Water Footprint Compensation
Start offsetting your water footprint today!
Ready to make a change? It is now possible to start offsetting your water footprint through certified projects! With our unique approach, you can restore or replenish the negative impacts of your water use – in a way that truly makes a difference. Together, we’re moving toward a water-secure future.
This approach came to life when Water Footprint Implementation successfully launched the Water Footprint Compensation scheme – a first-of-its-kind water offset scheme – at the United Nations Water Conference in New York in March 2023. Our goal is to engage 1000 organizations within the first five years of the initiative’s roll-out.
Why do we need a Water Footprint Compensation scheme?
Despite decades of efforts to reduce the pressure on our water resources, pollution and overconsumption continue to drain water supplies worldwide. All industry sectors – be it food, textiles, energy, or technology – often contribute to the pollution and depletion of freshwater resources, not only in the locations of operations, but worldwide through their supply chains. The most severely affected water systems are frequently situated in the Global South.
Many private sector actors are ready to invest in offsetting the negative impacts of their water consumption. To reach meaningful impact at scale, companies need to look beyond their direct operations to their supply chains, where the largest share of water consumption and impact frequently lies.
How the Water Footprint Compensation scheme works
The Water Footprint Compensation scheme focuses on addressing the negative effects of water usage, both direct (operational) and indirect (in your supply chain). Compensation should be the step after measures have been taken to avoid, reduce and reuse water in direct operations and the supply chain, and should aim to offset the ‘residual’ water footprint – the amount of water that is unavoidable for production.
The principle is simple: a litre for a litre. This means that you can offset your water use through local projects that restore, replenish, or protect the water system.
The Water Footprint Compensation method consists of a five-step process:
- Accounting for the compensating party’s water consumption.
- Determining the amount of water to be compensated.
- Close consultations with the compensating party.
- Developing a realistic water footprint reduction and compensation plan.
- Implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
We’re moving fast!
The momentum is building! We’re working hard to launch our water compensation platform, set to go live in late March/early April 2025. The platform will connect compensators with project owners, feature compensator profiles and ongoing projects, provide an archive of completed projects/offset water footprints, and offer a transparent monitoring and reporting system.
Thanks to our strong collaborations with partners like the Association of Dutch Water Operators (WaterWorX), Blue Deal Netherlands, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), World Waternet and Akvo Foundation, more certified compensation projects are now available. Our partnership with Act4Water in Spain further strengthens our approach, as they certify calculations and projects through Positive Water Credits and the Act4Water Standard, ensuring transparency, reliability and impact.
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Let’s accelerate the transition to a water-secure world!
To learn more about the Water Footprint Compensation initiative please register here.