Water Footprint
Water use is an essential environmental indicator for all activities in the product life cycle. Based on the pure measure of water quantity used, the associated environmental impacts of both direct and indirect water use are of eminent importance to identify the life cycle based water footprint of corporations (see Köhler, 2008). The UNEP/SETAC Water Assessment Project Group has developed a framework for an integrated assessment of water use in corporations and product value chains (Bayart et al.,2009).
Methodologies are being elaborated for both reporting indicators of water use and the impact assessment evaluating damages on freshwater resources, ecosystems and human health. These approaches distinguish total water use, water consumption (where the water is no longer available in the watershed) and water-quality degradation (where the water is still available but with diminished quality), and are aligned with current LCA methodologies according to ISO 14040:2006.
Relevant content for water footprint
Product Environmental Footprint Training during SETAC Helsinki
Product Environmental Footprint Training during SETAC Helsinki on 26 May (registration until 8 May!) The European Commission, in collaboration with UN Environment and the Life Cycle Initiative, is organizing a…
Carbon and Water Footprint training courses published
Carbon and Water Footprint training courses Two new sets of training materials, covering carbon footprint and water footprint, provide an introduction to the basic concepts, as well as more advanced material fit for…
Views on Environmental Footprint: Video
Views on Environmental Footprint The Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission has produced a series of videos on Environmental Footprint featuring interviews with several experts in the field (including Llorenç Mila...
Opinion paper on basic requirements for footprint indicators
Environmental Science and Technology opinion paper published Consult the opinion paper on basic requirements for footprint indicators in Environmental Science and Technology.
Two interviews with LCA practitioners
Two interviews with LCA practitioners Two interviews with life cycle assessment practitioners explain how they will use the carbon footprint and water footprint training in practice back home, as well as…
Nokia
Nokia: minimizing environmental footprint Nokia aims to be a leading company in environmental performance by minimizing its environmental footprint. Nokia’s environmental work is based on life cycle thinking. This means…