What is a fair water footprint?

If we manage our water resources wisely there is enough water for everyone, forever.  To achieve this, we need a worldwide revolution for fairer water footprints.  Our water footprints describe the total water used to produce the goods and services we consume.  Each UK citizen has a daily water footprint of around 30 bathtubs, two thirds of which is used overseas or ‘imported’ as embedded water.  This is ‘other people’s water’, and our consumption can deny distant communities and ecosystems of the water needed to thrive.  

To avoid perpetual and catastrophic water crises we must ensure that our water footprint is based on sustainable and equitable water use.  The production of everything we consume -– must be based on good water stewardship, which means:

• Taking water from rivers, lakes, and aquifers in step with natural replenishment to avoid resource depletion.

• Pollution control and treating chemicals, sewage, and industrial wastewater properly to avoid resource degradation.

• Looking after water ecosystems and preparing for floods and drought.

• Realizing the human right to water, so that everyone has access to clean water, toilets, and handwashing facilities. 

Multi-national companies and the investors behind them have phenomenal power to shape how water is used, and they respond to market forces, consumer demand, stakeholder, and shareholder pressure.  By demanding that they adopt water stewardship you can make your water footprint fair.  You can change the world’s water use for good. 

Join the struggle for global; water justice and take 5 steps to a Fair Water Footprint:

1.      Step up and speak out for water - conserve water at home. Find out where your water comes from and where your wastewater goes. Make sure local water use is fair and demand change where there is injustice or ecological damage. 

2.      Demand good water stewardship - from grocery stores, farmers, food and beverage producers, retailers, and the brands you buy goods from. Ask companies that benefit from your custom to show their stewardship credentials through certification against the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard, which guarantees good practice.

3.      Ensure your investments and banks don’t abuse water - financial markets, banks, insurers, and pension funds channel your money into companies to turn a profit.  Make sure they divest from water abusers and invest in water stewards who can be differentiated via CDP’s Water Disclosure Programme.

4.      Put pressure on the government - let your representatives know that you care about the issue, and demand their support for stronger legislation, oversight, and investment to safeguard water, at home and abroad.

5.       Join our Fair Water Footprint campaign. Help us to investigate water footprints, take action on water misuse, and to activate water rights for communities. Please sign up, by filling the form below, to receive campaign updates and information about what you can do to ensure a fairer water future of water justice for all. 

Use your power to shape a fair water future through a fair water footprint!