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Water Footprint (ISO 14046)
Water Footprint

Water Footprint (ISO 14046)

We calculate your corporate water footprint down to the blue, green and grey split and deliver your ISO 14046 compliant water footprint report.

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Water is now a risk item

With its annual water availability per person, Türkiye is among the countries under water stress, and water management is now a subject of regulation. Water efficiency has come onto industry's agenda through a national strategy and action plan, and the European Union's sustainability reporting standards ask about water use as a heading of its own. Large buyers want the same data in supplier assessments, and banks want it in financing decisions.

The first step in managing this picture is to measure your water. Karbonsa calculates your water footprint down to its blue, green and grey components, interprets the result alongside the basin reality of your production location, prepares your ISO 14046 compliant water footprint report and runs the process on your behalf all the way to verification readiness.

See what the blue, green and grey water footprints areWalk through the process step by step, from source inventory to verification
WHAT YOU GAIN

What does measuring your water footprint bring you?

  • Becoming the preferred party with large buyers and in tender processes that ask for water data.
  • A strong position in green finance and investor assessments.
  • Audit-ready, verifiable water data for sustainability reporting.
  • A solid starting point for bringing water consumption and water bills down.
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Water Footprint Components

A water footprint is measured in three components

A single consumption figure tells only part of the water story. ISO 14046 separates water into blue, green and grey, and a sound study addresses all three together.

Blue Water Footprint

Fresh water consumed

Fresh water abstracted from surface and groundwater sources that stays in the product, evaporates or does not return to the basin. Irrigation, process and cooling water fall within this scope.

Green Water Footprint

Rainwater put to use

The share of rainwater held in the soil that is taken up by plants. It is the dominant component in agricultural production and in biomass based inputs.

Grey Water Footprint

Water that dilutes pollution

The volume of fresh water needed to bring the resulting pollution down to water quality limits. Industrial and agricultural wastewater loads are assessed here.

Note: In a water footprint, where matters as much as how much. The same litre of water corresponds to a far higher environmental impact in a basin under water stress, which is why the study also takes account of the water situation in the basin your facility sits in.

We run the process in six steps

We complete your water footprint study on your behalf, from the kick-off meeting through to verification, in steps that are traceable and repeatable.

01

Kick-off Meeting and Scope

We agree the purpose of the study, the product or organisational boundary and the reporting period together, and draw up the data collection plan.

02

Water Source Inventory

We break the water your facility abstracts down into surface, groundwater and mains supply, and map your direct and indirect water inputs.

03

On Site Data Collection

We compile water consumption and wastewater volumes at source from meter, invoice and process records, and take seasonal variation into account.

04

Blue, Green and Grey Calculation

We calculate the water footprint by separating it into its three components with the ISO 14046 method, and document assumptions and uncertainties transparently.

05

Water Stress and Basin Analysis

We assess the results in the context of the water stress at your production location and bring your most critical water use points to the fore.

06

Reporting and Verification Readiness

We prepare your ISO 14046 compliant water footprint report, organise your evidence set for independent verification and accompany you through the process.

A water footprint rarely stands on its own. With the same facility data you can also build your Corporate Carbon Footprint inventory, carry your water performance into your Sustainability Reporting work, or extend it across your value chain under Supply Chain Sustainability.

Water risk is not the same in every basin

How do basin, climate and sector change water risk? Open this up if you are curious.

What makes a water footprint meaningful is reading consumption together with the reality of the production location. Water abstracted in an arid basin is far more critical than the same volume abstracted in a region with plenty of rainfall.

Türkiye and water stress: The annual volume of water per person is below 1,700 cubic metres, the level taken as the water stress threshold. Regions such as the Konya closed basin, South Eastern Anatolia and Thrace are among the places that feel this pressure most.

Karbonsa sets the water footprint study up in the context of basin and regional water stress, so that your operational and strategic water risks become visible.

Climate Change

Shifting rainfall patterns and rising evaporation narrow water resources.

Basin Level Risk

The same consumption corresponds to a far heavier impact in a basin under high water stress.

Sectoral Demand

Competition between sectors drawing on the same source magnifies the risk to access.

Seasonal Variability

Water supply falls in dry periods and continuity of production comes under pressure.

In which sectors does the water footprint come to the fore?

In companies with water intensive production, the water footprint is decisive for cost and for risk alike.

Textiles and Fashion

Intensive water use in dyeing, washing and finishing processes.

Food and Agriculture

From irrigation through to processing, most of the value chain depends on water.

Beverages

Process water in production is as decisive as the water inside the product.

Chemicals

Process water, cooling and wastewater load push the water footprint up.

Energy

Cooling water and steam generation give rise to high blue water consumption.

Paper and Pulp

Pulping and process waters create a water intensive production structure.

Not: Alongside water intensive sectors, municipalities, public bodies and universities also have the water footprints of their services and facilities measured with this method.

Why work with Karbonsa?

The water footprint study we build lasts, and it goes on serving you in the periods that follow.

Boutique and accessible

None of the heaviness of the large consultancies. You deal with us directly, we come back to you quickly, and the way we work flexes to fit your organisation.

Delivered end to end

We run the process from the water source inventory through to verification readiness. What you end up with is a ready to use, auditable water footprint study.

Grounded in on site data

Our team is made up of specialists from different disciplines. The calculation rests on real water and production data gathered on site at your facility.

Lasting, living infrastructure

We deliver the study in a living structure you can update each year with the same method. And if you would rather track your carbon and sustainability data yourself, Karbonsa Platform, the web based product that starts with a free plan, is at your service.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the water footprint

A water footprint is calculated by separating the direct and indirect water use of an organisation or a product into its blue, green and grey components and adding them together. Water sources and the system boundary are defined first, process water and wastewater volumes are compiled from meter and invoice data, and that data is then converted into water footprint indicators using the ISO 14046 method. Karbonsa runs this process on the basis of real data gathered at your facility.

Start measuring your water footprint today

Get in touch with Karbonsa to make your water risk visible and prepare your ISO 14046 compliant water footprint report.