What's your water footprint?

"Water is probably the only natural resource to touch all aspects of human civilisation, from agricultural and industrial development, to cultural and religious values embedded in society," says Koichiro Matsurra, former director-general of Unesco.

As well as being vital for human society, water plays a key role in sustaining ecosystems around the world. Unfortunately, we are entering an era of increasing freshwater scarcity due to the over-exploitation of renewable but finite resources in large parts of the world.
But much of this water use is effectively hidden from us, its final users. Each of us, on global average, uses nearly 25 times more water indirectly (about 3800 litres per person per day) in the form of products and services compared to direct water use in our households (about 150 litres per person per day).

There is growing concern around the world that the increasing population, industrialisation, urbanisation and changing lifestyles cannot be sustained if we continue on our current trajectory of water use. Instead, we must start using more water-efficient products and changing our everyday practices.

But how will we know which products are more water-efficient? And how can companies develop and market more water-efficient products? Water footprints are able to answer these questions, and are already used in environmental certification programmes such as the Australasian Environmental Product Declaration Programme, carboNZero and GreenStar. Globally, companies such as Unilever and Nestlé are using water footprint information about their products to guide their sustainability programmes.

A water footprint accounts for both the direct and indirect use of water and its associated environmental impacts during the production and use of a product or service. The concept was popularised by the Water Footprint Network in the early 2000s and more recently the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has published an ISO standard to guide water footprint studies. These initiatives, and a rapidly increasing body of academic research on water footprint methods, have begun to untangle and clarify the complexities in assessing the environmental impacts associated with water use.

In New Zealand, this work has taken place through research undertaken by the partners in the New Zealand Life Cycle Management Centre, and through individuals participating in development of the ISO Water Footprint standard. It is expected that, over the next few years, consensual water footprint methods and verification/certification systems are likely to be developed and introduced into the international marketplace.

Then companies will be able to credibly demonstrate the "water credentials" of their products and achieve competitive advantage. Water footprinting will become a mechanism for business organisations to assess their water-related risks and opportunities, demonstrate their environmental stewardship, and gain access to premium markets.

Fresh water in New Zealand is, by international standards, abundant due to plentiful rainfall across the country. Not only is it essential in producing the agricultural products that are the backbone of the nation's economy, it also plays a fundamental role in attracting international tourists and sustaining the quality of life enjoyed by New Zealanders. Responsible environmental stewardship of water has potential to deliver competitive advantage in the international marketplace.

So, what is required in order for New Zealand companies to demonstrate responsible environmental stewardship? First we must engage with emerging international initiatives such as the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint programme. Then we must collect the data required to assess and reduce the impacts on our freshwater resources. Finally New Zealand must develop, test and implement water footprint management programmes in different industry sectors.

In a world where greenwash is no longer tolerated, our ability to retain a competitive advantage for products based on "the New Zealand story" is dependent upon proactive and positive engagement with this agenda.

Professor Sarah McLaren and Dr Ranvir Singh are researchers at Massey University's Institute of Agriculture and Environment.