Corporate Water Accounting: An Analysis of Methods and Tools for ...

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• Water Management Risk Questionnaire
• Case Examples and Reference Links
It uses input from the facility to give a broad
assessment of risks regarding the local watershed,
supply reliability, efficiency, compliance
with regulations, supply economics,
and social context. As with GEMI’s Water
Sustainability Tool, the Planner does not provide
quantitative data but rather qualitative
guidance on risks and identification of some
of the most pressing issues.
From the perspective of the researchers,
both GEMI tools are perhaps best oriented to
companies and facilities that are just beginning
to understand how water issues affect
nearby ecosystems and communities, as well
as their own business risks. They can be used
to get a broad assessment of some pertinent
questions, but provide no quantitative information
with which to compare different water
uses, products, or facilities. As such, they
are perhaps less useful for companies that
are seeking a comprehensive assessment of
different water uses and impacts in order to
assess hotspots, drive product development,
or identify specific long-term water strategies.
Financial and personnel
requirements for water
accounting methods and tools
Corporate water accounting assessments typically
require notable amounts of company
time and money to provide meaningful results.
The resources needed vary significantly
depending on the scope of study, the type of
data used, the size of the company, and the
type of analysis conducted (e.g. water footprint
or LCA). Acknowledging this large variability,
below we provide general estimates
of the company resources needed for each of
the main methods and tools discussed in this
report. This information is based on input
provided by developers of these methods and
tools and companies who have used them.
Water Footprinting
The time and financial requirements for
water footprint assessments vary depending
on whether companies’ water use is measured
using company data or databases (e.g.
FAOSTAT or CROPWAT) for their inputs and
whether the assessment is company-wide or
for a specific product. If the necessary data
are readily available, one qualified person can
complete a product water footprint in a matter
of weeks. It may take roughly five months
for a product assessment and over a year for
a company-wide assessment if a company
must collect its production data. This process
becomes progressively shorter as the amount
of pre-existing database input used increases.
It can take only one-to-two weeks when databases
comprise a large portion of input data
(Zarate, 2010) (Grant, 2010).
A full product-level WF assessment could
cost roughly around 40,000-50,000USD. A
company-wide assessment may cost anywhere
from 50,000-200,000USD. The WFN Secretariat
provides technical support at a rate of roughly
20,000USD for a product assessment and
perhaps twice that for a company-wide assessment.
Corporate personnel typically spend five
person days per month to collect and analyze
data, typically at a cost of 1,000USD/person
day. The amount of time required of operations
managers varies depending on the availability
of data (Zarate, 2010) (Grant, 2010).
Life Cycle Assessment
LCAs vary in time and cost depending on
whether the assessment uses more database
data (i.e., a screening LCA) or more actual
production data (i.e., full LCA), as well as
whether the study looks at a wide range of indicators
(e.g., GHG emissions, human health,
ecosystem health, energy use) in addition
to water use, or whether it is water-specific.
A screening LCA typically takes roughly
ten person days spread across one month
to fully complete, while a full LCA takes 35
person days over 3-4 months. A LCA study
considering only a company’s water use and
its impacts across its product portfolio takes
roughly 260 person days over the span of a
year consisting of ad hoc support from 5-8
employees (Milà i Canals, 2010).
Like WFN water footprints, companies
usually conduct LCAs with assistance from
an external organization with expertise in
the field. Unlike water footprints, there is an
extensive community of practitioners that
provide such assistance. These external organizations
typically charge 10,000-30,000USD
for screening LCAs and 50,000-100,000USD
for full LCAs when looking at a comprehensive
set of indicators. These costs are typically
cut in half (i.e., 5,000-15,000USD for a
screening LCA and 25,000-50,000USD) when
only considering water use and its associated
impacts (Humbert, 2010).