Product Water Footprint Assessments

8/8/2019 Product Water Footprint Assessments

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Presented by:

Practical aPPlication in corPorate Water steWardshiP

sePtember 2010


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Watercoversabout70%oftheEarthssurface.

Mostofthiswaterisundrinkablebecause97%issaltwater.

Only1%ofwaterisfoundinriversandstreams.

Approximately1billionpeopledonothaveaccesstosafedrinkingwater.

About6,000childrendieeverydayfromdiseasesassociatedwithlackofaccessto

safedrinkingwater.

Mostofthecitieswherelargenumbersofpeoplelivewithouttapsandtoilets

haveplentifulwatersupplies.

Freshwatershandotheraquaticanimalsareconsiderablymoreimperiledthan

thosethatliveonlandorintheoceans.

Ittakes1,000timesmorewatertogrowfoodforanindividualthantomeetthatpersonsneedsfordrinking.

Irrigationincreasesyieldsformostcropsby100to400%.

About70%offreshwaterwithdrawalsareusedforirrigation.

Waterwithdrawalsforagriculture,assumingnogainsinefciencyofuse,are

expectedtoincreaseby45%by2030.

TheEarthswaterisnite,butitisinnitelyrenewable.

Water = LieBut did you know


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ThisreportistheresultofcollaborationbetweenThe Nature ConservancandThe Coca-Cola Compan.

Italsorepresentstheproductofsignicantcontributionsofindividualsfromanumberofotherorganizations:

TheWater Footprint Networkprovidedsupportforpilotstudyeffortsandguidancethrough

publicationoftheWater Footprint Manual.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CCE) wasakeypartnerfortheCoca-Colawaterfootprintpilot

study,providingsignicantdataandotherresources.

ResearchersattheTwente Water Centre, Universit o Twente, The Netherlands

conductedthetechnicalworkfortheCoca-Colawaterfootprintpilotstudy.

Denkstatt,incooperationwiththe Institute or Water Qualit, Resources and Waste

Management at the Vienna Universit o Technolog,conductedthebeetsugarwater

footprintpilotstudy.

LimnoTechconductedtheorangejuicewaterfootprintpilotstudiesandcontributedtechnical

expertiseandwritingsupportforthisreport.


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BenjaminFranklin


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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

ExECUTIVE SUMMARy ES-1

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 ObjectivesofthisReport 2

1.2 GlobalFreshwaterChallenges 3

1.3 TheNatureConservancysFreshwaterConservationGoals 5

1.4 TheCoca-ColaCompanysWaterStewardshipGoals 6 1.5 TheWaterFootprintConcept 8

2.0 PILOT STUDIES 11

2.1 WaterFootprintof0.5LiterCoca-ColainPETBottle 11

2.2 WaterFootprintofBeetSugarSuppliedto theCoca-ColaSystemsEuropeanBottlingPlants 15

2.3 WaterFootprintofOrangeJuiceProducts 20

3.0 PERSPECTIVES 25

3.1 SettingGoalsandScope 25

3.2 WaterFootprintAccounting 27

3.3 WaterFootprintSustainabilityAssessment 30

3.4 WaterFootprintResponseFormulation 32

4.0 LOOKING FORWARD 37

4.1 TheCoca-ColaCompanysWaterStewardship andSustainableAgricultureStrategy 37

4.2 TheNatureConservancysWaterStewardship 37


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EXECUTIVESUM

MARY

Whenproperlymanaged,evenlargevolumesofwaterusecanbesustainableinlocationswhere

theresourceissufcienttosupporttheuse.Theimpactsofawateruseneedtobeassessedinthe

contextofallwaterusesinthewatershedinordertodenecumulativeimpacts,sharedrisksand

appropriateresponsestrategies.

Traditionally,calculationsofhowmuchwaterabusinessuseshavebeenbasedonthequantities

useddirectlyinproducingthatcompanysproducts.Inrecentyears,businesseshavebeenencouragedtolookattheirwaterusemorecomprehensivelyandinvestigatethewaterused

throughouttheirsupplychains.TogetherwithTheNatureConservancy(theConservancy),

TheCoca-ColaCompany(theCompany)hasbeenoneofthecompaniesleadingthewayon

developingawaterfootprintassessmentmethodologythroughactiveparticipationintheWater

FootprintNetwork.

Aproductwaterfootprintisthetotalvolumeoffreshwaterconsumed,directlyandindirectly,

toproduceaproduct.Afullwaterfootprintassessmentconsiderstheimpactsofthiswater

consumption,aswellasappropriateresponsestrategiestominimizethoseimpacts.

Waterfootprintingandcarbonfootprintingareverydifferentassessments.Withcarbonfootprints,

onecancomparesimilarproducts(ifthesameboundariesandmethodologyareused)knowingthatlowercarbon(orzerocarbon)isbetter.Ontheotherhand,waterfootprintshelpidentifywhere

waterisusedintheproductionofaproductandwhattypeofwaterisused.Waterislocalandthus

waterfootprintnumbersmustbeconsideredinthecontextofthelocalwatershed.Thenumber

associatedwithawaterfootprintisnottheendgame,butratherastartingpointtoaddressingthe

sustainabilityofthewatersource.

Thisreport,preparedbyTheNatureConservancyandTheCoca-ColaCompany,examinestheconcept

ofproductwaterfootprintinganditspracticalapplicationforaddressingthegrowingchallenges

relatedtofreshwater.ThreewaterfootprintassessmentswereconductedfortheCompany:

Coca-Cola1ina0.5literPETbottleproducedbyCoca-ColaEnterprisesInc.(CCE)

intheNetherlands;

BeetsugarsuppliedtoCoca-ColabottlingplantsinEurope;and

MinuteMaidorangejuiceandSimplyOrangeproducedfortheNorthAmericanmarket.

Waterfootprintassessmentscanbehelpfulinsupportingcorporatewaterstewardshipefforts

byprovidingatooltomeasureandunderstandwaterusethroughoutthesupplychain.Theycan

ES-1

1Coca-Colareferstotheproductbrand.


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providevaluableinsightintothelargestcomponentsandlocations

ofwaterconsumption,thepotentialeffectsonlocalwatersheds,and

futurewateravailabilitytoservethecollectiveneedsofcommunities,

nature,producers,suppliersandcompanies.Inthisway,waterfootprint

assessmentscancontributetoanincreasedunderstandingofabusiness

water-relatedrisksandvulnerabilities.

Generalobservationsandimplicationsforproductwaterfootprintingfollow:

Thevalueofproductwaterfootprintingisitsabilitytodisaggregatewater

usebycomponent(i.e.,directandindirectuse;green,blueandgrey).Itisimportantto

keepthecomponentsofawaterfootprintseparatesothatimpactscanbeassessedinthecontextofthelocalwatershedswherethewaterisbeingsourced.

Thelargestportionoftheproductwaterfootprintsassessedaspartofthesepilot

studiescomefromtheeld,notthefactory.TheCoca-ColaCompanyseessignicant

opportunitytoengagemoredirectlywithitsagriculturalsuppliersinadvancing

sustainablewateruse.Guidedinpartbytheseassessments,theCompanyisfocusing

itsinitialeffortsonsustainablesourcingofsugarcaneandoranges.

Whiletheoperationalwaterfootprintassociatedwithproductionwasfoundto

beaverysmallpercentageofthetotalwaterfootprint,itremainsimportantfor

businessestomanagetheirdirect/operationalimpactsonlocalwaterresources.This

isespeciallytruewithregardtowastewatertreatment.

Toreallygainanunderstandingofwhetherwateruseishavinganimpact,thevolume

ofwaterconsumptionmustbeconsideredwiththecumulativeeffectofallusesof

thesharedwaterresource.

Whilewaterfootprintsareanexcellenttoolforcompaniestobegintounderstand

theirwateruse,caremustbetakenwhencommunicatingaboutwaterfootprint

assessments.Numericwaterfootprintsonlabelsdonotprovideinformationneeded

tomakeinformedchoicesamongproducts.

WaterfootprintingishelpingTheCoca-ColaCompanyreneitsapproachtoglobalwater

stewardship.Thepilotstudieshaveveriedtheimportanceofexaminingdirectandindirectwater

useseparately.TheCompanyisfocusingrstonoperationalwaterusebytakingactiontousewatermoreefcientlyandtreatallmanufacturingwastewater.Thestudiesalsoafrmedthe

Companyseffortstounderstandthehealthofwatershedseverywhereitoperates.Importantly,

waterfootprintingprovidescompellingsupportfortheneedtoengagemoredirectlywithsuppliers,

governmentsandotherstakeholdersonresponsiblewaterstewardship.

ES-2


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EmperorYuofChina,1600B.C.


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2Hoekstra,ArjenY.,A.Chapagain,M.Aldaya,andM.Mekonnen.2009.Water Footprint Manual;StateoftheArt2009.PublishedbytheWaterFootprintNetwork.3www.waterfootprint.org4TheCoca-ColasystemreferstobothTheCoca-ColaCompany(alsoreferredtoastheCompanyinthisreport)anditsmorethan300bottlingpartners.5LimnoTechandTheNatureConservancy.2010.QuantifyingWatershedRestorationBenetsinCommunityWaterPartnershipProjects.

Waterfootprintingisayoungscience,andthemethodsforcalculatingwaterfootprintsareevolvingthrough

theeffortsoftheWaterFootprintNetwork(WFN)3andvariousotherinitiatives.TheNatureConservancy

andTheCoca-ColaCompanyareactivelyengagedineffortstotestthepracticalapplicationofthewater

footprintmethodologyandexploreopportunitiesforimprovement.Bothorganizationshaveengagedin

separateinitiativesrelatedtowaterstewardshipandwaterfootprintingandhavecollaboratedonprojects

ofmutualinterest.

Overthepasttwoyears,theCoca-Colasystem4hasundertakenthreewaterfootprintpilotstudiestoassess

thepracticalapplicationofthemethodstoitsproducts.TogetherwithTheNatureConservancyandthe

consultingrmLimnoTech,theCoca-Colasystemalsohasbeenexploringandquantifyingthebenetsof

watershedrestorationactionstorestoreandsustainadequatewatersuppliesforthefullrangeofbenecial

uses.5Becausewater-relatedimpactsarelocalinnature,effortstoreduceoreliminateadverseimpactsare

bestimplementedinthewatershedsinwhichtheimpactsareoccurring.

TheNatureConservancyisdrawntothiscollaborationbecauseitiscommittedtohelpingbuildsolutionsto

theworldswaterproblemssotherewillalwaysbeenoughforpeopleandnature.Helpingcorporationsnd

betterandmoreresponsiblewaysofusingwaterisanessentialsteponthepathwaytowatersustainability.

TwosimplefactsdriveTheNatureConservancysinterest:

Tremendousopportunitiesexisttoimprovethewaywaterisusedandmanaged,andtherebyalleviatewaterscarcityproblemsthataffectbothpeopleandnature.Fosteringsuchimprovements

isahighpriorityfortheConservancy,becauseunsustainablewateruseisaleadingcauseof

declinesinfreshwaterbiodiversity.

Corporationscanprovideleadershipinimplementingsustainablewaterpractices.Theseimproved

waterpracticesmakegoodsenseforbusinessesandcanbringsubstantialbenetstofreshwater

ecosystems.

TheCompanyisdrawntothiscollaborationbecauseitrecognizesthatengagingexternalpartnersis

essentialtoitscommitmenttohaveapositiveimpactonthewaterchallengesfacingcommunitiesand

nature.TheConservancybringsfocusedexpertiseinfreshwaterconservationscienceandanin-depth

understandingoftheinterrelationshipsbetweenhealthyecosystemsandthecommunitiestheysustain.

Throughthecollaboration,bothorganizationsareabletoleveragetheirstrengthstoaddresswater

challengeslocally,ataglobalscale.

People use lots o water or drinking, cooking and washing, but even more or

producing things such as ood, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water ootprint is

an indicator o water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use o a

consumer or producer. The water ootprint o an individual, communit or business

is defned as the total volume o reshwater that is used to produce the goods and

services consumed b the individual or communit or produced b the business.

Water Footprint Manual: State o the Art 2009 2

1.

0

INTRO

DUCTION


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1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THIS REPORT

Thisreportwaspreparedforwaterresourcemanagers,waterfootprintpractitioners,partnersoftheWaterFootprintNetworkandothersinterestedinhowwaterfootprintingcanhelpinformacompanyswater

stewardshipprogram.Thepurposeistosharelessonslearnedandobservationsrelatedtowaterfootprint

assessmentsandtheirpracticalapplication.TheNatureConservancyandTheCoca-ColaCompanyhopethat

theinformationsharedinthisdocumentwillmakeapositivecontributiontotheongoingdevelopmentofthe

waterfootprintassessmentmethodologyanditsapplication.

2

Maps such as this one show

the degree o stress or

dierent regions based on the

ratio o water use to water

availability (water replenished

naturally by precipitation

and snow melt). Water stress

indices are calculated in

dierent ways, as discussed

later in this report.

Degree o Water StressbyFreshwaterEcoregion

ex

hg

m

lw

m w u

U


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1.2 GLOBAL FRESHWATER CHALLENGES

Wateristhecoreofourbeing.Two-thirdsofthehumanbodyismadeupofwater,andwemustcontinuallyreplenishit.Analogoustolosingoilinanautomobile,beingdownonlyafewquartsofwatercanbefatal.

Butittakesalotmorethandrinkingwatertokeepushealthy.Weneedwaterforcookingandbathing.We

needwatertogrowfoodandgenerateelectricity,toproducetheclothesonourbacksandthecountless

othergoodsweuseinourdailylives.

Therewouldbeenoughwatertosupportallofhumanity,nowandfordecadestocome,ifitwereevenly

distributedaroundtheglobeanddeliveredfromtheskiesataconstantrate.Ataglobalscale,weconsume

lessthan10%ofallthewaterthatreplenishesrivers,lakesandaquiferseachyear.

Map fromTheAtlasofGlobalConservation (University of California Press, 2010).

For more information, please go to: The Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org/atlas.


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Butalltoooften,raincomesasadelugeornotatall,makingitscaptureandstorageelusive.Italsois

notdistributedevenly.TheAtacamaDesertinnorthernChilemaygoformorethan20yearswithoutrain,

whereasMt.WaialealeonKauaiintheHawaiianIslandsaveragesmorethan12metersofrainayear.

Perhapsmostimportantly,thegrowthofourglobalpopulationhasnotfollowedtherain.

Thesefactsoflifeexplainthepatchinessofwaterscarcityandabundance.Today,nearly1billionpeople

lackaccesstocleanwater.Ifcurrentwaterconsumptionpatternscontinue,two-thirdsoftheworlds

populationwillliveinwater-stressedconditionsby2025.

Thehighlyvariabletapestryofwaterscarcityandtheconicts,impactsandrisksthatderivefromitmust

ultimatelybeaddressedinlocalwatersheds.Governancepoliciesatvariousgeopoliticallevelscancertainly

inuencehowwaterisused,butthegreatspatialvariabilityinwateravailabilityanduse,alongwith

otherinuencesonhydrologicsystems,includinglocallanduse,demandthatanyassessmentofpotentialimpacts,risksandsustainabilityofwaterusebeframedbythephysicalboundsofthewatershed.

ThisexplainstherecenttrendwithintheWaterFootprintNetworktowardafocusonevaluatingthe

consequencesofwaterfootprintsinlocalwatersheds.Ongoingcalculationsofthewaterfootprintsof

individualproductsorwholenationshaveincreasedawarenessthatwaterisconsumedthroughoutthe

supplychainintheproductionofallconsumergoods.Thisinformationwillcontinuetoserveanimportant

roleininformingpublicpolicyaroundwateruseandmanagement.Withinthecorporateworld,water

footprintsenableagreaterunderstandingofthevolumeofwaterembeddedinproducts,thepotential

effectsonlocalwatershedscausedbythewateruseandtheprobabilitiesoffuturewateravailability

toservethecollectiveneedsofthecompany,communitiesandnature.Notunderstandingthecollective

impactsofwateruseonthelocalwatershedscanincreaseriskstothebusiness.Asdiscussedlaterinthisreport,boththeConservancyandtheCompanyhaveembracedandcontinuetosupportthisimportant

evolutioninwaterfootprinting.

Fromacorporateperspective,growingwaterscarcityandtheneedtousewaterinbusinessoperationsand

supplychainsposerisksofvarioustypes.Thesebusinessriskscanbeviewedfromtwoperspectives:one

looksatupstreamrisks,andtheotherfocusesondownstreamrisks.

4


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Upstreambusinessrisksaregenerallycenteredonthequestionofwhetherornotacompanycanexpect

tohavesufcientsuppliesofcleanwaterinthefuturetosupportitsbusiness.Thisareaofriskcanbe

inuencedbyincreasingcompetitionforwaterresources,growingwaterscarcity,drought,climatechange,

watersourcecontamination,infrastructurefailure,poorlymanagedwaterallocationsystems,ineffective

publicsectormanagementcapacity,insufcientwaterresourcemanagementpolicyandotherfactors.

Downstreambusinessrisksstemfromthefactthatacompanyswateruseandwastewatertreatment

practicesmayimpactotherwaterusersandstakeholders.Water-relatedrisksmustbeaddressedwithinthecontextofthelocalwatersheds.Itisimportantto

considertheimpactofacompanyswateruseinconjunctionwiththeimpactsfromallwaterusersinthe

watershed,asimpactsarecumulative.Theriskofwaterscarcityand/orpoorqualityisnotonlyabusiness

risk,butarisksharedwiththecommunityandotherusers.Efciencyimprovementsareimportant,butthe

mostappropriateresponseactionsmaynotalwaysinvolvereductionofthewaterfootprint(sometimesa

reductionofawaterfootprintisnotpossible).Inmanycases,policyandregulatoryengagementtosupport

improvedmanagementofthesharedresourcemaybeamoreappropriateresponse.

Whenwaterresourcesareadverselyaffectedbythecumulativeimpactsfrommultipleuses,whetherthose

impactsarearesultofacompanysuse,realorperceived,itcanaffectthatcompanyssociallicenseto

operate.Italsomaytriggerregulatoryresponsesfromgovernments.Thesesocialandpoliticalreactionscanleadtoincreasedwateracquisitionandtreatmentcosts,reducedwatersupply,morestringentwastewater

treatmentrequirements,riskierinfrastructureplanningandcapitalinvestmentsandpotentialreputation

damage.Inrarecases,thebusinessmaybeshutdownbythelocalgovernmentormayotherwisenolonger

beviableandvoluntarilyshutdown.

TheConservancyandtheCompanyhavebeencollaboratingonanexplorationofvariousapproachesand

toolsforassessingandmanagingwater-relatedrisk.Wearelearningaswego.Thisreportsummarizes

someofourearlyndings.

1.3 THE NATURE CONSERVANCyS FRESHWATER CONSERVATION GOALSTheNatureConservancyisaninternationalnon-governmentalorganizationdedicatedtotheconservationof

biologicaldiversity.TheConservancysmissionistopreservetheplants,animalsandnaturalcommunities

thatrepresentthediversityoflifeonEarthbyprotectingthelandsandwaterstheyneedtosurvive.The

Conservancyson-the-groundconservationworkiscarriedoutinall50statesintheU.S.andinmorethan30

othercountries,anditissupportedbyapproximatelyonemillionindividualmembers.TheNatureConservancy

hasprotectedmorethan47millionhectaresoflandandhundredsofriversandlakesaroundtheworld.

WhiletheConservancysmissionisfocusedonsustainingtheEarthsdiversityofplantsandanimals,

theorganizationsbroadercontributiontosocietyisintheprotectionofthelifesupportsystemsofour

planetwecannotprotectthediversityoflifeonthisplanet,includinghumanlife,withoutprotecting

theecosystemsthatsustainusall.Naturalecosystemsprovidehumanitywithcleanwater,foodandber.

Naturalresourcesderivedfromecosystemssupportmajorsectorsofoureconomy,whetherintheformof

sheriesthatsustaincoastalcommunitiesorthroughtourismeconomiesthatrelysoheavilyuponnature-

basedrecreation.Healthynaturalecosystemsperformanarrayofvaluableserviceswithsubstantial

economicvalues,includingpurifyingourwatersupplies,sequesteringcarbonandhelpingtoregulatethe

climateandhydrologiccyclesofourplanet.


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Throughitsworkonmorethan600freshwaterprojectsaroundtheworld,theConservancyhaslearned

whatittakestomakeriversandlakeshealthyandkeepthemhealthy.Theorganizationhasdeeprootsin

communitiesaroundtheworld,bringingresources,expertiseandtoolsthatempowerpeopletoprotect

watersthatsustainfamilies,livelihoodsandwaysoflife.Especiallyfortheworldspoor,partneringwith

themtopreservetheirnaturalsourcesofwater,foodandothernecessitieshelpspreservetheircultures,

theireconomicpotentialandtheirpowerofself-determination.Someofthesefreshwaterprojectsfocus

oniconicwatersthatarethelifebloodofnations,liketheGreatLakesandYangtzeRiver.Somearelesserknown,yetarehubsofinnovation,likethePenobscotRiverinMaine,whichisaprovinggroundforsolutions

thatcanaccelerateandimproveprotectionofriversandlakesaroundtheworld.

TheConservancyunderstandsthattoreachitsgoals,theorganizationmustalsoequippeoplewithbetter

waystousethewaterresourcesnaturegivesus.DoingsobenetsnotonlytheConservancysfreshwater

projects,italsocreatesaripple-effectthatbenetscountlessotherriversandlakesaroundtheworld.

Therefore,akeyaspectoftheConservancysworkisgivingleadersingovernmentandbusinesspragmatic

alternativestowastefulanddestructivewaysofusingriversandlakes.TheConservancyscommitmentto

theadvancementofwaterfootprintingsupportstheseobjectives.

Throughitsworkinwatershedsaroundtheworldandcollaborationswithgovernments,corporationsand

localcommunities,theConservancyexpectsthatby2015,itwillbringenhancedprotectionandrestorationtomorethan1.5millionkilometersofriverandimprovedwater,foodandelectricitysecuritytomorethan

200millionpeople.

1.4 THE COCA-COLA COMPANyS WATER STEWARDSHIP GOALS

WaterisakeyingredientinalloftheCompanysproducts.ItisessentialtotheCompanysoperations

andthewell-beingofthecommunitiesandecosystemswheretheCompanyoperates.Inresponsetothe

veryrealandgrowingvulnerabilityofthefreshwaterthatsustainsthebusiness,theCompanysaimisto

establishatrulywater-sustainablebusinessonaglobalscalethroughacommitmenttowaterstewardship.

TheCompanyswaterstewardshipjourneybeganwithafocusonwateruseinitsownoperations,whereithasgreaterinuence.In2005,theCompanyconductedglobalwaterriskassessmentstogainabetter

understandingofthepotentialwaterrisksfacingthebusiness,localcommunitiesandecosystems.Thisled

totheestablishmentoftheCompanyswaterstewardshipframework,whichfocusesonplantperformance,

watershedprotection,sustainablecommunitiesandraisingglobalawarenessandactionaroundwater

challenges(Fgu 1).

Riskassessmentswereupdatedin2008,andasystem-widerequirementwentintoeffectthatall

Coca-Colasystembottlingplantsevaluatethesustainabilityofthewaterresourcesusedtoproducetheir

beverages,aswellasthesustainabilityofthewaterresourcesusedbythesurroundingcommunity.These

evaluationsincludedetailedassessmentsofthevulnerabilitiesassociatedwithquantityandqualityoflocal

waterresources,andtheyresultinthedevelopmentofsourcewaterprotectionplansinpartnershipwith

civilsocietyandgovernments.Allplantsarerequiredtocompletethisprocessandbeactivelyimplementing

theirprotectionplansby2013.Thesesourcewaterprotectionplansaddresscriticalwaterchallengesata

watershedlevel,fromhydrologicalvulnerabilitiestolocalgovernmentmanagementcapacity.


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Inaddition,theCompanysetanaspirationalgoalin2007tosafelyreturntocommunitiesandnaturean

amountofwaterequivalenttowhatisusedinallofitsbeveragesandtheirproduction.Theformulation

ofthistargetcamefromdialoguewiththeinternationalwaterstakeholdercommunityandsetmetricsfor

waterstewardship.

t cp g gu w wp :

REDUCEtheCompanyswateruseratiowhilegrowingtheunitcasevolume,withatargetto

improvewaterefciencyby20%over2004levelsby2012.By2009,theCompanyhadachieveda

12.6%improvementoverthe2004baseline.6

RECyCLEthewaterusedinoperationsbyreturningtreatedprocesswatertotheenvironmentatalevelthatsupportsaquaticlifebytheendof2010.In2009,89%ofCoca-Colasystemfacilities

(approximately95%ofreportedvolume)wereincompliancewiththeCompanyswastewater

treatmentstandards.6

REPLENISHthewaterusedinnishedbeveragesbyparticipatinginlocallyrelevantprojects

thatsupportcommunitiesandnature,andmeetandmaintainthisgoalby2020.Estimatesarethat

bytheendof2009,theCompanywasreplenishingapproximately22%ofthewaterusedinits

nishedbeveragesthroughthesupportofsome250communitywaterprogramsinapproximately

70countries.6,7,8,9

TheCompany,recognizingthatwateruseinagricultureisasignicantcomponentofthewaterfootprint,

hasestablishedasustainableagricultureprogram.Thestrategyextendsbeyondwaterresourcesandconsidersenvironmentalimpacts,socialimplicationsandeconomicpressures.TheCompanysapproachto

sustainableagricultureismulti-dimensionalandfoundedonprinciplestoupholdworkplacerights,protect

theenvironmentandhelpbuildsustainablecommunities.

PLANT

PERFORMANCE

WATERSHED

PROTECTION

SUSTAINABLE

COMMUNITIES

GLOBAL

AWARENESS

AND ACTION

Figure 1. The Coca-Cola Compans Water Stewardship Framework

6SupportingdocumentscanbefoundonTheCoca-ColaCompanyswebsite:www.thecoca-colaco mpany.com/citizenship/communit y_initiativ es.html.7TheCoca-ColaCompany.2010.ReplenishReport.8LimnoTechandTheNatureConservancy.2010.QuantifyingWatershedRestorationBenetsinCommunityWaterPartnershipProjects.9GlobalEnvironment&TechnologyFoundationwithDr.AlbertWright.2009.QuantifyingWaterAccessBenetsinCommunityWaterPartnershipProjects.


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Waterfootprintassessmentscanbehelpfulinsupportingthesewaterstewardshipeffortsbyprovidinga

toolforunderstandingandmeasuringwaterusethroughouttheCoca-Colasystemsdirectoperationsandits

supplychain.TheCompanyhasbeenactivelyinvolvedintheexplorationoftheconceptofwaterfootprinting

forseveralyears,anditwasinstrumentalinformingtheWaterFootprintWorkingGroup(WFWG)that

commissionedseveralearlystudiesaddressingwaterfootprintsandwateroffsets.TheWFWGevolvedinto

theWaterFootprintNetwork(WFN)in2008,andtheCompanycontinuestobeanactivememberofandan

integralcontributortothedevelopmentprocess.TheCompanyalsoisengagedinactivitiesoftheBeverageIndustryEnvironmentalRoundtable(BIER),

acoalitionofglobalbeveragecompaniesworkingtogethertodrivecontinuousimprovementinwater

conservationandresourceprotection.TheCompanyisamemberofaworkinggroupofBIERthatis

developingsector-specicguidelinesforcalculatingthewaterfootprintofabeverageproductorenterprise.

Inaddition,TheCoca-ColaCompanybecameoneoftherstcompaniestocommittotheUnitedNations

GlobalCompactsCEOWaterMandate.Thisprogramisdesignedtohelpcompaniesbettermanagewater

useintheirdirectoperationsandthroughouttheirsupplychains.TheCompanyisanactiveparticipantin

threeworkstreamson:ResponsibleBusinessEngagementwithWaterPolicyandManagement,Waterand

HumanRights,andCorporateWaterDisclosure.

1.5 THE WATER FOOTPRINT CONCEPT

Waterfootprintingbuildsontheconceptofvirtualwater,whichreferstothewaterembeddedina

product;thatis,waterthatisconsumedindirectoperationsandthroughoutthesupplychain.Awater

footprintofaproductconsidersbothdirect(operational)andindirect(supplychain)wateruse.Italsorefers

towhereandwhenthewaterwasused.Awaterfootprinthasthreecomponents:

Thegreen water ootprintreferstoconsumptionofgreenwaterresources(rainwaterstored

inthesoilasmoisture);

Theblue water ootprintreferstoconsumptionofbluewaterresources(surfaceand

groundwater);

Thegrey water ootprintreferstopollutionandisdenedasthevolumeoffreshwaterthatis

requiredtoassimilatetheloadofpollutantsbasedonexistingambientwaterqualitystandards.

Thetermconsumptionwithrespecttogreenwaterreferstorainwaterlosttotheatmospherefromthe

landsurfacewhenitistakenupandtranspiredbyplants(evapotranspiration),plusrainwaterincorporated

intotheharvestedcrop.Thetermconsumptionwithrespecttobluewaterreferstosurfacewater

orgroundwaterthatisevapotranspired,incorporatedintoaproduct,returnedtoadifferentwatershed

orreturnedduringadifferenttimeperiod.Together,thegreenandbluewaterfootprintsmakeupthe

consumptivewaterfootprint.Thiswaterisnotavailabledownstreamforotheruses.

Greywaterresultsfromgreenorbluewaterthatisnotconsumed.Forinstance,whenrain(greenwater)

fallsonagriculturallandandthenrunsofftheeld,itmaycarryerodedsoilorchemicals,suchasfertilizers,

intoanadjacentwaterbody,therebycreatinggreywater.Whenbluewateriswithdrawnfromariver,lakeor

aquiferandusedinmanufacturingprocesses,itmaybereturnedtoawaterbodyasgreywater,containing

moreorlesspollutantsthanthewaterthatwasoriginallywithdrawn.Thecalculationofagreywater


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footprintisbasedonthequantityofwaternecessarytodiluteorassimilatepollutantsinthegreywaterto

suchadegreethatthewaterbecomessuitableasbluewaterforotherdownstreamuses.Green,blueand

greywaterfootprintsareallrepresentedaswatervolumes.

Fgu 2depictsthecomponentsofawaterfootprint.Foraproduct,thedirectwaterfootprintrefersto

waterconsumedinoperations.Indirectwaterusereferstowaterconsumedinthesupplychaintoproduce

thematerialspurchasedbytheproducer.10Bothdirectandindirectwaterfootprintsarecomprisedofgreen,

blueandgreywaterfootprints.Waterfootprintaccountingdiffersfromthetraditionalstatisticsonwateruse,whichaccountonlyfordirectbluewaterwithdrawalsand/ornon-consumptivewateruse(returnow).

TheWaterFootprintNetworkhasdevelopedmethodsforcalculatingwaterfootprints,andithasbegun

toformulateapproachesforassessingtheirpotentialimpactsanddesigningresponsestrategies.These

methodsaredocumentedintheWater Footprint Manual.Asdescribedinthemanualandshownin

Fgu 3,awaterfootprintassessmentisconductedthroughfourphases.

Duringtherstphase,thescopeoftheassessmentisdenedbasedongoalsandobjectives.WaterfootprintaccountingisconductedduringPhase2.Thesustainability11ofthewaterfootprintisevaluated

duringPhase3,andresponseactionstomitigateimpactsareformulatedduringPhase4.

ThreewaterfootprintassessmentpilotstudiesfortheCoca-Colasystemsproductsaredescribedinthe

followingsection.

WaterConsumption

WaterPollution

DIRECTWATER

FOOTPRINT

INDIRECTWATER

FOOTPRINT

GREEN WATER

FOOTPRINT

GREEN WATER

FOOTPRINT

BLUE WATER

FOOTPRINT

BLUE WATER

FOOTPRINT

GREY WATER

FOOTPRINT

GREY WATER

FOOTPRINT

Non-consumptivewater use (return flow)

Water Withdrawal

Figure 2. Components o a Water Footprintsu: Water Footprint Manual(2009)

Figure 3. Phases o a Water Footprint Assessmentsu: Water Footprint Manual(2009)

sg g

p

W

fp

ug

Wfp

u

W

fp

p

fu

10Theendusewaterfootprint,waterusedbyaretailerand/orconsumer,mayalsoberelevanttosomeproductwaterfootprints(e.g.,soaps,detergents).11ThisphasewasnamedImpactsAssessmentatthetimeofthethreepilotstudiesdiscussedinSection2.


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JacquesCousteau


19/48

Thethreepilotstudiesdescribedinthissectionwereconductedfrom2008to2010followingthe

methodologyoftheWaterFootprintNetwork.Thestudieswereundertakenearlyinthewaterfootprint

developmentprocesswiththeintenttotestthemethodology,informthescienceandhelpincrease

understandingofthewaterfootprintconcept.

TherstwaterfootprintassessmentfocusedontheCompanysmostpopularsparklingbeverage,Coca-Cola.

Akeyndingofthisstudywasthatthewaterfootprintofsugarisasignicantcomponentofthetotalwater

footprint.Basedonthisresult,thesecondstudyexaminedthewaterfootprintofrenedsugarfromsugarbeetssuppliedtotheCoca-ColasystemsEuropeanbottlingplants.Thethirdpilotstudyexploredthewater

footprintoftwoorangejuiceproductsproducedfortheNorthAmericanmarkettobetterunderstandwater

usethroughoutthesupplychainforanon-sparklingbeverage.

2.1 WATER FOOTPRINT OF 0.5 LITER COCA-COLA IN PET BOTTLE

AlogicalchoicefortherstwaterfootprintassessmentwastheCompanyssignaturedrink,Coca-Cola.

ThestudywasconductedbyresearchersattheUniversityofTwenteintheNetherlandsincollaboration

withCoca-ColaEnterprisesInc.(CCE)andCoca-ColaEurope.Theproductselectedforstudywasa0.5liter

PET-bottleofCoca-ColaproducedatCCEsDongenbottlingplantintheNetherlands.Thespecicproductselectedforthispilotstudywasdrivenbytheresearchersproximitytoandfamiliaritywiththelocal

industriesandthesupportofthelocalbottlerandbusinessunit.

Water Footprint Accounting

AwaterfootprintofCoca-Colaisthesumofindirectwateruseinthesupplychainplusdirectoperational

wateruse(Fgu 4).

Indirect WaterUse in theSupply Chain

Direct OperationalWater Use Water Footprint

Bottling Plant

Ingredients

Packaging

PET Bottle,Closure, Label,

Tray Carton, TrayShrink Film,

Pallet StretchWrap, Pallet

Beet Sugar,

Phosphoric Acid,Caramel,

Caffeine, C02

Cleaning, Mixing,Blending, Filling

Figure 4.Indirect and Direct Water Footprint Components

2.

0

PILOTSTUDIES


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Theaccountingprocessbeganwithwaterusedinthesupplychaintoproduceingredientsandother

components(e.g.,bottles,labels,packingmaterials).Ingredientsincludesugarmadefromsugarbeetsgrown

intheNetherlands,carbondioxide(CO 2),caramel,phosphoricacidandcaffeine.Thenamesandquantitiesof

ingredientsinnaturalavoringsaretradesecretsandwerenotincludedintheassessment,buttheabsence

ofthesedatashouldnotimpactthecasestudyorrelatedconclusionsbecausethewaterfootprintsassociated

withsuchnaturalavoringarenotexpectedtobematerialinnature.12Thesupplychainwaterfootprintalso

includesoverhead,whichaccountsforwaterusedtoproducetheenergythatpowerstheplants,buildingmaterials,ofcepaper,vehicles,fuelandotheritemsnotdirectlyrelatedtooperations.

Waterusedinoperationsconsistsofthewaterincorporatedintotheproductasaningredientandwater

usedinproductionprocesses.ThroughouttheCoca-Colasystem,theprocesswateristreatedtorigorous

standardsbeforeitisreusedinsideaplantorreturnedtocommunitiesandnature.

Theestimatesarethatthegreenwaterfootprintofthe0.5literCoca-Colabeverageis15liters,theblue

waterfootprintis8litersandthegreywaterfootprintis12liters.Thegreenandblue(consumptive)water

footprintsareprimarilyassociatedwithsugarbeetproduction.Thesugarbeetsarelargelyrainfed(green),

andsomeexternal(blue)watersupplyisrequiredforirrigation.Theblueplusgreenwaterfootprintsfor

DutchsugarbeetsfromdifferentregionsareshowninFgu 5.Greenwatermakesupapproximatelytwo-

thirdsoftheconsumptivewaterfootprint.

Noordelijke klei

Noordelijk dal/veen

Gelderland

Limburg

Oost-BrabantWest-Brabant

Zeeuws-Vlaanderen

Zeeuwse-Eilanden

Noord en Zuid-Holland

Oost en Zuid Flevoland

Noordoostpolder

Noordelijk zand

1531

1429

1530

1533

17

3812

23

1323

11

19

1119

818

816

510

Figure 5.Consumptive Water Footprints or Dutch Sugar Beets

12NaturalavoringsreportedinarecentreporttitledAPilotinCorporateWaterFootprintAccountingandImpactAssessment:TheWaterFootprintofaSugar-ContainingCarbonatedBeverage(Ercin,etal.2009.UNESCO-IHEInstituteforWaterEducation,ValueofWaterResearchReportSeriesNo.39)arenotbasedonappropriateassumptionsforCoca-Cola.


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Thegreywaterfootprintisassociatedwiththesupplychain.Aportionofthenitrogenappliedasfertilizer

tothesugarbeeteldsisreleasedtoreceivingwaters.CoolingwaterassociatedwithPETbottleproduction

resultsinathermalload,whichisconsideredinthegreywatercomponent.

Theoperationalwaterfootprint(0.4liters)isentirelybluewater,representingwateraddedasaningredient.

Theoverheadwaterfootprintassociatedwithoperations(waterusedfordomesticpurposesintheDongen

plant)wasdeterminedtobezerobecauseallwastewateristreatedinapublicwastewatertreatmentplant

andreturnedtotheenvironment.13Thesupplychainoverheadwaterfootprintwasalsocalculatedandfoundtobenegligible.Theoverallresults,includingallcomponents,areshowninFgu 6.14

Impacts Assessment

Toassesspotentialimpactsfromthesewaterfootprints,theresearchersfocusedonthelargestcomponent:

sugarbeetsgrownintheNetherlands.Dutchsugarbeetsaregrowninaregionofrelativewaterabundance,

andthecropsareprimarilyrain-fed.Theneedforexternalwatersupplyislow,sotheuseofbluewateris

minimal.Forthesereasons,thereappearstobenosignicantadverseimpactsofgreenandbluewateruse

associatedwithsugarbeets.

13Thegreywaterfootprintmethodologyisevolving;theseresultsreecttheapproachatthetimeofthisstudy.14Asubsequentmoredetailedstudyofthesugarbeetwaterfootprint(describedinsection2.2ofthisreport)indicatesthatinfactthebluewaterfootprintismuchsmaller,reectingactuallowirrigationwateruseintheNetherlands.

Figure 6.Water Footprint o a 0.5 liter o Coca-Cola in Dongen, the Netherlands

Packaging(7 Liters)

Ingredients(28 Liters)

Supply ChainWater Footprint

OperationalWater Footprint

TotalWater Footprint

Blue | 100%

Grey | 83%

Green | 13%Blue | 4%

Grey | 20%

Blue | 28%Green | 52%

Grey | 34%

Blue | 23%

Green | 43%

(12 Liters)

(15 Liters)

(8 Liters)(0.4 Liters)


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Intermsofgreywater,iftheappliedratesofnutrientsarehigherthantheuptakeofthecrop,excess

fertilizerscanrunoffandleadtoeutrophication,theenrichmentofsurfacewaterswithnutrientsthat

promoteexcessivegrowthofalgae.Potentialconsequencesincludeshkillsanddegradationofthewater

qualityofrecreationalsurfacewaterssuchasswimmingareas.Nitrateleachingfromfarmlandcanalso

contaminatedrinkingwatersupplies.TheaveragefertilizerapplicationrateintheNetherlandsisoneof

thelowestamongtheEuropeansugarbeetproducingcountries15,andthegovernmentregulatesfertilizer

application16,minimizingtheriskofexcessiveapplication.Nevertheless,accordingtotheNetherlands

EnvironmentalAssessmentAgency17,eutrophicationisaconcernintheNetherlands.Theimpacts

assessmentindicatedthattheremaybeaneedtoengagewithgovernmentsandotherstakeholderstodiscussbettermanagementmeasurestoaddressthisissue.

What was learned rom the Coca-Cola water ootprint study?

More than two-thirds o the total water ootprint o a 0.5 liter PET bottle

o Coca-Cola rom the Netherlands comes rom blue and green water used

in the supply chain to grow sugar beets.Nearlyhalfofthetotalwaterfootprintis

rainwater(green)usedbysugarbeetsinthiswater-richtemperateclimate.Bluewateraccountsfor

approximatelyone-quarterofthetotalwaterfootprint.18

Approximately one-third o the total water ootprint is grey water

associated with the supply chain.Somenitrogenassociatedwithfertilizerusedonsugarbeeteldsisreleasedtotheenvironment.Thegreywaterfootprintalsoisassociatedwithcooling

waterforPETproduction,whichresultsinathermalload.

15FAO(FoodandAgricultureOrganization).2008.FERTISTATDatabase-Fertilizerusebycropstatisticsdatabase.16InternationalInstituteforBeetResearch(IIRB).2004.SugarbeetinEurope:Anenvironmentallyfriendlycropforsustainableplantproductionsystems.17NetherlandsEnvironmentalAssessmentAgency.2008.EnvironmentalPressureintheNetherlands,EutrophicationTheme:IntroductionandPolicy.18Asubsequent,moredetailedstudyofthesugarbeetwaterfootprint(describedinsection2.2ofthisreport)indicatesthatinfact,thebluewaterfootprintismuchsmaller,reectingactuallowirrigationwateruseintheNetherlands.


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The operational water ootprint comprises only about 1% o the total

water ootprint. Theoperationalwaterfootprintisallblueandrepresentswateraddedas

aningredient.Theoperationalgreywaterfootprintiszero,becausethewastewateristreated

tomeetorexceedwastewatertreatmentstandards.UnderTheCoca-ColaCompanysRecycle

commitment,allplantswillattainlocalandtheCompanysrigorousglobaltreatmentstandards.

The overhead water ootprint or the products evaluated is negligible.This

wasoneoftherststudiestoquantifytheoverheadwaterfootprintofaproduct.Priortothestudy,therewasrecognitionthattheoverheadcomponentisapartoftheoverallwaterfootprintofa

product,butitwasunclearhowrelevantitwas.

What are the implications or the Coca-Cola system?

The results o this pilot study suggest that a closer look at the water

ootprints o sugar produced rom sugar beets, as well as other sweeteners

supplied to the Coca-Cola system across Europe, is warranted. Thesugar

beetpilotstudydescribedinthefollowingsectionwasconductedwiththeintenttoincrease

understandingofwateruseassociatedwithsugarbeetsproducedinEurope.

This study highlighted the need to look at the components o waterootprints separately, because an aggregated number can hide the

importance o reducing the direct water ootprint.TheCoca-Colasystemwill

continuetofocusonimprovingwaterefciencyandensuringthatallprocesswateristreatedto

rigorouswastewatertreatmentstandardswithindirectoperations.Theseactionshaveapositive

impactonthewaterfootprint.

Beyond sugar beets, the Company has established a sustainable agriculture

program.Thispilotstudyreafrmedtheimportanceofincludingagriculturalingredientsina

waterfootprint.TheCompanyisactivelyengagedwithWorldWildlifeFund(WWF)andothersin

theBetterSugarcaneInitiative(BSI),amulti-stakeholderinitiativeworkingtodevelopacertication

forsustainablysourcedsugarcane.

2.2 WATER FOOTPRINT OF BEET SUGAR SUPPLIED TO THE COCA-COLA SySTEMSEUROPEAN BOTTLING PLANTS

Basedontheresultsoftherstwaterfootprintassessmentofa0.5literPETbottleofCoca-Colainthe

Netherlands,Coca-ColaEuropewasinterestedinexaminingthewaterfootprintandassociatedimpactsfor

naturalsweetenerssuppliedtoits112Europeanbottlingplants.Thisongoinganalysisisbeingconducted

bydenkstattincooperationwiththeInstituteforWaterQuality,ResourcesandWasteManagementatthe

ViennaUniversityofTechnology.

Todate,thewaterfootprintaccountingforsugarbeetshasbeencompleted.Workonsugarcaneandhighfructosecornsyrup(HFCS)isunderway.Approximately70%ofrenedsugarpurchasedfortheCoca-Cola

systeminEuropeisfromsugarbeetsgrownin19Europeancountries.


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Water Footprint Accounting

Allrelevantactivitiesthatusewaterintheproductionofbeetsugarwereaddressedintheaccounting

process,asshowninFgu 7.Rawbeetsareprocessedatsugarbeetreningfactoriesintoseveral

products,includingbeetpulp,molassesandsucrose.

ThemethodologyoutlinedintheWater Footprint Manualwasfollowedwithsomemodications.In

particular,thebluewaterfootprintwascalculatednotasthedifferencebetweenthecropwaterrequirement

(CWR)andgreenwater,butratherthroughsite-specicdataprovidedbythesugarcompanies.Theresults

indicatethatlesswaterisactuallyappliedforirrigationthanprojected,andingconsistentwithirrigation

strategiesfocusedonmaintainingconsistentharvestsratherthanmaximumyields.

Thegreywaterfootprintforsugar

beetswascalculatedbasedon

thepollutantloaddividedbythe

maximumacceptableconcentration

fornitrogen,consideredanindicator

oftheimpactoffertilizeronwater

quality.19Itwasassumedthat10%

oftheappliednitrogenfertilizer

leachestogroundwater.Theamount

ofdilutionwaterwascalculated

usingthewaterstandardoftheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)

fornitrogen(10mg/liter)20,whichis

wellwithintherangeofacceptable

ground/drinkingwaterrequirements

19Aldaya,M.M.andA.Y.Hoekstra.2010.TheWaterNeededtoHaveItaliansEatPastaandPizza.AgriculturalSystems.103:351-360.20NationalPrimaryDrinkingWaterRegulations.CodeofFederalRegulations(CFR)Title40;Part141.

Cultivation of main rawmaterials (sugar beet)

Transport of main rawmaterials to the sugar plant

Sugar production

Transport of sugar toCoca-Cola system bottling plants

Figure 7.Beet Sugar Water Footprint Calculation Stages


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forEuropeminusanassumednaturalbackgroundconcentration.Forsugarreneries,EuropeanUnion

BestAvailableTechnique(BAT)emissionvaluesforthefoodindustry 21wereusedtocomputethegrey

waterfootprint.

TheaveragegreenwaterfootprintforsugarfromsugarbeetsacrossallregionsofEuropeisestimatedto

be375liters/kgsugar,or67%ofthetotalwaterfootprint.Theaveragebluewaterfootprintis54liters/kg,

or10%ofthetotal.Theaveragegreywaterfootprintis128liters/kg,comprising23%ofthetotalwater

footprint.Themagnitudeandcolorcompositionofthewaterfootprintdependsonthesourcingregion,

asshowninFgu 8.Theresultsinthegureareclusteredaccordingtoclimate.Theamountofwater

requiredbysugarbeetsishighestinGreece,Romania,ItalyandSpain.Threeofthesecountrieshavesignicantlylargerbluewaterfootprints(associatedwithirrigation)thantheothergrowingregions.

Thisstudyalsoevaluatedthewaterconsequencesofusingthelandforagriculturalpurposesascompared

tonaturalforest.Thiscaninformtheimpactsassessment,becauseitprovidesinformationonthe

evapotranspirationdemandfromnativevegetationifthesugarbeetcropswerenotcultivated.Thenatural

vegetationaroundthesugarproductionareasismostlyforest,buttheresearchersdeterminedthatthe

standardapproachforwaterfootprintcalculations(Penman-Monteith 22)isnotsuitableforforestsbecause

transpirationandinterceptionevaporationcannotbedenedappropriately.Inordertoconductthecalculation,

thestandardgrasssurface 23wasusedasareferenceratherthanthenaturalvegetation.Thisisaconservative

assumption,becausethewaterdemandforforestsishigherthanforgrasslands.Theresultssuggestthatuse

ofthelandforgrowingsugarbeetsconsumeslesswaterthanwouldbeconsumedbynaturalvegetation.

ThewaterfootprintofsugarfrombeetsgrownintheNetherlands(incombinationwithBelgiumandthe

UK)isapproximately12%lowerthantheestimatemadefortheCoca-Colawaterfootprintstudy.Thelarger

estimateassumesthatthedifferencebetweencropwaterrequirementandavailabilityofgreenwateris

coveredbyirrigation(bluewater).Instead,theinputsusedforthesugarstudyarebasedonactualirrigation

L

iters/Kg

Sugar

1 ,200

1 ,000

80 0

60 0

40 0

20 0

0

Austr

ia,Hu

ngary

Serbi

a

Roma

niaPo

land

Czech

Repub

lic,Lit

huania

Greece

France

Finlan

d,Swe

denSpain Ita

ly

Denm

ark

Switze

rland,

Germ

any

Belgiu

m,Ne

therla

nds,Unite

dKing

dom

= Transport/Energy = Grey Water = Blue Water = Green Water

Figure 8.Water Footprints o Beet Sugar Across Growing Regions

21EuropeanCommission.2006.IntegratedPollutionPreventionandControl:ReferenceDocumentonBestAvailableTechniquesintheFood,DrinkandMilkIndustries.22Allen,R.G.,L.S.Pereira,etal.1998.Cropevapotranspiration-Guidelinesforcomputingcropwaterrequirements.FAOIrrigationanddrainagepaper56.23Ibid.


26/488

dataobtainedfromthesugarindustry,whichindicatedthatalmostnobluewaterisusedtoproducebeet

sugarintheNetherlands.Thebluewatercomponentwasfoundtocompriselessthan1%ofthetotalwater

footprintofDutchsugarbeets,comparedtothe28%estimatefromtheCoca-Colastudy.

Whenthelowerestimatesfromthebeetsugarstudyareusedtocomputethewaterfootprintofa0.5liter

PETbottleofCoca-ColaproducedintheNetherlands,thebluewaterfootprintdecreasesfrom8litersto

1liter,andthetotalwaterfootprintdecreasesby9%.Theseresultshighlighttheimportanceofobtaining

site-specicdatawherepossible.AsFigure8indicates,thewaterfootprintofthisproductwillbehighlydependentonthelocationwherethesugarissourced.

Uncertaint Assessment

Thispilotstudyidentiedachallengeassociatedwithgreywaterfromsugarreneries:apartfroma

standardfornitrogen,thereisnocommonreceivingwaterstandardforthebeet-growingcountriesin

Europe.Theresearchersexploredthesensitivityofthegreywaterfootprintcalculationbasedonthree

differentwaterqualitystandards.Thisexerciseshowedthatthetypeoftreatmenthasasignicantimpact

onthegreywaterfootprint,asexpected.Forsugarfactorieswithlowlevelsoftreatment(i.e.,mechanical

ornotreatment),thechoiceofstandardwasfoundtohaveaverysignicantinuenceontheresult.For

sugarplantswithadequatetreatment,thechoiceofstandardwasfoundtohavelesserinuenceonthe

greywaterfootprint.Thisexercisedemonstratesthesensitivityofthegreywaterfootprintcalculationtothe

choiceofstandard.

Wh did the water ootprint o Coca-Cola decrease?

ThewaterfootprintofCoca-ColadescribedinSection2.1wasrecalculatedbasedontherened

waterfootprintestimatesfromthesugarbeetpilotstudy.Theresultingtotalwaterfootprintwas

foundtobesmallerthantheoriginalestimate,andtheblue(irrigation)waterfootprintdecreased

signicantly.Thedifferenceisduetotherobustnessoftheinputs.Forthesugarbeetwaterfootprint

study,completedquestionnaireswerereceivedfrom65Europeansugarplantsthatsupplythe

Coca-Colasystem.Questionnairesrequesteddetailedinformationonsugarbeetcultivationand

sugarfactoryoperations.Incontrast,theoriginalestimateswerebasedonpublicdatasets,andit

wasassumedthatthedifferencebetweenthecropwaterrequirementandtheavailabilityofgreen

waterwascoveredbyirrigation(bluewater).Themorerobustdatasetindicatedthatisnotthecaseand

thatlessirrigationwaterisactuallyapplied.

-9%


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What was learned rom the beet sugar water ootprint study?

The water ootprint associated with beet cultivation is the largest

component o the total water ootprint o beet sugar. Onaverageacrossthe

growingregions,thewaterfootprintofthebeetcropsmakesup97%ofthetotalwaterfootprintof

beetsugar.

European sugar beets are generally grown in water-rich temperate climates

using mainly green water.MostEUcountriesuseverylittleirrigation(blue)watertogrow

sugarbeets,withsomenotedexceptionsintheMediterraneanregion.

Dierences in the consumptive (green plus blue) water ootprint between

countries can be more than three-old.Thetotalconsumptivewaterfootprintsrange

from279liters/kg(France)to974liters/kg(Greece).Thecountrieswiththelargestconsumptive

waterfootprinthavehighevapotranspirationratesand/orlowyields.

Grey water ootprints in the sugar beet supply chain come mainly rom

the feld, not the actory.However,sugarplantsinsomecountrieshavelargegreywater

footprintsduetolowlevelsofwastewatertreatment.Almostthree-quartersofthewaterfootprint

forsugarfactoriesisgrey. The use o supplier-based data provides a more realistic picture o water

use in the supply chain compared to ootprints based on public data. Public

dataarebasedonassumptions,whereassupplierdataarebasedonactualperformance.Actual

cropmanagementpracticesforsugarbeetsgrowninEuropeutilizedlessirrigationwaterthan

indicatedbypublicdata.Thisisbecauseperiodsofsoilmoisturedecitduringthelastmonthsof

growthareallowedinordertooptimizeyields.

In the cultivation areas, natural vegetation uses as much as or more green

water than sugar beets.Thereplacementofnaturalvegetationwithsugarbeetcrops

appearstoresultinlowerwaterconsumption.

What are the implications or the Coca-Cola system?

Sugar beets grown in the Netherlands are a water-efcient crop.

Thislocalsourceisgrowninawater-richtemperateclimateusingmainlygreenwater.

There is a wide variation in the water ootprint o sugar beets grown in

dierent regions.Theremaybeopportunitiesinsomegrowingregionsforbetteruseofwater

resourcesassociatedwithwatersupplyforbeetcultivation.Theanalysisalsohighlightspotential

opportunitiestoaddresspoorwastewatertreatmentandassociatedwaterqualityproblemsfor

somesugarprocessingplants.

The fndings o this pilot study helped defne uture actions related to

supply chain sustainability.TheCompanyhasnowinitiatedfurtherworkinEuropeto

trialawaterfootprintsustainabilityassessmentcoveringenvironmental,socialandeconomic

impactsforrenedsugarmadefromsugarbeets.TheCompanyisengagingwithselected

Europeanstakeholders,includingbeetsugarsuppliers,forconsultationandadviceduring

theproject.


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2.3 WATER FOOTPRINT OF ORANGE JUICE PRODUCTS

TheCoca-ColaCompanyistheworldslargestproducerofjuiceandjuicedrinks,with100brandsof

juiceand1,100juiceproductssoldin145countries.Havingrecentlycompletedawaterfootprintofthe

Companyssignaturesparklingbeverage(Coca-Cola)andawaterfootprintofakeysweetener(sugarbeets),

theCompanyalsowantedtoexplorethewaterfootprintofajuicebeverage.Twoorangejuiceproducts

producedfortheNorthAmericanmarketwereselectedforthewaterfootprintpilotstudy:

SimplyOrange(notfromconcentrate)in59oz.PETcarafe

MinuteMaidOriginal(reconstitutedfromconcentrate)in64oz.ber-basedboardgable-topcarton

Thecalculationsconsiderallwaterconsumedingrowingorangesandwaterconsumedinprocessingand

packagingthenalorangejuiceproducts(Fgu 9).TheorangesforSimplyOrangearegrowninFlorida

andthestateofSaoPaulo,Brazil.TheorangesforMinuteMaidOriginalaregrownprimarilyinFloridaand

CostaRica.Theprocessingoforangesintojuiceorconcentrateoccursintheregionswheretheorangesare

grown.Thepercentoforangessourcedfromeachregionvariesbyyear,anddifferentsourcingscenarios

wereevaluatedtoreectthisvariability.BothproductsarepackagedintheU.S.atmultiplelocations.Data

werenotavailableforwateruseassociatedwithmanufacturingofthepackagingmaterialsinthesupply

chain,soonlyoperationalwaterusewasaccountedforinthepackagingplants.Admittedly,thesemissingdatamayormaynotmateriallyimpactthecasestudyortherelatedconclusions,sofuturefollow-upto

includeandreectsuchdataiswarranted.

Water Footprint AccountingWaterfootprintswerecalculatedaccordingtotheaccountingmethodoutlinedintheWater Footprint

Manualandbasedonavailableinformation.PublicdatawereusedforBrazilandtollotherdatagaps

wheresupplierdatawerenotavailable.

Thewaterfootprintassociatedwithorangegrowingmakesupapproximately99%ofthetotalwater

footprintforbothproducts,andtheremainderisassociatedwithprocessingandpackaging.Thegreen,blue

andgreywatercomponentsforeachproductareshowninFgu 10.

Indirect WaterUse in the

Supply ChainDirect Operational

Water Use Water Footprint

PackagingPlant

Ingredients

Packaging

Container (PETbottle or fiber-

based boardgable top carton),

closure, label,

packagingmaterials to ship

products

Oranges andprocessing

of frozenconcentratedand not-from-

concentratejuice

Cleaning, Blending,

Filling

Figure 9.Indirect and Direct Water Footprint Components


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MostoftheorangesaresourcedfromFlorida,sotherelativeproportionsofgreen,blueandgreywater

footprintsforeachproductshowninFigure10aresimilar.Thewaterfootprintoforangesvariesacross

growingregions,asshowninFgu 11.Basedonthisanalysis,thetotalwaterfootprintappearstobe

largestinBrazil.However,consideringonlythetotalwaterfootprintcanbemisleading.Theresultsshow

thatintermsofconsumptivewateruse(greenplusbluewater),Floridahasthelargestwaterfootprint.Most

importantly,FloridahasasignicantlylargerbluewaterfootprintthanBrazilandCostaRica.Thisisbecause

thecalculatedcropwaterrequirementsaresubstantiallygreaterforFloridacomparedtoCostaRicaand

Brazil.ThesedifferencesreectthehigherevapotranspirationratesinFloridaandexplainwhyirrigationisa

necessityinmostFloridagroves.

Asecondandimportantreasonforthedifferencesinconsumptivewaterfootprintrelatestothevariance

incropyieldsbetweengrowingregions.AveragecropyieldsforFloridaare18%greaterthanCostaRica

and86%greaterthancropyieldsinBrazil.Therecanbemanyreasonsfortheseloweryields,including

disease,lackofirrigationand/orfertilization,soilconditions,speciesoforangesandlengthofthegrowing

season.Cropyieldswereidentiedasanareaofuncertaintyintheanalysis,andtheseresultsillustratewhy

accuratecropyieldinformationiscriticaltocalculatingwaterfootprints.

Grey | 16%

Blue | 24%

Green | 60%

Grey | 18%

Blue | 20%

Green | 62%

Simply OrangeFlorida

Simply OrangeFlorida and Brazil

Minute Maid OriginalFlorida and Costa Rica

Grey | 16%

Blue | 22%

Green | 62%

(100 Liters)

(386 Liters)

(154 Liters)

(117 Liters)

(407 Liters)

(127 Liters)

(84 Liters)

(319 Liters)

(115 Liters)

Figure 10.Water Footprint or a Liter o Orange Juice Product

CubicMetersP

erTon

50 0

45 0

40 0

35 0

30 0

25 0

20 0

15 0

10 0

50

0

= Grey Water = Blue Water = Green Water

Florida Brazil Costa Rica

Figure 11.Water Footprints or the Three Growing Regions


30/4822

Thegreywaterfootprintforgrowingorangesrelatestofertilizerapplicationandassociatedexcessnutrients

reachingsurfacewaterorgroundwatersupplies.Nitrogenwasconsideredthemostcriticalpollutant.

PollutantloadinformationwasavailableforFloridaorangegroves,andsimilarratesoffertilizerapplication

wereassumedforBrazilandCostaRicainordertoestimatethegreywaterfootprintforallregions.Inthe

absenceofsite-specicinformationforleachingratesandpollutantloadsinrunoff,a10%leachingratewasassumedforalllocations,asrecommendedintheWater Footprint Manual.Themagnitudeofthegrey

waterfootprintisstronglyinuencedbythecropyieldsthatwereassumedfortheanalysis.Thelargergrey

waterfootprintshownforBrazilisadirectfunctionoftheloweryieldsusedforBrazil,comparedtoyields

usedforFloridaandCostaRica.

Impacts Assessment

ThiswaterfootprintpilotdifferedfromtheothertwostudiesinthattheCompanysorangejuiceproducts

havelargeandcomplexsupplychains.Theorangegrovesandprocessingplantsarespreadacrossvast

areasinnumerouswatershedsofthreecountries.Forthisreason,therewasaneedforascreeningtoolto

helpfocustheimpactsassessmentonprioritywatersheds,andtheutilityofwaterstressindicesforthis

purposewasexploredaspartofthestudy.

Avarietyofwaterstressindiceshavebeenusedtoreectthescarcityofwaterinaregion,basedonvarious

metricsthatcanbecalculatedindifferentways.Theycanbeusedasindicatorsoflocationswhereacloser

lookmaybewarranted.Theindicesarebasedonfactorssuchaspopulationandtotalrunoff,volumeof

waterwithdrawals,andvariationinprecipitation.

Waterstressindiceswerecalculatedforthethreecitrusgrowingregions,becauseitwasdeterminedduring

theaccountingphasethatthelargestwaterfootprintisassociatedwiththeorangegroves.Theresults

suggestedthatthegreenandbluewaterfootprintimpactsarepotentiallymostsignicantforgrowing

orangesinFlorida.However,theseindicesareonlyindicativeofpotentialimpacts.Amoredetailedanalysis

revealedthat,ingeneral,wateruseassociatedwithcitrusgrowinginFloridaismanagedthroughtheWaterManagementDistrictsstrongenvironmentalowandwaterqualityprotectionprograms,andthereislittle

evidenceofsignicanthydrologicimpactfromcitrusgrowinginFlorida.Thewaterstressindicesthatwere

evaluateddonotrecognizethesewaterresourcemanagementmeasures,whicharedesignedtoprotect

waterquantityandwaterquality.However,waterstress,climatefactorsanddevelopmentpressuresarean

ongoingconcerninFlorida.Policyandregulatoryengagementwillbeimportanttoensurethesustainability

ofthewaterresource.


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Uncertaint Assessment

Conductingwaterfootprintassessmentsforproductswithcomplexsupplychainsrequiressignicant

data.Inordertofocuseffortsonthekeydatarequirements,anuncertaintyassessmentwasconducted

tohighlightthosefactorsthathavethegreatestinuenceonthewaterfootprint.Bycalculatingwater

footprintsoverarangeofreasonablevariabilityforselectedinputparameters,theuncertaintyininput

parametersthatmattermosttothecalculationresultscanbeidentied.Theuncertaintyassessmentcan

helpinunderstandingwhatthenumbersmeanandhowrobusttheyare,focusingfuturedatacollectionandmanagementeffortsonthosefactorsthathavethegreatestinuenceonthewaterfootprints.

Twoinputparameterswereidentiedthatsignicantlyaffecttheoverallmagnitudeofthewaterfootprints

oforangejuice,bothrelatedtothesourcecrops:cropyieldsandparametersforgreywaterassociatedwith

growingtheoranges.

What was learned rom the orange juice water ootprint study?

Approximately 99% o the total water ootprint or both orange juice

products is associated with orange growing.TheCoca-Colasystemspackaging

operationscontributeinsignicantly(


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AmericanIndianProverb


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Thethreepilotstudiesdescribedintheprevioussectionprovideinsightintoseveralimportanttopics

relatedtowaterfootprinting.Theprimarylessonslearnedandobservationsarediscussedbelow,organized

accordingtothefourphasesofawaterfootprintassessment.

3.1 SETTING GOALS AND SCOPE

Waterfootprintstudiescanbetimeconsumingandresourceintensive,andbeforeembarkingonastudy,itisimportanttobeclearaboutthegoalsofthestudy.TheCompanyinvestedinwaterfootprintpilotstudies

formultiplereasons.Broadlyspeaking,theCompanywasinterestedingainingabetterunderstandingofthe

methodologyandhowitmightsupportitsaimtoestablishatrulywater-sustainablebusinessonaglobal

scale.TogetherwithTheNatureConservancy,therewasinterestinexploringtheutilityandpracticalityof

themethodologyforunderstandingwaterusethroughoutthevaluechainandtheimpactsthatusemayhave

onlocalwatersheds.Italsowasanticipatedthattheknowledgegainedthroughwaterfootprintpilotsmight

identifylocationswhereresponseeffortsshouldbedirectedatmoresustainableagriculturalpractices.The

potentialvalueofwaterfootprintingasanexternalcommunicationtoolwasalsoofinterest.Finally,The

NatureConservancyandtheCompanyhopethattheoutcomesofthepilotstudieswillcontributetogreater

understandingofthewaterfootprintassessmentmethodology.

Twoperspectivesrelatedtothesegoalsweregainedthroughthepilotstudies,asdiscussedinthefollowing

sections:

Waterfootprintassessmentscanimproveinternalunderstandingofwateruse.

Externalengagementandcommunicationsaboutwaterusecanbeinformedbywaterfootprintanalysis.

Water ootprint assessments can improve internal understanding o water use.

Theknowledgegainedthroughthethreepilotstudiesprovidesvaluableinsightintothelargestcomponents

ofwaterconsumptionintheproductionoftheproductsselectedforstudy.Theassessmentresults

demonstratethatfocusingonoperationalwateruseisimportant,butitprovidesanincompletepictureofaproductsfullwateruseandimpact.Itisimportanttoaddressfreshwaterusethroughoutthesupplychain.

Waterfootprintaccountingcanprovideusefulknowledgeandinsightsaboutwateruseandthegreen,blue

andgreycomponents.Theresultscanalsobeusedtohelpdirectacompanyseffortstoencourageimproved

waterstewardshipinthesupplychain.Forexample,thesugarbeetpilotstudyindicatedthatsomesugar

processingplantshavelargegreywaterfootprintsduetolowlevelsoftreatment,highlightingapotential

areaforfutureengagementwithsuppliers.Theassessmentalsocanhelpidentifytheneedformore

sustainableagriculturalpracticesrelatedtowaterusebyprovidinginformationonwherethemostwateris

usedandwheretheremaybethegreatestpotentialforadverseimpactsonwaterresources.

Waterfootprintingisahelpfultooltobegintoidentifypotentialwater-relatedissuesandrisks.Toreally

gainanunderstandingofwhetherwateruseishavinganimpact,thevolumeofwaterconsumptionmust

beplacedinthecontextofthelocalwatershed,andthecumulativeeffectofallusesofthesharedwater

resourceneedstobeconsidered.Thestateofthescienceatthepresenttimeisstillinsufcienttoaddress

thefullarrayofwater-relatedimpacts,butthewaterfootprintmethodologyisexpandingtoincludeamore

robustimpactsassessment.

3.

0

PERS

PECTIVES


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TheCompanyreliesonitsriskassessmentprogramtounderstandandmanagewater-relatedissuesand

risksforitsdirectoperations.TheriskassessmentprogramhasbeeninstrumentalinshapingtheCompanys

waterstewardshipframework,whichincludesrequirementsforthedevelopmentofSourceVulnerability

AssessmentsandSourceWaterProtectionPlansforallbottlingfacilities.

External engagement and communications about water use can be inormed by water

ootprint analysis.

Discussionsaroundwaterareevolvingrapidlyacrossmanyaudiences,includingpolicymakers,corporate

investorsandshareholders,NGOs,communitiesandothers.Waterisacomplexresourcetounderstandand

manage,andwaterimpactsdifferfundamentallyfromcarbonemissions,wherelocalreleasescanhaveglobal

impacts.Whentalkingaboutawaterfootprint,itisimportanttorecognizethattherearevariedapplications

ofitsuseandtobeclearaboutthetypeofwaterfootprintinvolved,aswellastheneedsoftheaudience.

Thevalueofproductwaterfootprintingisitsabilitytoexaminedisaggregatedwaterusebycomponent;

thatis,bysupplychainandoperationaluse,andbygreen,blueandgreywater.Itisimportanttokeep

thecomponentsofawaterfootprintseparate,sothattheycanbeassessedinthecontextofthelocal

watershedswherethewaterisbeingsourced.Whiletheconceptofwaterfootprintinghassuccessfully

raisedpublicawarenessofthevariousdimensionsofwateruse,consumersandmanyopinionleadersoften

focusonlyontheaggregatednumbers,withanaturalreactionthattheyneedtobemadesmaller,regardless

ofthecontext.However,aproductwaterfootprintnumberbyitselflacksimportantcontext,andthiscan

sendthewrongmessagethatanywateruseisbad,whichmayleadtoaninappropriateresponsestrategy.

Asmallwaterfootprintinadrought-pronewatershedmayhaveasignicantimpact,whilealargewater

footprintinawater-richregionmayhavelittleornoimpact.

Thereisaperceptionbysomethatwaterfootprintsonproductlabelscanbeusedtohelpconsumersmake

productchoices.Whilewaterfootprintsareahelpfultoolforcompaniestobegintounderstandtheirwater

use,numericwaterfootprintsonproductlabelsdonotprovidetheinformationthatconsumersneedto

makeinformedchoicesamongproductsandconsumptionpractices.Awaterfootprintlabelwouldprovide

anumber,butitwouldnotreectthecomplexitiesbehindit,orconveytheimpactthatthewaterusedtoproducethatproductishavingonthelocalwatershed.

Caremustbetakenwhencomparingwaterfootprintstoensurethattheyreectthesamescope(operational

and/orsupplychain).Furthermore,whensite-specicdataarelimited,asisoftenthecase,theuseofpublic

datasourceswillleadtothesamewaterfootprintsforsimilarproducts.Asanexample,intheabsence

ofsite-specicdata,orangejuiceproducedbytwocompaniesthatsourcefromthesamecountrieswill

havethesamewaterfootprintbecauseoperationalwaterfootprintsaresmall,andanydifferenceswillbe

overwhelmedbythecropwaterfootprint.

ThewatercerticationprogramunderdevelopmentbytheAllianceforWaterStewardship(AWS) 24and

discussedinSection4.2holdspromiseasamoreeffectiveandappropriatecommunicationtool.Thisprogram

willrecognizecompaniescontributingtosustainablewaterpracticesandoperatinginhealthywatersheds.BothTheNatureConservancyandTheCoca-ColaCompanyareparticipatingintheactivitiesoftheAWS.

24www.allianceforwaterstewardship.org


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3.2 WATER FOOTPRINT ACCOUNTING

Thecoreofthewaterfootprintassessmentisaccounting.Duringthisphase,thesupplychainismappedout,

relevantdataarecollected,andthecolorsofthewaterfootprintarecalculated.Ingeneralandacrossall

threepilotstudies,theaccountingprocessprovidedanincreasedunderstandingofthegreen,blueandgrey

componentsofthewaterfootprint.Theprimarylessonslearnedandobservationsrelatedtotheaccounting

phasearediscussedbelow:

Supplierinformationiscriticaltoconductingawaterfootprintassessment;

Thewaterfootprintsfortheproductsstudiedcomemainlyfromtheeld,notthefactory;

Thespatialandtemporalresolutionofthebluewaterfootprintiscritical;

Waterfootprintsarehighlysensitivetojustafewinputparameters;

Furtherdevelopmentandstandardizationofthemethodologyforcalculatingthegreywater

footprintisneeded;and

Theoverheadwaterfootprintwasfoundtobeaninsignicantcomponentoftheproductwaterfootprints.

Supplier inormation is critical to conducting a water ootprint assessment.

Waterfootprintaccountingrequiresasignicantamountofdata.ManyoftheCompanysproductsare

producedthroughcomplexsupplychainsinvolvingnumerousgrowers,processorsandbottlersspread

acrossmultiplecontinents.Consequently,noonepersonhasaccesstoalloftherequireddata.Itcan

beextremelydifculttomapthesupplychaintotheeldlevel,duetothefactthatcertainingredients

arepurchasedfromdistributorsorcooperativesthatstockpileproductsfromhundredsoffarms.Further

complicationderivesfromthefactthatthelocationsofwateruseorfarmingcanchange,meaningthat

theowofmaterialsisever-changing.Thischallengewasaddressedintheorangejuicewaterfootprint

assessmentbyselectingrepresentativefarmsandplantsforanalysis.Whiledataneedswerestill

substantial,thishelpedfocustheanalysis.

Foragriculturally-derivedproducts,mostofthedatarequiredforanassessmentresideswithsuppliers.

Thisinformationmaybeconsideredcondentialforcompetitivereasonsorbecauseofconcernsabout

comparisonwithintheirindustry.Forexample,cropyields,whichcanhaveasignicantimpactonthe

magnitudeofthewaterfootprint,alsohaveimplicationsforsuppliersalesandpricingstrategies.

Specicinformationaboutinternalprocessesatmanufacturingplantsmayalsobeconsideredproprietary.

Somesupplierswerewillingtoshareinformationwiththethirdpartythatconductedthewaterfootprint

assessmentafteracondentialityagreementhadbeensigned.Othersuppliersexpressedmorewillingness

toworktogetherthroughanindustryassociationtodevelopawaterfootprintforaregion.Ineithercase,

gettingtheneededdataistime-consumingandmayincreaseprojectcosts.Thisfactorcanalsolimitthe

levelofinformationdetailthatcanbeshared.

Whenitisnotpossibletoacquiresite-specicdata,regionalaveragesfromglobaldatasetsmaybetheonlyavailablesourceofinformation.Forexample,intheabsenceofdataforthecitrus-growingregionof

Brazil,datawereobtainedfromreadily-availabledatasets.25,26,27Thisraisesthequestionofwhetherall

waterfootprintswilllookthesameforsimilaragriculturally-derivedproductswhensite-specicdataare

unavailableandinputsaredrawnfromthesameglobaldatabases.

25FoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO).2009.FAOSTATDatabase.FoodandAgricultureOrganization.Rome.http://faostat.fao.org26FAO,2009.CLIMWAT2.0model,Rome.www.fao.org/nr/water/infores_databases_climwat.html27USDA(UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture)ForeignAgriculturalService.2008.GAINReportNo.BR8021.BrazilCitrusAnnual2008.December19,2008.http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainles/200812/146306943.pdf


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The water ootprints or the products studied come mainly rom the feld, not the actory.

Theresultsofthethreepilotstudiesrevealthatthegreen,blueandgreywaterfootprintsforCoca-Cola,

Europeansugarbeetsandorangejuicecomemainlyfromtheeld.Thelargestcontributortothebluewater

footprintisirrigationwaterusedtogrowthecrops.Thegreywaterfootprintstemsprimarilyfromfertilizerandpesticideuse,withsomegreywaterassociatedwiththemanufacturingofpackagingmaterials.Thisgeneral

nding,withrespecttotheratioofoperationaltosupply-chainwaterfootprintsandtherelativeimportanceof

ingredients,packagingandoverhead,canlikelybeextendedtoothersimilaragriculturally-derivedproducts.

Theseresultshighlighttheimportanceofincludingthefullsupplychaininawaterfootprintassessment.

Foragriculturally-derivedproducts,companieswithacomprehensiveoperationalwaterusemanagement

programinplacemaybeabletofocustheireffortsonencouragingmoresustainablepracticesforkeycrops

inthesupplychain.

The spatial and temporal resolution o the blue water ootprint is critical.Toaccuratelyassessthepotentialforimpacts,itisimportanttounderstandhowwaterscarcityina

watershedvariesthroughouttheyearanditsrelationshiptothecropwaterneeds/use.Thebluewater

footprintiscommonlypresentedasasinglenumberthatcanmaskimportantspatialandtemporal

considerations.Forinstance,todevelopappropriateresponsestrategies,itwillbenecessarytounderstand

whetherthebluewateriscomingfromandbeingdischargedtoariver,lake,aquiferormultiplesources.

Thevariabilityofthebluewaterfootprintisalsoobscuredwhenonlyanannualaveragenumberis

presented.Particularlyforagriculturalproductsoringredients,waterusecanvaryconsiderablyoverthe

courseofayear,ascanwateravailability.Insum,thevalueofwaterfootprintingforimpactandrisk

assessmentswillincreasegreatlywhenfootprintcomponentsaredisaggregatedbywatersource.Further,

understandingtheseasonalityofwateruseandavailabilityhelpsprovideabasisfordevelopingappropriateresponsestrategies.

Water ootprints are highly sensitive to just a ew input parameters.

Sensitivityanalyseswereconductedaspartoftwoofthethreepilotstudiestoidentifytheuncertaintyin

inputparametersthatmattermosttothecalculationresults.Asensitivityanalysisthatcalculateswater


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footprintsoverarangeofreasonablevariabilityforselectinputparameterscanbeusedtofocusfuturedata

collectionand/ormanagementeffortsonthosefactorsthathavethegreatestinuenceonthewaterfootprints.

Cropyieldwasfoundtobethesinglemostimportantparameteraffectingthewaterfootprintcalculations.

Yieldscanvarywidelyfromyeartoyear,asaresultofclimate,disease,speciesoforangesandotherfactors

thatintroduceyear-to-yearvariability.Yieldsalsoareconsideredcondentialbysuppliers,aspreviouslynoted,

andpublicly-availableaveragescanintroducelargeuncertaintyintotheresults.Thesensitivityanalysesalso

indicatedthatchangesininputdataforthegreywaterfootprintcanhaveasignicanteffectonthewater

footprintresults.Dataonfertilizerapplicationandleachingandrunoffratesforgrowingoperationswerenot

generallyavailableforthepilotstudies,sosimplifyingassumptionsweremade.Therefore,thegreywater

componentsrelatedtotherunoffandinltrationofpesticidesandfertilizersarehighlyuncertain.Thechoice

ofwaterqualitystandardforgreywaterfootprintcalculationsrelatedtooperationscanalsohaveasignicant

impactontheresults,asdemonstratedbythesensitivityanalysisconductedaspartofthesugarbeetstudy.

Further development and standardization o the methodology or calculating the grey water

ootprint is needed.

AtechnicalworkinggroupoftheWaterFootprintNetworkiscurrentlyfocusingonthistopic,andthe

Companyisactivelyengagedintheprocess.Importantquestionsarebeingexplored,includingtheplaceofthegreywaterfootprintinwaterfootprintaccounting,theselectionofnaturalandmaximumcontaminant

concentrationsforthecalculation,theempiricalformulasusedtodetermineleachingandrunoff,and

pollutantimpactsinreceivingwaterbodies.Thendingsofthistechnicalworkinggroupwillbeaddressedin

the2010revisedversionofthe Water Footprint Manual.

WherescreeningcalculationsusingtheWFNmethodindicatethatthegreywaterfootprintofaproductis

largeandmaybehavinganimpact,furtherevaluationusinglocation-specicwaterqualitystudiesanddata

isrecommendedtoconrm(orrefute)thepreliminaryconclusionsandtodevelopabetterunderstandingof

localizedwaterqualityimpactsandtheeffectivenessofpossiblemanagementpracticesinreducingimpacts.

The overhead water ootprint was ound to be an insignifcant component o the

product water ootprints.

Overheadinthesupplychainincludeswaterconsumptionassociatedwithconcreteandsteelusedin

buildings,energyproduction,vehicles,ofcesuppliesandothermaterials.Operationaloverheadincludes

domesticwateruse(e.g.,forcleaning,toilets,kitchenuse,gardens).Overheadwasfoundtobeavery

smallcomponentofthetotalwaterfootprintinthepilotstudieswhereitwasaddressed.Bothsupplychain

andoperationaloverheadwerecomputedaspartofthepilotstudyfora0.5literbottleofCoca-Colaand

foundtobeanegligiblecomponentofthetotalwaterfootprint.Forthesugarbeetpilotstudy,thewater

footprintrelatedtofuelconsumptionforagriculturalmachineryandenergyconsumptioninthefactories

wasincludedintheanalysis,aswellastransportfromtheeldtothesugarfactoriesandfromthesugarfactoriestothebottlingplants.Thesecomponentswerefoundtobenegligiblecomparedtothetotalwater

footprints.Energyusewasexcludedfromtheorangejuicestudybecausebiofuel,biomasscombustionand

hydropowerwerenotidentiedsourcesofenergyfortherepresentativefacilities. 28Informationondomestic

wateruseattheFloridaprocessingplantwasavailableandwascalculated,butitwasdeterminedtobe

insignicant.Discussionswithothersinthewaterfootprintcommunitysuggestthatthesendingsmayapply

toagriculturally-derivedproductsingeneral.

28TherecommendationintheWater Footprint Manualisthatthewaterfootprintofenergyshouldbeaccountedforiftheenergyissourcedfrombiofuelsorfromelectricityfrombiomasscombustionorhydropowerbecausethoseformsofenergyhavearelativelylargewaterfootprintperunitofenergy.


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3.3 WATER FOOTPRINT SUSTAINABILITy ASSESSMENT

Waterisaniteresource,butitisinnitelyrenewable.Whenproperlymanaged,evenlargevolumesof

waterusecanbesustainableinlocationswheretheresourceissufcienttosupporttheuse.Theimpacts

ofwateruseneedtobeassessedinthecontextofallwaterusesinthewatershedinordertodene

cumulativeimpacts,sharedrisksandappropriateresponsestrategies.Improvedefcienciesandwastewater

treatmentareimportantwherepossible,butimpactscanalsobeaddressedthroughpolicyandregulatory

engagementtosupportimprovedmanagementofthesharedwaterresource.

Methodsforidentifyingimpactsofwaterfootprintsonwaterresourcesareevolvingandthesubjectof

muchattention.ASustainabilityAssessmentWorkgroupoftheWaterFootprintNetwork(hereafter,WFN

workgroup)iscurrentlyfocusingonthistopic.TheNatureConservancyandTheCoca-ColaCompany

areactiveparticipants,drawingfromconsiderablereal-worldexperienceinwatershedprotectionand

restoration.Twokeyrecommendationsarediscussedbelow:

Impactsshouldbescreenedatmultiplelevelsofspatialandtemporalresolution.

Theboundariesofanimpactassessmentneedtobeclearlydened.

Impacts should be screened at multiple levels o spatial and temporal resolution.Asdiscussedearlier,aproductwaterfootprintanalysisenablesonetotracewaterthroughoutthesupply

chaintothelocalwatershed.However,forproductwaterfootprintswithhighlycomplexsupplychains,it

canbeoverwhelmingtoassesseverysinglewatershed.Therefore,itisnecessarytobeabletoscreenthis

informationtodeterminewhereacompanyshouldfocusitseffortsandfurtherresearch.Recentdiscussions

withintheWFNworkgroupsuggestthatathree-stepprocessforassessingpotentialriskscanhelp

maximizetheefciencyofscreeningefforts.

Atthecoarsestlevel,aglobalscreeningexercisecanbeconductedusingindicatorsofstressand

vulnerabilityattheriverbasinleveltoprioritizeareasfordeeperanalysis.TheWorldBusinessCouncilon

SustainableDevelopmenthasdevelopedaGlobal Water Tool29thatisappropriateforsuchhigh-levelglobal

screening.Asthisandsimilarglobaltoolsareimprovedwithner-scaleriverbasindelineation,month-by-monthwaterscarcityanalysis,andadditionalindicatorsofwaterstressandsustainability,theywill

becomeever-moreusefulforimpactandriskscreening.TheWater Footprint Assessment Tool,nowunder

developmentbytheWaterFootprintNetwork,isexpectedtoprovidesuchenhancedcapabilities.

Thesecondstepshouldbeconductedatthelocalwatershedlevelforwatershedsprioritizedintherststep.

Inthisstep,threepossibleindicatorsareexamined,dependinguponwhichwatersourcesareinuencedby

thecompanyswaterconsumptionandpollutiondischarge:

historicalchangesinriverow;

changesinlakeoraquiferlevels;and

violationsofwaterqualitystandards.

TheproposeddesignoftheWater Footprint Assessment Toolwillgreatlyfacilitateassessmentsofthese

threeimpactindicators.

29TheWBCSDsGlobalWaterToolisavailableat:http://www.wbcsd.org.


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Thosewatershedsthatappeartobeadverselyimpactedbasedontheseindicatorswillrequirefurther

analysistodetermineappropriateresponsestrategies.Thethirdstepinvolvesasite-specicassessment

ofnotonlywaterquantityandqualityimpacts,butalsoecologicalandsocialimpacts.Suchassessment

typicallyemployscomputerizedhydrologicsimulationmodelsand/ormulti-disciplinaryteamsofexperts

(e.g.,eco-hydrology,socialscienceandeconomics).

Thislevelofdetailedassessmentmaybedoneaspartofawaterfootprintassessmentorasaseparate

effort.Asanexample,TheCoca-ColaCompanyhasinitiatedpilotprojectsinpartnershipwithWorldWildlife

Fund(WWF)forsustainableagriculturalmanagementpracticesforsugarcane.Improvedpracticesfromthis

andotherpilotprojectswillinformthedevelopmentofbettermanagementpractices,helpingtoensurea

moresustainablesupplychain.

The boundaries o an impact assessment need to be clearly defned.

Theimpactscreeningprocessdescribedaboveisbasedonthepremisethatwater-relatedimpactsmustbe

evaluatedonawatershedbasisforthereasonsdiscussedinSection1.2.Forcoarse-levelimpactscreening,

pre-determinedriverbasinboundaries,suchasthoseemployedintheWBCSD Global Water Tool,may

sufce,butaccurateimpactassessmentwillrequiremoredetailedanalysisofthelocalwatershed.

DraftguidancefromtheWFNworkgrouprecommendsthatthelocalwatershedandareaofinuence

bedelineatedasdepictedinFgu 12.Thepointatwhichacompanyisextractingwaterordischarging

wastewaterdenesapointoforiginfromwhichacontributingwatershedcanbedelineatedupstream

ofthispoint.Theareaofinuencedepictstheboundarywithinwhichpotentialecologicalandsocial

cumulativeimpactsshouldbeassessed.Whilethisexampledepictsawatershed-basedassessment,similar

logiccanbeappliedtowaterextractionsfromanaquiferorlake.

Watershedcontributingto companyswater supply

Area of influenceextendingdownstream frompoint of origin

Location ofcompanys waterextraction or returnflow = point of originfor area of influence

Figure 12.Conceptual Diagram o Impact Assessment Boundaries


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3.4 WATER FOOTPRINT RESPONSE FORMULATION

Theresponseformulationphaseaddressesthequestion:What can be done about the impacts

caused by a water ootprint?Clearly,alllifetakeswater,anditisvitalforcommunities,industry,power

generation,navigation,recreationandotherpurposes.Whereawaterusehasbeendeterminedtobe

unsustainable,theoptionsforaddressingthischallengeinclude:minimizingwaterusethroughimproved

efciencymeasuresandreuseofprocesswater;treatingprocesswatersothatitcanbereturnedtothe

environmentsafely;andengagingwithcommunities,governmentsandotherstakeholdersoneffective

managementofthelimitedresourcetohelpensureanadequatesupplyofcleanwaterforallusers.

TheCoca-ColaCompanyswaterstewardshipframeworkstartswithensuringthesustainableuseofwater

withinthewatershedswhereitsplantsarelocated.Specicengagementactionsassociatedwithmanaging

abottlingfacilitysoperationalwaterfootprintmaybeinsidetheplantorontheplantgrounds,ortheymay

addresscommunityorwatershedissues.Priorityforengagementisgiventobottlingfacilitieslocatedin

water-stressedregionswheresocialandecologicalimpactsmaybeoccurring.TheCoca-Colasystemalsois

takingactiontoensurethesustainabilityofagriculturalpracticesforitskeyingredients.

Twospecicobservationsrelatedtoresponseformulationfromthewaterfootprintpilotsandwater

stewardshipstrategyarediscussedbelow:

Responseactionsshouldstartwithacompanysownoperationsandincludecollaborativeeffortstohelpprotectthelocalwatershedswhereitoperates.

Companiesthatproduceagriculturally-derivedproductsneedtounderstandwateruseinthesupply

chainandsupportsustainablepractices.

Response actions should start with a companys own operations and include collaborative

eorts to help protect the local watersheds where it operates.

Avaluablecharacteristicofthewaterfootprintmethodologyisthatitbreaksoutoperationaland

supplychainwateruseandexaminesthethreecolorsofawaterfootprintseparately.Bykeepingthese

componentsseparateratherthancombiningthemintooneaggregatedwaterfootprintnumber,operationalwateruseandefciencymeasuresremainvisibleandarenotoverwhelmedbythecropwaterfootprint.

Initscommitmenttowaterstewardship,theCoca-Colasystemhasfocusedrstonitsglobaloperations,

meaningnotonlyitsbottlingplantsbutalsothewatershedsandcommunitieswheretheCoca-Colasystem

operates.AllplantsintheCoca-Colasystemarerequiredtodeterminethesourceoftheirwaterandthatof

thesurroundingcommunity,assessthevulnerabilitiestothequalityandquantityofthiswater,andworking

withcivilsocietyandgovernments,developandimplementasourcewaterprotectionplan.

Therstandmostimportantactionacompanyshouldtakeistoaddressitsownwateruseinoperations

whereithasdirectinuence.Waterconsumptioninoperationsshouldbeminimizedandallprocesswater

treatedtowaterqualitystandardsbeforeitisreturnedtotheenvironment.Forindustrieswhereproduction

generateswastematerial,productiveuseofthewastethroughproductionofbyproductsisanothermeans

ofreducingtheoperationalwaterfootprint.Asanexample,allpartsofanorangeareusedintheproduction

oforangejuiceanditsbyproducts,andthewaterfootprintisallocatedacrossbyproductsaccordingtotheir

weightandvalue.

UnderstandinganylocalimpactsoftheCoca-Colasystemswateruseandensuringsustainablesuppliesof

waterforallstakeholdersisintegraltothiseffort.Theremaybeaneedforwateraccessprojectstohelp


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providecleanandreliablesourcesofdrinkingwaterorrestorationmeasuresthataddresswaterquantityand

waterqualityissuesinawatershed.ThesetypesofReplenishactivitiesarebeingimplementedaspartof

theCoca-ColasystemsCommunityWaterPartnership(CWP) 30projects.TheConservancyandtheCompany

haveidentiedninecategoriesofactionsthatmaybeimplementedaspartofitsCWPprojectsoranywater

stewardshipprogram.Scienticallycrediblemethodsforquantifyingtheeffectsofthesemeasuresonwater

quantity(hydrologicalpathwaysandstorage)andwaterqualityhavebeenidentiedanddocumented,and

thebenetsgeneratedbytheseactivitieshavebeenquantiedtoassessprogressinattainingtheCompanys

Replenishtarget.

30TheCoca-ColaCompany.ReplenishReport.January2010.

COCA-COLA SySTEM WATER RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITy

Coca-ColasystembottlingfacilitiesworldwidearerequiredtohaveformalWaterResourceSustainability

programswithSourceWaterProtectionPlansthatareauditedthroughtheglobalgovernanceprogram.

Program Goals

Topromoteandsupportthesustainabilityandsupplyreliabilityofwaterresourcesinthe

watershedsandcommunitieswheretheCoca-Colasystemoperates; Tounderstandandaddressenvironmental,social,political,regulatoryandeconomicissues

associatedwithsecuringsufcientfreshwatertomeetcurrentandfuturebusinessandlocal

communityneeds;and

Tohelpprotectproductqualityandsafety.

Eachfacilityisrequiredtoconductanin-depthSourceWaterVulnerabilityAssessmentanddevelopand

implementaSourceWaterProtectionPlanforthebusinessandlocalcommunitywatersources,ifsuch

sourcesaredifferentfromtheplantssourceofwater.

Source Water Vulnerabilit Assessments

Conductarigoroustechnicalassessmentoflocalwaterresourcesustainability,includingdetailedwatershedmappingandhydrologic/hydrogeologicmodelingoflocalwatershedand

groundwaterbasin.

Identifycontributingareas,rechargeareas,protectionzonesandthreatstotheavailabilityand

qualityofwaterresources.Thisincludesdevel

Documents

Product Water Footprint Assessments