Is the „water-footprint“ a suitable instrument and can it contribute to a solution for the global water scarcity?
As globalization has increased the flow of goods and services across borders, fresh water has increasingly become a global resource. From field to end product, goods pass through multiple production stages, often located at different geographical locations, making water resources spatially disconnected from consumers. Hence, international trade has become associated with gigantic, but largely invisible water transfers. The global nature of water resources has been emphasized by the water footprint concept, which analyses water consumption and pollution along the whole production and supply chain. The fact that many goods, which require large amounts of water during production, such as agricultural products, are imported from water scarce regions in developing countries has put pressure on international firms to reduce their water footprint.Â
In 2009, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) launched a pilot project in Colombia involving five multinational corporations. The companies, including Alpina, Clariant, Holcim, Nestlé and Syngenta, have committed to reduce their water footprint at their production sites in Colombia. This paper will analyze the measures taken since the initiation of the project and will present further strategies for the companies to reduce their water footprint.Â
The first section will look at the looming water crisis facing many regions around the world. Water scarcity has had wide-reaching social, economic and political implications for many developing countries, which have been the primary victims of the crisis. Subsequently, the next chapter takes a closer look at the water footprint concept introduced by Hoekstra and Hung in 2002, who were looking for an indicator that could map the impact of human consumption on global freshwater resources. 1 The theoretical part will be followed by an insight into the project SuizAgua to illustrate the development and current state of the initiative. Additionally, the section will highlight the advantages for the participating companies. In the end, implications for the reduction of the water footprint will be given including several strategies such as water auditing or using reclaimed water. Besides these strategies, the chapter will focus on the cost curve and present the reader with new ways of creative water management.Â