Osnovna škola Bartola Kašića Vinkovci Erasmus+ project 2018-2020 Stop Climate Change – Together Europe Achieves More WATER FOOTPRINT
People all over the world spend too much fresh water and this overconsumption is a great threat to our planet. Water resources are not available to everyone and this is why the United Nations included in 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development goals “Ensuring access to water and sanitation for all”. The water footprint concept was introduced in 2002 in order to have a consumption-based indicator of water use. The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use.
Water footprint can be calculated for individuals, households, businesses and countries. The water footprint of an individual refers to the sum of their direct and indirect freshwater use. The direct water use is the water used at home, the indirect water use relates to the total amount of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed. The average global individual footprint is 1385 m3 water per year, here are examples for some countries: China -1071 m3 Finland - 1733 m3 the United Kingdom - 1695 m3 the USA - 2842 m3
Water footprint of products: the total amount of freshwater used to produce the product, including all steps of the production chain: 1 kg of beef - 15415 litres of water 1 kg of chocolate - 17196 litres 1 kg of cotton cloth - 9114 litres 1 kg of lettuce - 238 litres 1 kg of tomatoes - 214 litres 1 kg of white bread - 1068 litres 1 litre of milk - 1021 litres of water
There are different water footprints: Blue Water Footprint: the amount of surface water and groundwater required to prooduce an item Green Water Footprint: the amount of rainwater required to make an item Grey Water Footprint: the amount of freshwater required to dillute the wastewater generated in manufacturein in order to maintain water quality
We decided to save water, first we put up leaflets about the loss of water caused by leaking taps:
Pupils made posters with tips for saving water