At the date of publication of this article
article, there were 239 municipalities in Catalonia in the emergency phase due to the drought situation
drought situation that is severely affecting the Mediterranean area. The
climate forecasts suggest that the Spain of 2050 will be much hotter and drier, and there will be areas of the
and there will be areas of the Peninsula that will be under water stress, with less available water and an increase in water
available water and an increase in demand.
Corporate risks related to water use
Companies need to assess their exposure (and that of their value chain) to water scarcity scenarios, both for core operations and upstream and downstream processes. There are several types of risk typologies that affect companies in relation to water resources:
- Operational risksThe following are related to potential disruptions to the company's operations and value chain due to water scarcity.
- Regulatory risksThe following are related to potential negative impacts on the company's bottom line, due to the application of regulations governing water use.
- Reputational risksThe term "water management" refers to a potential degradation of the company's reputation if it has not been able to manage its water use in a sustainable way.
Metrics and indicators of
water management in the company
Just as there is an indicator that quantifies CO2eq emissions along the value chain of a company or the life cycle of a product (the carbon footprint), there are also indicators available that measure the impacts of a company's activity or a product's life cycle on the water resource (water footprint and water footprint).
Both the carbon footprint and the water and water footprint provide an understanding of the critical points in the organisation's value chain or product life cycle and allow for the design of adaptation strategies that mitigate the above-mentioned risks.
Water footprint: measures the amount of freshwater (m3) used to produce a company's goods and services. The calculation methodology is the one defined by the Water Footprint Network. The water footprint differentiates between three types of water:
Green waterwater from precipitation (rain and snow) that is stored in the soil, in the root zone, and evaporates, transpires or is incorporated into the plants.
Blue waterFreshwater resources: represents the freshwater resources needed to manufacture a product or provide a service. It is the volume of freshwater consumed from surface water (rivers, lakes and reservoirs) and groundwater (aquifers).
Grey watermeasures the amount of freshwater needed to dilute the pollution and comply with the
quality standards.
Water footprintWater Footprint: assesses the effects on water availability, complemented by environmental impact indicators such as acidification or eutrophication. The water footprint follows a life cycle approach and the calculation methodology is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The standard that establishes how to carry out a water footprint study is the standard ISO 14046 Environmental management - Water footprint - Principles, requirements and guidelines.
The following table shows the main differences between the two assessment methodologies.
Both tools aim to help companies better understand their environmental footprint and contribute to more effective water resource management. The water footprint provides information on water use and the water footprint goes further by assessing environmental impacts. Both methodologies complement each other and can be integrated into a single environmental footprint study, together with other indicators such as the carbon footprint.
References:
Water Footprint Methodology:
https://www.waterfootprint.org/resources/TheWaterFootprintAssessmentManual_Spanish.pdf
Water Footprint Methodology:
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui#iso:std:iso:14046:ed-1:v1:es
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