Water Footprint: what it is, how to calculate it and its benefits for businesses
Knowing your Water Footprint it's very important to make strategic decisions about the environmental impact of your company. How much water is your company consuming? Is it negatively impacting the water resource? Which is the more effective action to reduce your impact on the water resource?
Let's check what the water footprint is, why it is important, and how performing one can bring greater environmental and economic benefits to your company.
What is the Water Footprint?
The Water Footprint is an indicator which provides information on the impacts that an activity, product or company has on water resources. It considers direct and indirect impacts on water and, depending on the methodology used to measure it, provides information on impacts on water availability (or water stress) and freshwater quality.
Similar to the carbon footprint, the water footprint should not be used to make "sustainability" claims, as decisions based on it do not cover all possible environmental and social impacts.
Why is it important?
Currently, there is a shortage of water in Chile, so managing the water resource is important in order not to waste it. Many companies consume and pollute water, so this indicator is very useful to support their management, increase water efficiency and control water emissions, as well as identifying the best actions to reduce their adverse effects.
Because it's a local impact and depends on the amount of water available, the Water Footprint can be different for the same process in two different geographical locations or even for the same facility at different times of the year. This variability means that frequent measurements are required for the Water Footprint to provide solid support to the decision maker.
The water footprint measures resource efficiency and can be measured per unit of production, therefore, a decrease in this indicator indicates an efficient use of water, while if the value is very high, it means that there is an opportunity to reduce water consumption through a change in technology or processes.
Should your company measure its water footprint?
The water footprint measures the impact on the water resource, so this indicator is interesting for businesses that consume water or return it after using it in their processes. Less water can lead to conflicts with other companies or communities, and quality problems can generate conflicts, legal risks and economic impact.
Similarly, companies that do not have very good relationship with neighboring communities or that have known impacts to water, will find this indicator beneficial because it measures local impacts.
On the other hand, having the water footprint can be beneficial to industrial and agricultural sectors, as water quantity and quality is critical to the operations of these businesses.
What are the benefits of measuring the water footprint?
If you decide to measure your company's water footprint, it will grant various benefits, among which are:
- Strategic decision taking this indicator allows you to identify processes that consume the most water, which will help you identify lines of business to continue, close or open, and where to innovate.
- Gain a competitive advantage since more and more consumers are preferring products that have proven lower environmental impact.
- Reduce costs knowing which process waste the most water, you can apply efficiency measures to take care of the resource or reduce the pollutants. You will also avoid fines or taxes related to the contamination of your processes.
- Improve the company's reputation as reducing the water footprint can demonstrate the company's environmental commitment, which will increase customer's trust and allow better marketing campaigns.
Types of Water Footprints
Before measuring, you should know that there are three types of water footprint and select the one that suit your company's processes best.
Blue Water Footprint
The blue water footprint is the amount of water from surface sources, such as rivers and lakes, or groundwater that is used for a product or service. This footprint considers water that is taken from one place and returned to another, for example domestic water. This is extracted by the supplier company from groundwater and after being used and treated, it's returned to a river, so this water doesn't return to the same place from which it was obtained.
This indicator measures the amount of water available in a given period, as it considers the water that is returned at a different time. For example, the water used to generate electricity in a hydroelectric plant is extracted from a river and after being used, it's returned to the river but at a different time.
The blue water footprint will be useful if your company extracts water and then returns it to nature, for example irrigated agriculture, industries and domestic use are businesses that can use this indicator.
Green Water Footprint
The Green water footprint considers the amount of rainwater that is incorporated in a productive process, and it does not turn into waste water. For example, rainwater used to watering fruit cultivations that is absorbed by the fruit and stored in their roots and the ground, therefore it does not become wastewater.
The green water footprint can be useful for your company if it's part of the agricultural or forestry industry, as well as if it has industrial products whose raw material is wood or crop-based products, which have an indirect impact.
Grey Water Footprint
The gray water footprint is the amount of fresh water needed to dilute pollutants and meet water quality standards, it's an indicator of the level of water pollution due to a production process. This water footprint considers point source pollution that is discharged into the water directly or indirectly. For example, in the textile industry, water is consumed to wash garments, which contains toxic substances due to the use of dyes. The gray water footprint considers the amount of water needed to dilute these substances and comply with regulations when it's returned to nature.
This type of footprint is important for most industries as any domestic use and activity returns contaminated water into nature.
How to measure the water footprint
Did you already choose the type of water footprint you need? Before you start, follow the steps below, which follow the ISO 14.046 standard.
- Define the objective and scope: the objective defines what you will do with the results, while the scope defines whether the study will focus on a single water basin, if it will cover one or several years, the entire production chain will be included, or whether a product, service, facility or company will be studied.
- Gather data: once you have defined the objective and scope, you should gather the necessary data to measure the footprint. This information can come from the company's own data, global or local data.
- Measure the different footprint types: depending on the scope of your study and the industry your company belongs, you should measure the blue, green and/or gray water footprint.
- Add up the footprint types: once you have obtained the results of measuring the footprint, you should add the values, that way you can obtain the water footprint of your product, service, facility or company.
How to choose the best consultant to measure the water footprint
Measuring the Water Footprint is not simple. The regulations for this type of measurements have a specific technical complexity, so we recommend that you approach a specialist with experience in it.
If you want reliable results, it's best to get a team with experience in measuring the water footprint, that knows the methodology very well, as well as the industry that is being analyzed.
In addition to their experience, you should consider the characteristics of the service. Consultants could limit themselves to just do the measurement alone, or expand their service to advising you in making decisions to reduce your impact. Also check if they are willing to help your marketing team in communicating the results correctly, this way you make sure you are not committing greenwashing.
Overview
In short, the water footprint allows you to know your company's consumption and impact on water and serves as a tool to enhance your company's market position, improve its reputation and reduce its costs. To achieve all these, you must start by defining the objective and scope of the study and find the perfect consultant to support you, only then it can lead to a result that will help your company to improve.
IN ECOED, WE HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MEASURING THE WATER FOOTPRINT
If you would like to know more about our services, click here or schedule a free meeting with us to discuss how the Water footprint can be useful for your business.