Water Footprinting Presentation for IEMA Wales

Water footprints in contextAaron BurtonMay 2011IEMA Wales

Outline Water Resources Strategy for Wales – current and future pressures Water footprinting concept Scoping study – water footprint of key food items Water footprinting in context

Pressures on Water Resources in Wales Water Resources Strategy for Wales www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wrs

January February March April May June July Aug September October November December 10 to 15 per cent increase 5 to 10 per cent increase Percentage change in mean monthly flow 5 per cent increase to 5 per cent decrease between now and the 2050s using the 5 to 10 per cent decrease medium-high UKCIP02 scenario 10 to 20 per cent decrease 20 to 30 per cent decrease 30 to 50 per cent decrease 50 to 80 per cent decrease

Waterfootprintconcept

[Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008]

UK Water Footprint Agricultural footprint – food and fibre http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/UnitedKingdom

The water footprint of a productGreen water footprint► volume of rainwater evaporated or incorporated into product.Blue water footprint► volume of surface or groundwater evaporated,incorporated into product or returned to other catchment or the sea.Grey water footprint► volume of polluted water.

The water footprint:making a link between consumption in one place andimpacts on water systems elsewhereShrinking Aral Sea

Scoping study – keyfood items

Objectives1. Present existing water footprinting methodologies and agree the best available model for use in Wales.2. Assess the global and local water footprint for Wales, by looking at specific food items.3. Consider the specific impacts on water resources of growing these imported products in Wales.

The water footprint of a productGreen water footprint► volume of rainwater evaporated or incorporated into product.Blue water footprint► volume of surface or groundwater evaporated,incorporated into product or returned to other catchment or the sea.Grey water footprint► volume of polluted water.

Potatoes (Wales and Israel) 80 70 60 Water Footprint (m3/t) 50 Potato (Wales) 40 Potato (Israel) 30 20 10 0 Green Blue Total Green Blue Total Volumetric WF Stress-weighted WF

Tomatoes (Wales and Spain) 70 60 Water Footprint (m3/t) 50 40 Tomato (Wales) Tomato (Spain - average) 30 20 10 0 Green Blue Total Green Blue Total Volumetric WF Stress-weighted WF

Lamb (Wales and New Zealand) 12,000 10,000 Water Footprint (m3/t) 8,000 Lamb (Wales) 6,000 Lamb (New Zealand) 4,000 2,000 0 Green Blue Total Green Blue Total Volumetric WF Stress-weighted WF

Potatoes Tomatoes

Food Strategy for Wales Food industry key water user Impacts of growing more food in Wales vs imports Opportunities for marketing Welsh produce

Adding context –water efficiency andsupply chains

Water footprint: why businesses are interestedWater risks for business• Physical risk• Reputational risk• Regulatory risk• Financial riskWater opportunity for business• frontrunner advantage• corporate image• Corporate social responsibility• Part of water governance wihtin existing environmental management

Water footprint of a business

Water footprint – Carbon footprintWater footprint Carbon footprint• measures freshwater appropriation • measures emission GH-gasses• spatial and temporal dimension • no spatial / temporal dimension• actual, locally specific values • global average values• always referring to full supply-chain • supply-chain included only in ‘scope 3• focus on reducing own water footprint carbon accounting’ (water use units are not • many efforts focused on offsetting interchangeable) (carbon emission units are interchangeable) Water footprint and carbon footprint are complementary tools. [Hoekstra et al., 2009]

Water and energy nexus Warehouses Sport and Leisure Retail Other Catering Hotel and Catering Computing Cooling & Ventilation Health Hot Water Heating Government Lighting Education OtherCommunication and Transport Commercial Offices 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 Thousand tonnes of oil equivalent DECC (2009) Energy Consumption in the UK

Water footprint – Life cycle assessmentWater footprint LCA• measures freshwater appropriation • measures overall environmental impact• multi-dimensional (type of water use, • no spatial dimension location, timing)• actual water volumes, no weighing • weighing water volumes based on impactsFor companies, water footprint assessment and LCA are complementary tools.• WF assessment is a tool to support formulation of a sustainable water management strategy in operations and supply chain.• LCA is a tool to compare the overall environmental impact of different products.WF is a general indicator of water use; application of WF in inventory phase of LCA is one particular application. [Hoekstra et al., 2009]

WRAP Report http://www.wrapcymru.org.uk/wwf_wales.html

Further work Water footprint sustainability assessment (case studies) Other sectors and industries Grey water implications (WFD & Europe Blueprint) EC Blueprint WFD – understand material and virtual flows between catchments Green water impacts of landuse change Accounting for droughts/ climate change Food Strategy for Wales Action Plan Data issues for Wales

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Water Footprinting Presentation for IEMA Wales

by AHBURTON on Jun 22, 2011

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Water Footprinting Presentation for IEMA Wales — Presentation Transcript