Feb 23 2012
Ceram, an independent, international materials technology consultancy has published a new white paper ‘Calculating a Water Footprint – The Benefits for Your Business’. The white paper discusses the growing importance of water as a sustainability issue for businesses.
Focusing on the likely impacts on UK manufacturing, the paper examines the strong drivers behind reducing future water demand: population growth; mounting concerns around the health of river eco-systems; impacts of climate change; probable abstraction license restrictions; and potential price rises for mains water consumers.
With the need to manage water resources more effectively, combined with the increasing pressures to report sustainability indicators, businesses can derive several benefits from developing a water footprint. The development of a water footprint can: identify cost reduction opportunities, provide a benchmark of usage and demonstrate a commitment to environmental management in support of corporate sustainability claims and credentials.
Yvonne McGillycuddy, the Water Footprinting Consultant at Ceram commented: “Water is currently perceived as an inexpensive and limitless resource; future perceptions will need to change in order to manage and reduce future demand. Developing a water footprint helps businesses to identify how they use water, enabling the development of a water reduction strategy.”