Water Footprint Assessment is a young research field that considers how freshwater use, scarcity, and pollution relate to consumption, production, and trade patterns. This book presents a wide range of studies within this new field. It is argued that collective and coordinated action—at different scale levels and along all stages of commodity supply chains—is necessary to bring about more sustainable, efficient, and equitable water use. The presented studies range from farm to catchment and country level, and show how different actors along the supply chain of final commodities can contribute to more sustainable water use in the chain.

Water Footprint Assessment is a young research field that considers how freshwater use, scarcity, and pollution relate to consumption, production, and trade patterns. This book presents a wide range of studies within this new field. It is argued that collective and coordinated action - at different scale levels and along all stages of commodity supply chains - is necessary to bring about more sustainable, efficient, and equitable water use. The presented studies range from farm to catchment and country level, and show how different actors along the supply chain of final commodities can contribute to more sustainable water use in the chain.

First Published in 2011. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book highlights the concept of water footprint in different industrial sectors such as leather tanning, steel, agriculture, textile and wine. One of the very basic necessities of life which is soon going to be scarce is water, hence the environmental footprint assessments on any scale essentially includes water footprint which is being measured in various supply chains and across different product categories. According to ISO 14046, the water footprint assessment refers to the total freshwater volume consumed and polluted directly or indirectly across a product’s end-to-end supply chain. This book presents, for industry purposes, the focus on identification and quantification of water trade, the scarcity, and pollution involved in the production of goods and services.

Freshwater is a vital resource for humans and ecosystems but is scarce in many regions around the world. Organizations measure and manage direct water use at their premises but usually neglect the indirect water use associated with global supply chains – even though the latter can be higher by several orders of magnitude. As of 2015, there was no standardized life-cycle-based approach for analysing the water consumption of an organization. Against this background, the BMBF funded research project “Water Footprint for Organizations – Local Measures in Global Supply Chains (WELLE)” has been launched by TU Berlin, Evonik, German Copper Institute, Neoperl, thinkstep and Volkswagen. The project aims to support organizations in determining their complete Organizational Water Footprint, identifying local hotspots in global supply chains and taking action to reduce their water use and mitigate water stress at critical basins. Within the WELLE project a method for analysing an Organizational Water Footprint has been developed, which analyses an organization’s water use and resulting local impacts throughout its entire value chain. In other words, the Organizational Water Footprint considers not only the direct water use at production facilities, but also the water used indirectly for energy generation and raw material production (upstream in the supply chain) as well as water use during the use and end-of-life phases of products (downstream). The Organizational Water Footprint method builds on two environmental assessment frameworks which have been identified as suitable for the purpose of this project: Water Footprint (ISO 14046, 2014 and Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (UNEP 2015). To support stakeholders in conducting Organizational Water Footprint studies, this guidance document was developed, which presents the method in a clear and concise way by illustrating each step with a practical example. By analysing their Water Footprints, organizations can determine water use and resulting local impacts at premises and “beyond the fence” along global supply chains. In this way they can reduce water risks and contribute to a more sustainable use of the world’s limited freshwater resources. Süßwasser ist eine lebenswichtige Ressource für Menschen und Ökosysteme, ist aber in vielen Regionen der Welt knapp. Organisationen messen und managen den direkten Wasserverbrauch an ihrem Standort, vernachlässigen aber in der Regel den indirekten Wasserverbrauch, der mit globalen Lieferketten verbunden ist - obwohl Letzterer um mehrere Größenordnungen höher sein kann. Bis 2015 gab es keinen standardisierten lebenszyklusbasierten Ansatz, um den Wasserverbrauch einer Organisation zu analysieren. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde das vom BMBF geförderte Forschungsprojekt "Water Footprint for Organizations - Local Measures in Global Supply Chains (WELLE)" von der TU Berlin, Evonik, dem Deutschen Kupferinstitut, Neoperl, thinkstep und Volkswagen gestartet. Das Projekt zielt darauf ab, Unternehmen dabei zu unterstützen, ihren kompletten organisatorischen Wasserfußabdruck zu bestimmen, lokale Hotspots in globalen Lieferketten zu identifizieren und Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um ihren Wasserverbrauch zu reduzieren und den Wasserstress in wasserknappen Einzugsgebieten zu mindern. Im Rahmen des WELLE-Projekts wurde eine Methode zur Analyse eines Organisationsbezogenen Wasser Fußabdrucks entwickelt, die den Wasserverbrauch einer Organisation und die daraus resultierenden lokalen Auswirkungen entlang der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette analysiert. Das heißt, der organisationsbezogene Wasser Fußabdruck berücksichtigt nicht nur den direkten Wasserverbrauch in den Produktionsstätten, sondern auch den indirekten Wasserverbrauch für die Energieerzeugung und die Rohstoffproduktion (vorgelagert in der Lieferkette) sowie den Wasserverbrauch während der Nutzungs- und End-of-Life-Phase der Produktion (nachgelagert). Die Methode des organisationsbezogenen Wasser Fußabdrucks baut auf zwei Umweltbewertungsrichtlinien auf, die für den Zweck dieses Projekts als geeignet identifiziert wurden: Wasser Fußabdruck (ISO 14046, 2014) und organisationsbezogene Ökobilanzierung (UNEP 2015). Um Akteure bei der Durchführung von organisationsbezogenen Wasser Fußabdruck Studien zu unterstützen, wurde dieser Leitfaden entwickelt, der die Methode klar und übersichtlich darstellt und indem jeder Schritt mit einem praktischen Beispiel illustriert wird. Durch die Analyse ihres Wasser-Fußabdrucks können Organisationen den Wasserverbrauch und die daraus resultierenden lokalen Auswirkungen am Standort und entlang globaler Lieferketten ermitteln. Auf diese Weise können sie Wasserrisiken reduzieren und zu einem nachhaltigeren Umgang mit den begrenzten Süßwasserressourcen der Welt beitragen.

This book presents papers from an international conference, held in Bonn, Germany in February 2005, that dealt with integrated water resources management in industrialized and developing countries. The papers detail such emerging concepts as blue and green water, virtual water, the water footprints of nations, multi-agent modeling, linkages between water and biodiversity, and social learning and adaptive management.

This book presents specialised methods and tools built on classical LCA. In the first book-length overview, their importance for the further growth and application of LCA is demonstrated for some of the most prominent species of this emerging trend: Carbon footprinting; Water footprinting; Eco-efficiency assessment; Resource efficiency assessment; Input-output and hybrid LCA; Material flow analysis; Organizational LCA. Carbon footprinting was a huge driver for the market expansion of simplified LCA. The discussions led to an ample proliferation of different guidelines and standards including ISO/TS 14067 on Carbon Footprint of Product. Atsushi Inaba (Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan) and his eight co-authors provide an up-to-date status of Carbon Footprint of Products. The increasing relevance of Water Footprinting and the diverse methods were the drivers to develop the ISO 14046 as international water footprint standard. Markus Berger (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany), Stephan Pfister (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) and Masaharu Motoshita (Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Japan) present a status of water resources and demands from a global and regional perspective. A core part is the discussion and comparison of the different water footprint methods, databases and tools. Peter Saling from BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany, broadens the perspective towards Eco-efficiency Assessment. He describes the BASF-specific type of eco-efficiency analysis plus adaptions like the so-called SEEBALANCE and AgBalance applications. Laura Schneider, Vanessa Bach and Matthias Finkbeiner (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany) address multi-dimensional LCA perspectives in the form of Resource Efficiency Assessment. Research needs and proposed methodological developments for abiotic resource efficiency assessment, and especially for the less developed area of biotic resources, are discussed.The fundamentals ofInput-output and Hybrid LCA are covered by Shinichiro Nakamura (Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan) and Keisuke Nansai (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan). The concepts of environmentally extended IO, different types of hybrid IO-LCA and the waste model are introduced. David Laner and Helmut Rechberger (Vienna University of Technology, Austria) present the basic terms and procedures of Material Flow Analysismethodology. The combination of MFA and LCA is discussed as a promising approach for environmental decision support. Julia Martínez-Blanco (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany; now at Inèdit, Barcelona, Spain), Atsushi Inaba (Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan) and Matthias Finkbeiner (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany) introduce a recent development which could develop a new trend, namely the LCA of Organizations.

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but significantly more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton clothes. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Indirect use refers to the 'virtual water' embedded in tradable goods and commodities, such as cereals, sugar or cotton. 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. This book offers a complete and up-to-date overview of the global standard on water footprint assessment as developed by the Water Footprint Network. More specifically it: o Provides a comprehensive set of methods for water footprint assessment o Shows how water footprints can be calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses o Contains detailed worked examples of how to calculate green, blue and grey water footprints o Describes how to assess the sustainability of the aggregated water footprint within a river basin or the water footprint of a specific product o Includes an extensive library of possible measures that can contribute to water footprint reduction

Water Footprints and Sustainable Development serves as the sole comprehensive volume of the role of waste management for sustainable development. It provides an overview of Global Scenario of water footprints in water smart cities and technologies and investigates the critical factors that enable the sustainable developments of various industries in respect to water resources management. The goal of this book is to introduce the reader to the current technologies used for reducing water footprints, and to offer the necessary information and tools for sustainable development. - Provides detailed coverage of the role of Water, Energy and Food Nexus with respect to sustainability - Covers methods such as lifecycle assessment, sustainability assessment, multi-criteria decision-making, and multi-objective optimization modes - Includes key techniques for water resources management and sustainable development