How can businesses and governments reduce their water consumption for consumer goods? That question is addressed by Professor Arjen Hoekstra of the University of Twente, in his new book “The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society”. The book presentation will take place on World Water Day (22 March) at the Food Film Festival in Amsterdam. Prof. Hoekstra makes far-reaching proposals for cutting global water consumption by the manufacturers of consumer goods to a sustainable level. The book focuses on “the water footprint”, a concept developed by the author over a decade ago.
Arjen Hoekstra, who is also the supervisor of the Water Footprint Network, advocates a range of measures, including the establishment of water footprint caps for river basins. The water footprint cap is comparable to the worldwide carbon footprint cap that is familiar to followers of the climate debate. Prof. Hoekstra suggests that benchmarks be established for food products and other products such as flowers and cotton. This would provide businesses with a guideline for reducing their products’ water footprint.
The book describes various practical examples of water consumption in production chains. For instance, calculations show that it takes 15,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of beef. The corresponding quantity for a pair of jeans is 8,000 litres of water. Arjen Hoekstra proposes a worldwide “zero water footprint” for industry. This would be feasible if industry were to fully recycle its water, as well as recovering heat and chemicals from wastewater.
He also outlines ways in which countries afflicted by water shortages benefit from the import of water-intensive products, but that this also causes them to become dependent on foreign water resources. Water guzzling societies in North America and southern Europe will have to drastically reduce their global water footprint as a result of growing consumption in countries like China and India.
Professor Hoekstra’s meticulously researched book uses the water footprint concept – in ways that make it easy to understand just how much water plays a central part in our everyday lives – as a means of helping to manage and reduce water consumption. It is a timely contribution to an increasingly urgent debate.
Paul Polman - CEO Unilever
No concept has done more to show the role of water in our lives. For too long, water has been mismanaged because it was invisible. The water footprint concept has helped us see how water flows through our lives and economies.
Stuart Orr - Freshwater Manager WWF International
About the author
Arjen Hoekstra is Professor of Water Management. His standard for measuring water consumption per end product, the water footprint, has now been adopted throughout the world. As a result, Prof. Hoekstra enjoys an enviable international reputation. How much water is consumed and polluted throughout the product’s entire chain? The manufacture of a single cotton shirt, for example, requires no less than 2700 litres of water. Accordingly, people need to be much more aware of water consumption.
Arjen Hoekstra founded the Water Footprint Network to raise awareness of the use of water as a natural resource. Some 188 companies and organizations have already joined up. Prof. Hoekstra came 61st in this year’s Sustainability Top 100 list, which is published annually by the Dutch newspaper Trouw.
Contact person
Jochem Vreeman, mobile + 31 6 12221253
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