Water is essential to every business. Whether you require water for crops or manufacturing processes, or even simply to supply your office, your business will undoubtedly use water in some way. That’s why, in order to create a more sustainable future, it’s vital to understand your corporate water consumption.
Calculating your water footprint is one way to achieve this, highlighting your organization’s use of fresh water in terms of water consumed and/or polluted. For businesses, this will involve calculating both your operational and supply chain footprints.
Let’s take a moment to explore what each of these means.
What Is A Corporate Water Footprint?
To understand your corporate water footprint, you will need to calculate the total water used by your business to produce goods or services. This water footprint will include a direct and an indirect water footprint.
A direct, or operational, water footprint represents the water used or polluted through business operations. This could be water used through direct activities such as production or manufacturing, or supporting activities such as supplying your office or canteen.
An indirect, or supply-chain, water footprint represents water consumed or polluted by the inputs and products used in the supply chain and production activities of your company.
Both the direct and indirect water footprints are calculated by assessing a company’s blue, green, and gray water footprints. As an example, the production of one kilogram of beef requires approximately 15 thousand liters of water and its water footprint is approximately 93% green, 4% blue, and 3% gray.
How Are Water Footprints Measured And Reported?
To determine your water use, you’ll need to carry out a Water Footprint Assessment to:
- quantify and map your green, blue, and gray water footprints
- assess the sustainability, efficiency, and equitability of water use
- identify strategic actions to make your footprint sustainable
Organizations can also calculate and report on their water footprints using reporting frameworks like the ISO 14046 standard or the Global Water Footprint Standard, which provide detailed instruction and guidance on:
- How to calculate green, blue, and gray water footprints
- How to conduct a water footprint sustainability assessment
- How to use water footprint accounting and sustainability assessment for strategic planning
How to Manage Your Water Footprint?
Decreasing your corporate water footprint and improving the efficiency of water consumption in business processes offers a host of benefits. These can include cost savings and revenue generation, as well as gaining a competitive advantage by demonstrating operational innovation.
Once you have taken the decision to proactively manage your water footprint, you can take control by following these basic steps:
- Create and map a water strategy around sustainable water stewardship practices
- Utilize a technology solution to capture and manage data
- Automate reporting to common water frameworks
- Share water stewardship progress with all stakeholders
If you need support to understand your corporate water footprint, we can help. The AMCS Sustainability Platform can track, measure, and manage water risks and impacts across your organization, helping you to demonstrate your commitment to responsible water management.
AMCS gives you the tools to analyze your corporate water footprint and take the lead as a responsible water steward.