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Water Footprint Assessment in Supply Chains

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Sustainable Supply Chains

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Supply Chain Management ((SSSCM,volume 23))

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Abstract

Companies become increasingly aware that they contribute directly and indirectly to water scarcity and pollution and that this constitutes a risk they have to respond to. A growing number of companies are exploring their water footprint and searching for ways they can become better water stewards. The chapter discusses and compares three methods to trace resource use and pollution over supply chains: environmental footprint assessment, life cycle assessment, and environmentally extended input-output analysis. Next, it discusses what new perspective the water footprint concept brings to the table, compared to the traditional way of looking at water use. It then reviews some of the recent literature on direct and indirect water footprints of different sectors of the economy. Finally, it discusses future challenges, such as the issue of data gathering and reporting, the demand for water stewardship and greater product transparency, and the need to establish water footprint benchmarks.

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Acknowledgment

We have reproduced this chapter from the first edition of the book in the memory of Arjan Hoekstra (1967–2019). We are extremely grateful to Arjan for his contribution to the first edition, and it is with deep sadness that he has not been able to contribute to this second edition. This chapter is abridged and adapted from Hoekstra (2015a).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Arjen Y. Hoekstra

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  1. Arjen Y. Hoekstra
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Correspondence to Arjen Y. Hoekstra .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kedge Business School, Talence, France

    Yann Bouchery

  2. Anderson School of Management, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Charles J. Corbett

  3. School of Economics and Management, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Jan C. Fransoo

  4. Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Tarkan Tan

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Hoekstra, A.Y. (2024). Water Footprint Assessment in Supply Chains. In: Bouchery, Y., Corbett, C.J., Fransoo, J.C., Tan, T. (eds) Sustainable Supply Chains. Springer Series in Supply Chain Management, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45565-0_4

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