Lunch, cheese salad sandwich, 500ml bottle of cola and 40g bag of crisps – water footprint of 756 litres
Dr Craig Jones with lunch – water footprint 756 litres
FOOD!
“Our calculator allows consumers to determine the water footprint of a Sunday roast dinner, or a portion of meat lasagne, and takes into account the ingredients’ country of origin. By doing so, the calculator will help people see where they can make changes to their diet – and weekly shop – to decrease their water footprint easily and effectively,” he added. Environment Agency analysis has shown that in 2012 the UK experienced drought one in every four days and could experience a severe short-term drought every 10 years. According to the modelling, in the next 40 years some river flows could be reduced by up to 80 per cent during the summer, putting pressure on water availability for people,
Dr Craig Jones with coffee – water footprint 710 litres businesses and farmers.*
The implications of a high water footprint are vast: average household water use in the UK is around 150 litres per person per day, but UK consumption of products from other countries means that each English citizen effectively uses around 4,645 litres of the world’s water every day. Water scarcity is now a fast- growing sustainability problem across the world, with the amount used to produce an item far greater than the water contained within it. For example, a small latte needs 710 litres of water to produce while the production of one kilogram of beef requires 15,400 litres of water. In order to understand how to reduce our use of water, we need to measure this ‘embedded’ or ‘virtual’ water. “Our aim,” said Dr Jones, “is to make the term ‘water footprint’ as well known,
*Source: Environment Agency Website link:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/146242.aspx PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 15
and as well understood, as the term ‘carbon footprint’, and at the same time raise awareness of this vital issue so that UK residents can reduce their water footprint as quickly and as simply as possible. By using the calculator, available to download from
www.sustain.co.uk, everyone can work out the water footprint of virtually any meal and gain a better understanding of the sheer volume of water necessary in our everyday habits.” Sustain obtained water for the photo shoot from Life Water,
www.life-
water.co.uk. As part of Life Water’s drop4drop campaign, clean drinking water will now be made available in developing countries following this activity. Sustain has also donated the purchased water to Bristol’s Salvation Army. For more information, please visit:
www.sustain.co.uk
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