This document summarizes ISO 14046:2014, which provides principles, requirements, and guidelines for assessing water footprints. It outlines the standard's scope, normative references, terms and definitions, principles, methodological framework, reporting requirements, and critical review process. The methodological framework follows a life cycle assessment approach and includes defining goals and scope, conducting a water footprint inventory analysis, performing a water footprint impact assessment, and interpreting results. Water footprint reporting must include the study goal, scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation. The standard can be applied to organizations and products to identify water use and impacts throughout their life cycles and supply chains.

1. ISO 14046:2014 Environmental
management — Water footprint —
Principles, requirements and guidelines
2015 UN-WATER ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ZARAGOZA CONFERENCE.
WATER AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTS FROM VISION TO ACTION.
JANUARY 14th, 2015
Antonio Carretero
Assistant Manager New Developments
AENOR

2. 1. Scope
2. Normative references
3. Terms and definitions
4. Principles
5. Methodological framework
6. Reporting
7. Critical review
Annex A (normative) Additional requirements and guidelines for
organizations
Bibliography
CONTENTS OF THE STANDARD
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3. 1. SCOPE
Scope:
Only air and soil emissions that impact water quality are included in
the assessment and not all air and soil emissions are included.
ISO 14046 standard is based in the next concepts:
→ LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA)
→ WATER FOOTPRINT IMPACT ASSESSMENT (WFIA)
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4. 2. NORMATIVE REFERENCES
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ISO 14040:2006. Environmental management - Life Cycle Assessment –
Principles and framework
ISO 14044:2006. Environmental management – Life Cycle Assessment –
Requirements and guidelines
ISO/TS 14071:2014 Environmental management – Life Cycle Assessment
– Critical review processes and reviewer competencies: additional
requirements and guidelines to ISO 14044:2006
ISO/TS 14072:2014 Life Cycle Assessment-additional requirements and
guidelines for organizations.

5. 3. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Classified by groups:
 Terms relating to types and classifications of water
 Terms relating to water
 Terms relating to life cycle assessment and water footprint
assessment
 Terms relating to interpretation and reporting of water footprint
results
 Terms relating to products, product systems, processes and
organizations
 Terms relating to data and data quality
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6. 4. PRINCIPLES
 Transparency
 Relevance
 Completeness
 Consistency
 Accuracy
 Priority of scientific approach
 Geographical relevance
 Comprehensiveness
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7. 7
Goal and scope
definition (5.2)
Water footprint
inventory analysis
(5.3)
Water footprint
impact
assessment (5.4)
Water Footprint assessment
Water Footprint Inventory study
Interpretation
of the results
(5.5)
Direct
aplications:
-Product
development
and
improvement
-Strategic
planning
-Public policy
making
-Marketing
-Others
5. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: LCA&WFIA relation

8. The Water Footprint Inventory Analysis stage of an LCA is useful to:
Compilation and quantification of inputs and outputs (water,
energy, raw materials, auxíliary materials, heat, fuels, co-products)
and the potential environmental impacts of a product system
and consequently
Stablishment of material, water and energy balances throgouth its
life cycle and its process
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5. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: INVENTORY

9. 5. METHODOLOGIC FRAMEWORK: DATA COMPILATION AND CUANTIFICATION
Data
compilation
Primary
data
Secondary
data
Internal resources
and data bases or MS
Production/commerce
administration
External
sources and
databases
LIFECYCLEASSESSMENT
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10.  Primary data (coming from processes/installations controlled by
the organization)
 Secondary data (when a lack of primary data, coming from
bibliography, suppliers, consolidated sources, other organizations
up/down streams and other sources)
 Input data for calculation software (if any)
 Data quality (representativeness, accuracy, precision, uncertainty)
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5. METHODOLOGIC FRAMEWORK: DATA COMPILATION AND CUANTIFICATION

11. • Raw
materials
• Transport
EXTRACTION
• Production
• Packing
• Labelling
• Storage
PRODUCTION
• Wholesale
• Retailer
• Transport
• Storage
DISTRIBUTION
• Consumtion
• End of life
treatment
• Final disposal
USE
Cradle to gate WFAM
Cradle to grave ISO 14046
5 METHODOLOGIC FRAMEWORK: LCA STAGES
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12. 12
Goal and scope definition
Preparing for data collection
Data collection
Validation of data
Relating data to unit process
Relating data to functional unit
Data aggregation
Refining the system boundary
Revised data collection sheet Data collection sheet
Collected data
Validated data
Validation data per unit process
Validation data per funtional unit
Calculated inventory
Allocation
includes reuse
and recycling
Additional data or
unit process
required/omitted
Completed inventory
5. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: INVENTORY

13. Some water footprint references finalize their requirements at the end
of this phase. Consequently Water Footprint Reports inform about
different types of waters. Impacts associated are not reported.
Proceedings:
1. Data determination and selection
2. Software selection for calculations (if any) or spreadsheets
3. Balance calculation of water, energy, raw materials, etc.
4. Data relating to functional unit (if WF for products)
5. Associated impacts (if required by the reference applied)
6. Water footprint reporting performance
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5. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: INVENTORY

14. 14
5. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: IMPACT ASSESSMENT

15. Impact categories applying
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Figure 5- Concept of water footprint as a
stand-alone assessment (i.e. only black
boxes) or part of a life cycle assessment
(i.e. entire life cycle impact assessment
phase in grey boxes)
5. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK: IMPACT ASSESSMENT

16. a) General aspects: who is the commissioner or practitioner of the study (internal
or external), date of report, and statement that the study has been conducted
according to the requirements of this International Standard.
b) Goal of the study: reasons for the study, its intended applications, the target
audiences, study as a stand-alone assessment or a part of a LCA, and whether
comparative assertion is intended.
c) Scope of the study: function, functional unit, system boundaries, input/output
cut- off criteria, product, unit processes and stages of a WF LCA
d) Water footprint inventory analysis
e) Water footprint impact assessment
6. REPORTING
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17. f) Interpretation: of results, conclusions, assumptions and limitations both to
data and methodologies, data quality, value choices, rationales and expert
judgments, positive aspects, etc.
The results obtained by standard application can be expressed with a single
impact indicator or a as group of them. The standard offers multiple possibilities
to present and communicate results.
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6. REPORTING

18. Optional. Only mandatory when the WF Report is intended to be used for a
comparative assertion.
Critical review is performed by:
 internal or external expert or panel of interested parties
 expert independent of the water footprint assessment team
7. CRITICAL REVIEW
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19. ANNEX A: ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS
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20. ISO 14046:2014 standard can be applied to different boundaries:
Organizations: number and type of locations (office buildings, trade
centers, construction work sites, soils, industrial plants, etc.)
Products/services: with mention to the locations for each product process
and its associated functional units
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ANNEX A: ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

21. WF Reporting is a useful tool that contributes to:
 efficiency in the water management for products and organizations in
the climate change frame of reference
 create lower water consumption of products and services market as an
answer to the current social demands
 Identify saving oportunities in the organizations due to the strong
relation between energy and water management
 explain comprimises of social responsibility to third parts related with
the adaptation to climate change frame of reference
WATER FOOTPRINT BUSSINESS OPORTUNITIES
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22. NEW DEVELOPING WATER FOOTPRINT ISO STANDARDS
Currently, is being developed the standard ISO/TR 14073, with several
case studies for ISO 14046, by the same WG that performed the ISO
14046 Standard, in the ISO 207 Technical Comeetee.
Publishing is expected for the last months of 2016 or first quarter of
2017
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