Environmental
Resource Center

Water Conservation & Sustainability

An Environmental Resource Center Asset from Graphic Communications

According to AFP, an international news service, a couple of years from now, beer, cola, rice, breakfast cereal, cotton T-shirts and many other goods may come with a new logo: a label which says the water used to make this product came from a sustainable source.

The idea of water certification would have been considered bizarre only a few years ago. Water has been traditionally viewed as a resource that, because it tumbles out of the sky and is recycled by nature, is as free as the air we breathe, reports AFP.

Peruse the articles below to understand how the perception of water is changing. Read other stories in our Environmental Resource Center to appreciate how water conservation fits in the bigger picture.

How Much Water is Used in a Paper Mill?
There are many efforts underway to measure and disclose water usage. There is much confusion, however, over key metrics, the best tools and what the “value” of water is for pulp and paper mills.

Ocean Trash in the Spotlight (Again) at Clinton Global Summit
The mass of plastic trash swirling in the Pacific is in the spotlight again. First, clean products company Method unveiled its new Ocean bottle, which is partially made of plastic garbage pulled from the sea.

HP Helps Biggest State Water System Cut 440 Servers
HP says that with its BladeSystem technology, the California Department of Water Resources was able to move to a 95 percent virtualized environment, reducing its physical servers from 600 to 160.

Water Quality Cap-and-Trade Wins USDA Funds
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will use a $1 million Conservation Innovation Grant to initiate water quality pilot trades in the Ohio River Basin.

PepsiCo Dives Into Its Water Footprint in 5 Water-Stressed Regions
Partnership with The Nature Conservancy to study watersheds surrounding five Pepsi facilities, with hope that lessons learned will help protect and restore the water supply across its global operations.

GE, Dow, Goldman Launch ‘Unprecedented’ Water Mapping Project
The Aqueduct Alliance will provide never-before-seen detail on global water risks. Maps will combine advanced hydrological data with geographically-specific indicators.

Water Innovation and Investment for a Sustainable Future
According to the World Health Organization, nearly a billion people globally do not have access to safe water and close to 3.6 million die each year from water-related causes.

Jackson Family Wines Pilot Reduces Water Use 70%
Kendall-Jackson has completed a pilot into water-saving technologies that could help the California wine industry save a billion gallons of water a year.

Whirlpool Cuts Water Use by Nearly 22% from 2004 to 2008
Whirlpool’s water consumption dropped 21.5 percent between 2004 and 2008 even with the addition of four manufacturing facilities.

CDP Launches Water Disclosure Project
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has launched a global water disclosure project to raise awareness of water scarcity and related issues.

Number of Investors Seeking Water Data Doubles
The number of institutional investors using the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to seek data on companies’ water management has risen by over 150 percent.

PepsiCo to Reduce Water, Energy Use 20% by 2015
PepsiCo is committed to cutting company-wide water use by 20 percent, electricity by 20 percent and fuel by 25 percent by 2015.

Water, Water Everywhere — and Everywhere Under Threat
Water is the new carbon: the latest resource that must be conserved, and the latest element that must be measured, managed and reduced.

From Lettuce to Beef, What’s the Water Footprint of Your Food?
TreeHugger takes a look at the water footprint of common food items.

Coming Soon: ‘Sustainable Water’ Certification
Scheme seeks to make a “Water Stewardship” tag as successful as Forest Stewardship Certification.

To Conserve Water, China Raises Prices
Beijing to increase water prices to restrict total consumption.

If you have environment information or tools you’d like us to consider sharing here, please contact our Director of Environmental Affairs, Ralph O’Connor.