Geneva, 1 February 2010 – The Water Footprint Network (WFN) has launched its Water Footprint Manual, covering an inclusive set of manners for water footprint accounting. The Manual explains how water footprints can be summed up for individual processes and products or for larger scale consumption at the national or business level.
“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.
