Group 7 - Water Footprint in Supply Chain.pptx

Water footprint in Supply Chain

1. Water Footprint in Supply Chain Presented by Group 7 Rachita Rajkamal

2. Introduction A  water footprint  measures the total volume of freshwater used directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, community, or product. It considers the water consumed and polluted throughout the entire production and consumption process. Water footprints are typically categorized into three components: Blue Water Footprint : The volume of surface and groundwater consumed during the production process (e.g., for irrigation in agriculture or for industrial cooling). Green Water Footprint : The volume of rainwater stored in soil that is used by crops and vegetation. It mainly applies to agricultural and forestry activities. Grey Water Footprint : The amount of freshwater required to assimilate pollutants and maintain water quality standards, which represents the impact of water pollution. By calculating water footprints, individuals and companies can better understand their water consumption and develop strategies to use water more sustainably.

3. Project Overview This project analyses the water footprint (WF) for 1 L of gazpacho, a chilled vegetable soup produced by an agrifood company located in south-eastern Spain, one of the driest regions in Europe. An overview of the main environmental impacts of its WF was carried out by identifying hotspots (high risks areas) based on a Water Stress indicator. The  total WF  calculated for 1 L gazpacho is 580.5 L, which mostly stems from the supply chain (99.9%), olive oil being the major contributor to total WF despite the very low amount used (2%). Most of the WF comes from green water (69%), 23% from blue and 8% represents the grey water. Pollution due to  micropollutants  such as pesticides, which are not yet regulated, has been taken into account in the WF calculation, pointing out that new regulation of micropollutants is needed to avoid their exclusion in the operational grey WF.

4. Background The growing demand for food, driven by population growth, economic development, and pollution, is putting immense pressure on freshwater resources, especially in semi-arid regions. Signs such as groundwater depletion, reduced river flows, and deteriorating water quality indicate that current water use is unsustainable in many parts of the world. With agriculture consuming around 86% of global freshwater, it is crucial to evaluate water use in food production systems to ensure sustainability. In response, the agrifood industry is adopting responsible water strategies to mitigate risks. The water footprint (WF) has become a vital tool for food companies to measure water use and its impact, enabling risk assessment and identifying critical areas in supply chains. The WF has seen widespread adoption since its introduction, with two main approaches: the Water Footprint Network's volumetric method and the Life Cycle Analysis approach. Most existing studies follow the WFN method, calculating the water footprint for various products and businesses.

5. A nalysing the water footprint for 1 L of gazpacho, a chilled vegetable soup, produced by an agrifood company located in the southeast of Spain Project Objective 01

6. Process The Gazpacho WF was calculated according to the methodology established by the WFN according to Hoekstra et al., 2011. This study focuses on the estimation of the WF for 1 L gazpacho produced by the company Cítricos del Andarax S.A. (Almería, Spain).

7. Data T he supply-chain water footprint consists of two parts: the WF of the ingredients (tomato, pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, olive oil and vinegar) and the WF of other components (container, cap, labelling materials, packaging material), both representing the input products. As such, the next step for gazpacho WF estimation was to calculate the WF of each ingredient and component, distinguishing between the green, blue and grey WF. This estimation was carried out according to the stepwise accumulative approach established by Hoekstra et al. 2011 for products which are made from other input products (ingredients and other components)

8. Calculations The WF of each input product ( p ) was then calculated according to Eq. Where  WF prod [p]  is the water footprint of the input product,  WF prod [ i ]  is the water footprint of the raw material  i  (tomato, pepper, cucumber,  olives , grapes and garlic for agricultural ingredients; wood and oil for other components) and  WF proc   [p]  is the process WF to transform each item of raw material into an input product. The quantity of the input product per quantity of raw material is defined by the product fraction ( f p [ p,i ] ). The value fraction ( f v  [ p,i ]) is the fraction of the input product in the total aggregate product value. T he WF of the gazpacho is the sum of the WF of all input products ( p=1  to  y ) multiplied by the amount of each input product ( Ap ) used for 1 L of gazpacho.

9. Gazpacho WF Impact assessment The WF is an indicator of freshwater appropriation. In order to understand what its size means, it has to be compared with the available  freshwater resources  where the WF is located. The impact assessment of the gazpacho WF carried out in the present study was mainly focused on the identification of environmental impacts using a  blue water scarcity indicator. For this purpose, the approach carried out by Ercin et al., 2012 based on identifying hotspots was followed. They are places where the impact of the water footprint is large and  water scarcity  is high. Accordingly, in this study the blue WF of gazpacho ingredients was compared with the water scarcity in the region where the WF is situated, following the method of Van Oel et al., 2008. He stated that the impact of the WF can be determined by overlapping the data from a water scarcity map with the WF studied. In this study, the level of water scarcity in an area was estimated using the water scarcity index (WSI) developed by Smakhtin et al., 2004. This environmental indicator (WSI) is the ratio of the annual withdrawals from a certain area with respect to water availability in that area, taking into account the Environmental Water Requirements (EWR). The water availability is estimated by the difference between Mean Annual Runoff (MAR) in an area and the (EWR). Water scarcity is considered to be high when the environmental water stress index is higher than 0.6.

10. Results The total gazpacho WF calculated for 1 L gazpacho is 580.5 L. Gazpacho is a crop based product whose main ingredient is tomato (69.24%, w/w). The global average WF of other crop derived products which include tomato as a main ingredient varies from 270 L kg −1 (tomato juice), 530 L kg −1  (tomato Ketchup), 710 L kg −1  (tomato puree), while the WF for 1 kg of tomato is 214 L

11. Conclusion Total Water Footprint (WF) : The total WF of 1 Liter of gazpacho is 580.5 Liters, with 99.9% of the WF coming from the supply chain, and only a negligible amount from the company’s direct operations. Water Management Focus : Since the company is located in Almería, one of Europe's most arid regions, efforts to reduce water usage should focus on the supply chain rather than operational water use. Grey Water Footprint and Micropollutants : The grey WF is influenced by effluent quality after treatment, but current regulations in the EU do not cover micropollutants like pesticides, which may go unnoticed. The study suggests that regulating these micropollutants is necessary. Supply Chain WF Dominated by Agriculture : Most of the supply chain WF comes from agricultural ingredients (especially olive and tomato), which are heavily influenced by local production conditions. Local WF Studies Recommended : More precise WF assessments require localized studies of crop production, particularly in covered systems. High-Risk Regions Identified : Andalucía, Murcia, and Almería are identified as high-risk areas due to high water stress and being primary producers of key ingredients like tomatoes and olives. Need for Further Sustainability Studies : To fully assess gazpacho’s WF sustainability, future studies should include social, economic, and environmental factors to support better decision-making by the company.

12. Thank You