Product Water Footprinting: Application with Milk Products at Brand Level

Abstract:

The production and consumption of products and services exert much pressure on hydrological cycle. Water footprint is a popular indicator quantifying both direct and indirect water use of a product or service. In this article, water footprints were calculated for three milk products, 180g Yogurt, 250mL Fluid milk and 400g Skim milk powder (SMP) at product brand (YiYi^®) level. The process LCA-based water footprint method was applied using primary production data, with both volumetric and stress-weighted results reported. Water footprint values were compared among different life cycle stages and products, and possible mitigation strategies to minimize the burden on freshwater systems from consumptive water use were raised. The results demonstrated the suitability of water footprint as streamlined indicator for product sustainability management and affirmed the importance of farming stage for water footprint reduction.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 522-524)
• Pages: 925-929
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.522-524.925
• Online since: February 2014
• Authors: Chang Chun Xu, Yao Wu, Hao Jia, Fu Chen*
• Keywords: Environmental Impact (EI), Life Cycle Assessment, Milk Products, Supply Chain, Water Footprint

References

[1] A. Koehler, Warer use in LCA: managing the planet's freshwater resources, Int. J. LCA 13 (2008): 451-455.

DOI: 10.1007/s11367-008-0028-6

[2] Information on http: /www. unesco. org/water/wwap/wwdr/wwdr2.

[3] C.J. Vörösmarty, P. Green, J. Salisbury, R.B. Lammers, Global water resources: vulnerability from climate change and population growth, Science 289. 5477 (2000): 284-288.

DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5477.284

[4] A.Y. Hoekstra, A.K. Chapagain, M.M. Aldaya, M.M. Mesfin, The water footprint assessment manual: setting the global standard, Water Footprint Network, Enschede, the Netherlands, (2011).

DOI: 10.4324/9781849775526

[5] B.G. Ridoutt, S. Pfister, A revised approach to water footprinting to make transparent the impacts of consumption and production on global freshwater scarcity, Global Environ. Change 20. 1 (2010): 113-120.

DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2009.08.003

[6] BSI (British Standards Institution), PAS2050: 2008, Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services, London: British Standards, (2008).

[7] M.M. Mekonnen, A.Y. Hoekstra, The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, Value of Water Research Report Series No. 47, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands, (2010).

DOI: 10.5194/hessd-8-763-2011

[8] CMEP (Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection), Dataset for the first China Pollution Source Census, Chinese Environmental Science Press, Beijing, 2011. (in Chinese).

[9] S. Pfister, A. Koehler, S. Hellweg, Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA, Environ. Sci. Technol. 43. 11 (2009): 4098-4104.

DOI: 10.1021/es802423e