Embedded Water

Embedded water, sometimes termed virtual water, refers to the water used in the production of a good or service. Having come to prominence as a concept following the award winning work of Professor John Allan from Kings College and SOAS in London, it is a useful tool to highlight the fact that significant amounts of water are used in producing goods and services that themselves contain no water.

Embedded water is a concept that is relatively easy to understand and so is gaining traction with the media and is fast rising up the agenda of many companies. From food and drink to clothing to manufacturing, the amount of water used to produce each product is rapidly gaining media coverage. For instance, it takes 1,300 cubic meters or 1.3 million litres of water on average to produce one metric tonne of wheat. The precise volume can be more or less depending on climatic conditions and agricultural practice. It refers to the sum of the water use in the various steps of the production chain.

Other examples include:
1 litre of beer – 300 litres of water
1 cup of coffee – 140 litres of water
1 glass of orange juice – 170 litres of water
1 hamburger – 2,400 litres of water
1 pair of jeans – 11,800 litres of water
1 car – 400,000 litres of water

Although these average numbers are gaining public attention and causing companies to rethink their water strategies, it is the process of undertaking a water footprint which helps a business to identify opportunities for performance improvement and refined water messages.

UN FAO Summary

Recent Economist Article: http://www.economist.com/daily/chartgallery/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13176056

Virtual Water: http://worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=866