Retailers urged to embrace water labelling

Businesses have this week faced fresh calls to provide customers with information on the impact of their product on water supplies, following the release of new report arguing that consumers remain largely unaware of the contribution many product's can make to water shortages.

The study, which was commissioned by food and agriculture lobby group Sustain and carried out by The Food Ethics Council, recommended that food and drink products should carry a label demonstrating the water stewardship credentials of their producer.

"Public awareness of water scarcity remains low," said the report's co-author Tom MacMillan. "In the UK, citizens are rarely exposed to the direct effects of a severe water shortage and cannot readily see the links between their purchases and water shortage in other countries. Water use is not reflected in the price of the final product."

He recommended that the new labels should stop short of providing information on a product's "water footprint", but would allow companies to demonstrate that they are investing in water conservation measures in a manner similar to the Forestry Stewardship Councils high-profile labelling scheme for sustainable timber.

Sustain's co-ordinator, Jeanette Longfield, who commissioned the report, said that the new labels could be displayed alongside other sustainability labels, such as the Carbon Trust's carbon footprinting label.

"This information should go alongside other vital elements of sustainability, such as greenhouse gases, nutrition and fair trade, so people can get a full picture of the impact of the food they buy," she said. "But, most important, when companies measure their impact they often improve it. Labelling, on the basis of water stewardship, could soon offer people products that cause less environmental damage."

The report is the latest in a series of moves designed to encourage firms to keep better track of their water use.

Earlier this year, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants warned that water audits were likely to become as prevalent as carbon reporting in the coming years, and urged its members to develop skills for tracking water use. Meanwhile, WWF released a major study last year arguing that with the average UK consumer responsible for 30 times more "embedded water" each day than they use directly, companies should provide "water footprinting" labels.

The concept of water footprinting is becoming increasingly popular as evidence emerges of the huge impact global supply chains have on water supplies in some of the world's most drought-stricken regions. According to The Food Ethics Council report, 140 litres of water are used to make enough coffee for one cup, while 8,000 litres are used to produce 500g of beef.