In order to better comprehend issues like water shortage or water pollution, it is fundamentall to consider production processes since water problems are often connected to a country’s economy. Faced with a serious water crisis, countries like Australia try to monitor national water plans in order to reduce water consumption as much as possible while still providing the needed water supply for the survival and well-being of the population. Before trying to elaborate a plan in order to control or change the water demand amongst the population, state officials should start by looking at the essence of the actual demand. For this reason, “national water use statistics should be extended in order to include full national water footprint accounts since this broadens the basis for the formulation of a national water plan” (Source: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/NationalWaterFootprint). In order for a national water project to be sustainable on the long term, a government needs to establish coherent national policies in all sectors involve. For instance, it is useless to establish a water plan it agriculture policies are not modified to respect the same coherent direction.

The water footprint of a nation can be defined as the total amount of water used to produce the goods and services consumed by the population of that nation. Considering that many goods that are consumed in a country are produced abroad, the water footprint of a nation is made out of the internal water footprint (water used inside the country) and the external water footprint (water used to produce a good abroad). In addition, there are three categories that can be found in a nation’s water footprint. The first is the blue water footprint, “the volume of freshwater that evaporated from the global blue water resources”. Second comes the green water footprint, “the volume of freshwater evaporate from the global green water resources (rainwater)” and finally the grey water foot print, “the volume of polluted water, calculated as the volume that is required to dilute pollutants to such an extent that the quality of the water remains about agreed water quality standards” (Source: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/NationalWaterAccountingFramework). Governments need to start by reducing the water footprint of their own structures and offices, in order to demonstrate the good example, so they can later work closely with industries in order to promote transparency and the need to raise social awareness amongst citizens.

Professor and expert, tell us that the  water footprint indicator permits “the attention to shift to the role of consumers and large food processors and retailers that process and sell final consumer goods” (Source: http://www.exploringgeopolitics.org/Interview_Hoekstra_Arjen_Virtual_Water_National_Footprints_Global_Economy_Value_Price_Pollution_Depletion_Management_Environment_Intensive_Exports_Imports.html). He puts the emphasis on the fact that each individual consumer and every company can have a tremendous impact on problems such as water depletion or pollution. He also reminds us that American citizens should make the biggest effort since the USA has the largest national footprint, per head it is double the world average! The main reason is due to the fact that Americans consume a lot of highly water-intensive goods, like meat. On the contrary, developing countries have a high water footprint not due to their large water consumption but because their agriculture methods are tremendously inefficient leading to a great waste of water.

So far, except for various debates and propositions, water remains a public resource, without any real market rules to establish trade price. Yet, it is important not to take it for granted because even if it seems endless and accessible water does have a very high value.  Treating water like it has no value leads to scarcity and other serious problems. Establishing a national water footprint is only the first step towards a more responsible and self-conscious attitude. The first step towards putting an end to the most avoidable natural crisis we could face.

This eco-friendly way to produce vegetables for home or sale consumption has seen a revival in the past years amongst a growing rate of Americans who want to grown their own greens. In this process, the waste produced by the fish becomes an automatic recycled form of nutrients for the plants. The water from the fish tank, rich in nutrients is pumped into the area where the plants are grown. “The plants clean the water of excess nutrients, the water is then oxygenated by simple means and is reused again and again in the fish rearing tanks” (Source: http://www.northernaquafarms.com/aquaphonics.html). Lettuce, chives, tomatoes and cucumbers all have successfully been raised in aquaponics; in addition to flowers such as rose or lilies. This simple process permits the recycling of water that would otherwise be considered useless waste. The functionally of this system is based on a mutual exchange: the plants purify the water while they get extra nutriments in exchange from the fish. This approach is totally eco-friendly since not only water is recycled, but also the usually chemical fertilizers are not need and cannot be used since they are harmful to the integration of the plants and fish. This system is revolutionary insofar a well operated structure uses “about one tenth of the water required for normal vegetable growing and reduces the water needed for single usage fish farming by 95% or greater” (Source: http://www.northernaquafarms.com/aquaphonics.html). This year long sustainable method of agriculture is particularly popular in Australia a country that has suffered numerous draughts.

In the United States, aquaponics seems to be at a early flourishing stage with a gradual increase in sales and demand. Rebbeca Nelson part of the Nelson & Pade company, publishes the Aquaponics Journal ( http://www.aquaponicsjournal.com/) and sells aquaponics systems in the USA. She has stated that subscriptions have doubled in the past years and she “estimates that there may be 800 to 1,200 aquaponics set-ups in American homes and yards and perhaps another 1,000 bubbling away in school science classrooms” (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/garden/18aqua.html?_r=1).  If you are intrigued by aquaponics but have long-term commitment issues, an Atlanta based company called Earth Solution sells kits on the internet called “ farm in a box” that range from a price of 300$  to 3, 000$.  According to experts, aquaponics will replace hydroponics on the long term considering that it has considerable advantages over the practice of hydroponics: first of all the nutrient source is organic since it derives from fish waste and second of all, aquaponics provides a protein crop that is lacking in hydroponics.

This environmental friendly system is quickly developing in the United States and soon enough the industry will develop for both salt and fresh water fish. The product seems to be the future of gardening at a time where the world is suffering from a world crisis and where every single drop of water can make the difference.  This system is totally organic and recycles water that maintains the fish alive and enables plants to grow. For countries that suffer from droughts this might be a revolutionary method.

In 1993, Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired Simple Shoes: shoes for a happy planet, founded by Eric Meyer.  Aware of the need to protect the environment, this company is working hard at combining business prerogatives with the creation of shoes using recycled materials. They are strong believers in the fact that business can be done in a sustainable way, on their website the company declares: “HOW we make our shoes is just as important as WHY we make them. That means finding more sustainable ways of doing business so we can make a gazillion more” (Source: http://www.deckers.com/Brands/simpleshoes.aspx). This company seems to declare the need to be coherent by putting into practices the environmental friendly they pretend to embody. The Simple Shoes brand was born in 1991, as a response to a generation of  “over-hyped, over-marketed, and over-teched sneakers” (Source: http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/history.aspx?g=info). After having launched the Green Toe collection, shoes made of natural materials, the company realized that working with raw materials wasn’t enough considering all the waste and pollution that was out there.  For this reason, in 2007, the company decided to introduce recycled products such as plastic bottles and care tires in the manufacturing process of their shoes. In 2008, Simple Shoes decided to introduce brand new materials like hemp, recycled bicycle tires and car tire inner tubes.

The company’s website as a list of all the materials they use for they making of their simple shoes. They use PET (polyethylene terephthalate) the plastic used for water bottles, in order to make some of their shoelaces and in order to make the wrapping around the latex elastic. With a single used care tire they manage to “make the outsoles for six pairs of men’s size 9 shoes, by using recycled car tires” (Source: http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/materials.aspx?g=info). This is an innovative way to give a new life to materials and resources that are considered “dead” and are harmful for the environment. Moreover, the cotton they used is herbicides, pesticides and or chemical fertilizers free. They are proud to use cotton that hasn’t been sprayed with chemicals substances that too often end up in the water that citizens use for their daily choirs and even more dangerously the water they drink. One of their most innovative materials they use for their shoes is bamboo, one of the fastest growing plants on the face of earth.

These eco-green shoes are working and sales seem to demonstrate it. Yet, according to Brad Little, national sales manager, seems to think that there is much more than eco-friendly materials behind the company’s success. Brad Little says that “only 10% to 15% of its customers are green buyers” and adds that the shoes are “sufficiently good-looking that customers will pull them off a store shelf to begin with” (Source: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2009/id20090928_302174.htm). The shoes are competing against standard shoes that are over-marketed over-technological and often anything but simple. Being green, has become a trend in most States, yet the shoes sell also thanks to their young and fresh esthetics and their comfort value. The timing is perfect, Simple Shoes has started to get noticed at a time where there is a growing important share in the fashion market for eco-friendly clothing and accessories.

Part of its 2010 collection, Simple has also launched bold new bags, sporty and made of Recycled PET ripstop nylon. The bags are light, ready for a life on the go, they also have a custom made space for your mp3 player or ipod. The latest shoe collection has introduced the trendiest styles with leopard prints and light pastel colors in order to catch the heart and the eye of even the trendiest customers.

Reviews have been great and the shoes seem to be a crowd pleaser amongst customers from all ages. In 2005, eco-friendly fashion debuted at the New York fashion week. This marked the beginning of a new era and signaled the need to stop ignoring environmental problems. Fashion designers launch clothing trends and lifestyles that are followed by thousands. Mixing style, elegance and innovation with recycled materials and a greener lifestyle is a trend that will and needs to come back every season.

Well, good morning to you as weel my lovely friends!

It is a nice sunny day outside! Well, not that it makes any difference for me, since I am stuck in the superstore. No wait, the supermarket!  Well I don’t really know what they call it super, since its not that super to me…It is cold all the time, the lights are to strong and well people come and look at us through the glass…they stare, point and stare some more. Some of people actually are nice they open the door and pick me up! Boy does it tickle, but at least I feel warm for a couple of seconds. After reading the paper that is all around my tummy, they exchange looks, nod and usually but my right back on the shelf. This is starting to happen way too often lately. Does nobody want me anymore? Maybe because I have been here a while now and I am not the cutest one anymore. I want to get adopted I am nice!! Anyone out there?!!!

“You silly silly young boy! It has nothing to do with you not being the cute one anymore!” said Mrs. Goldendiamondy with a smear. Why does she always have to know the secret to everything! She quickly explained, that the problem is that people don’t like plastic water bottles anymore. According to miss know-it-all, more than 60 cities in the USA have banned the expenditure of tax dollars on other bottles like me. Everyone is now convinced that we are terribly bad for the environment and we get discarded, ruining the “natural habitat” of animals and the sea creatures. What is a “natural habitat”?? It sure sounds like a funny word! Is it a fancy grown-up way to say “home”? Well, then I guess my “natural habitat” is the cold fridge of the superstore! Nobody is ruining my habitat; I sure don’t want to disturb birds, and fish and bears by entering their homes uninvited.  Mrs.Goldendiamondy even told me that water is heavy and its transportation internationally uses a lot of energy that could be saved to serve more useful purposes. She even sounded very smart and cool when she told me with nonchalance that every year, the bottled water industry can generate around 30 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide only in transportation! Do you even realize how much 30 000 tonnes means? Well, I can’t this is why I am convinced it is super gigantic. Bigger than the supermarket, bigger than the city! Bigger than the earth?! I still have to figure that out but anyways that it is a lot of carbon dixide. I am not completely sure I understand what that long word carbondixide means, it probably is something for grown-ups, but it sure does sound important.

Well thank god I have Miss Evian to keep me company and keep me laughing all day long. She is very nice and most of all she is the prettiest plastic water bottle I have ever seen in my entire short life.  This is why, I must confess, if you promise you won’t tell anyone, I am kind of happy that customers visiting the superstore are putting us back on the shelves; leaving me and Evian alone!  I am kind of happy people are realizing the truth, the fact that they can save money, drinking fresh cold water from the tap in order to try to lower down the number of close to 30 million plastic bottles, daily abandoned in landfills where they are left to rot alone for the next thousand years.  Oh my liquid heart would break at the thought of empty miss Evian, cold and alone in a landfill for the next hundred years to come…. Thank god customers are slowly waking up…!

First of all , we must think about a companies’ commitment: freshwater is a basic ingredient for their operations, while effluents may lead to pollution of the local hydrological ecosystem. Initially, public pressure has been the most important reason for sustainable business initiatives. Today, many companies recognize the corporate damage when failing to manage the freshwater issue. These risks  include damage to the corporate image, threat of increased regulatory control, financial risks caused by pollution, or insufficient freshwater availability for operations.

Freshwater of adequate quality is a prerequisite for human societies and natural ecosystems. The human use of freshwater is so large that competition among users occurs and water scarcity is a serious problem in several regions.

The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use. When we talk about a product (goods or services) it refers to the total volume of fresh water used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. When we talk about individual or community,  it refers to the total volume of fresh water used in a direct or indirect way. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. The total “water footprint” of a nation is a useful indicator of a nation’s call on the global water resources and it is related to dietary habits of people.

Let’s take some examples:

I bet you had no idea that the production of one kilogram of beef requires 22 thousand liters of water!! This is something to think about the next time you join your buddies for a steak dinner on  Saturday night!  For all you coffee addicts (myself included), the cup of coffee you had this morning took 140 liters of water to be produced!

“The water footprint of China is about 775 cubic meters per year per capita. Only about 3% of the Chinese water footprint falls outside China. Japan, with a footprint of 1100 cubic meters per year per capita, has about 60% of its total water footprint outside the borders of the country, while the USA’s water footprint is 2600 cubic meter per year per capita”. (source:UNESCO-IHE-Water Footprint)

The water footprint concept is part of a larger family of concepts that have been developed in the environmental sciences over the past decade. A “footprint” in general has become known as a quantitative measure showing the appropriation of natural resources by human beings. The ecological footprint is a measure of the use of bio-productive space (hectares). The carbon footprint measures energy use in terms of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions (in tons). The water footprint measures water use (in cubic meters).

I told you reading this post took no time, it was sweet and short,  but hopefully you are now more informed. The image of a footprint is a symbolic way to represent nature, the wildlife and its undeniable bond to a supreme vital element: water. Calculating the water footprint is a simple way to raise awareness and to acknowledge the precious quality of water and the need to diminish its waste.

“People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use by a consumer or producer. A “water footprint” is defined as a spatial and temporal indicator of direct and indirect freshwater use.” (source:http://www.waterfootprint.org/downloads/WaterFootprintManual2009.pdf).

The water footprint accounting should be followed by a sustainability assessment phase in order to evaluate the water footprint from an environmental, social and economic point of view. This data will be extremely useful in order to develop with greater precision and accuracy eco-friendly businesses and community initiatives. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (BWBCSD) wishes to play an active role in facilitating the exchange of experience amongst corporate pilot testers in order to help perfect the next manual.

Members of the water project recognized the rapid increase of initiatives related to water measurement, impact evaluation, set settings, reporting and disclosure. The results were gathered in a comprehensive on-line report called Water for Business (2009). This is very much a learning journey: “Integrating water quantity and quality with time and place into a measurement of sustainable water use is a very complex challenge,” says James Griffiths, Managing Director of the Water Project.

“We hope to make best use of the diverse experiences that our partners will have when using the water footprint within different contexts and for different purposes. We aim to refine the methodology such that it best serves the various purposes that different sectors in society see for it”, says Derk Kuiper, Executive Director of the WFN.

If you have any comments, requirements, questions or advice, the WFN and WBCSD invite you to write your comments on this current manual at [email protected].

About the Water Footprint Network

WFN is a non-profit foundation striving to support the transition towards sustainable, fair and efficient use of fresh water resources worldwide by applying the “water footprint” concept. The network has more than 80 partners (January 2010) from all relevant stakeholders in water resources management. WFN aims to:

-       Promote the concept of ‘water footprint’ as an explicit indicator of direct and indirect water use for consumers and producers.

-       Increase the visibility and awareness of this project amongst communities, public offices, governments and citizens in order to create a major comprehension of how consumption goods and services directly relate to water use and impact on our fresh water systems.

-       Advocate forms of water governance in order to diminish negative ecological and social impact on countries and local communities.

Source: (http://www.wbcsd.org/Plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?DocTypeId=251&ObjectId=MzczNjg)

To find out more about the Water Footprint initiative,  read our post under the Water Footprint category.