Coca-Cola Launches Report on Water Footprint Sustainability in the Sugar Supply Chain within the 'World Water Week 2011' in Stockholm
October 2011
Vienna, Austria
The water footprint of a product (a commodity, good, or service) is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually produced. It refers to the sum of the water used in the various steps of the production chain and sometimes also referred to as "virtual water content".
However water footprinting does not imply adding water volumes only. In order to assess the effects of the water footprint it is necessary to compare these volumes to the available local water resources and their capacity to assimilate the waste. Assessing the sustainability of the water footprint at a regional level requires a detailed evaluation of the local water situation under environmental, social and economic perspectives.
This is one of the highest priorities for Coca-Cola, therefore they are taking a very close look at water sustainability not only within their products and operation processes but also within the supply chain. In this context Denkstatt in cooperation with the Vienna University of Technology has conducted a study aiming not only at the calculation of the water footprint of sugar beet but also at the analysis of its potential effects on water availability and quality at the local level.
This project has helped Coca-Cola to identify hotspots, opening the opportunity to engage with sugar beet suppliers on improving the water footprint sustainability of the supply chain.
Results of this study have been published and were presented at the World Water Week 2011 in Stockholm at the end of August.
For further information or a copy of the report contact; Fátima Bertrán de Lis; fatima.bertrandelis@denkstatt.at