of water use and impact.
“The Global Water Footprint
Standard comes at a time when companies
in all sectors are awakening to the risk
that water scarcity poses to their bottom
lines and reputations,” said Jim Leape,
Director General of WWF International, a
leading member of the Water Footprint Network.
“This work helps companies
understand their dependency and impact on
water resources, and offers guidance on
response strategies that conserve water
for industry, communities and nature.”
Helping companies conserve
water
By measuring the amount
of freshwater used in goods and services
consumed or in production, the water footprint
concept is helping companies reduce water
use where it is most wasteful. Similarly,
it helps banks assess water-related risks
prior to making investments and governments
improve water management.
How much water do you
use?
Individuals can use
the water footprint to understand how much
water they are using through the food they
eat, the clothes they wear and the consumer
goods they buy. Changing to less water-intensive
products and choosing to buy goods from
water-rich areas or catchments that are
sustainably managed will move them toward
a sustainable water footprint.
“The water footprint
of common products such as coffee can be
surprising. For example, it can take an
average of 140 litres of water to produce
each cup of coffee,” said Ruth Mathews,
Executive Director of the Water Footprint
Network.
“In a world now seriously
stretching its limited fresh water reserves,
the Global Water Footprint Standard helps
us all know more about how much water we
use, where it comes from and how we each
can take steps to make our water footprint
sustainable. This is crucial to ensure that
the world’s people and natural ecosystems
will have the freshwater necessary to thrive
well into the future.”
The Water Footprint
Assessment Manual: Setting the Global Standard
also clearly demonstrates how individuals,
companies and nations can quantify their
contribution to water-use conflicts and
environmental degradation in river basins
around the world.
Partners from business,
civil society, government, global institutions
and academic organizations are working with
the Water Footprint Network to push for
improvements in water use efficiency, pollution
reduction and sustainable water management.
As more pressure is put on freshwater resources,
using the standard in all sectors and in
all river basins will be increasingly important.
“This is the state of
the art methodology for calculating water
footprint,” said Stuart Orr, WWF International
Freshwater Manager.
“It improves and builds
on previous methodologies using the very
wide range of expertise available through
the water footprint partners and gives governments,
business and communities much better information
for improving their water management and,
most importantly, reducing their water footprint.”
