Water Footprinting

‘If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it’ applies just a much to water consumption as it does to any other business resource. Managing water related risks and taking advantage of water related opportunities relies on a good understanding of where water is used in the business. Integrating management metrics and Key Performance Indicators into day-to-day operations is essential for efficient management of risks and opportunities.

According to Arjen Hoekstra, who created the concept of the water footprint, "The interest in the water footprint is rooted in the recognition that human impacts on freshwater systems can ultimately be linked to human consumption, and that issues like water shortages and pollution can be better understood and addressed by considering production and supply chains as a whole."

For business the water footprint is a useful tool in quantifying direct and indirect water use throughout the lifecycle of a product or service. While we are easily able to see the water we use for drinking, cooking and washing, we are often less aware of the water used throughout the supply chain to produce the goods and services that we consume. Yet this can be significant, and availability of water throughout the supply chain can represent a considerable operational risk to some businesses, alongside the more obvious direct uses of water.

Many of the principles of water footprinting are similar to those of carbon and ecological footprinting and innovative business and governments are including this approach in their management tool-box.

The Water Footprint Network: http://www.waterfootprint.org