Total volume or percentage of water (total, freshwater or other) reduced, reused or recycled
Unit
Indicator
Metric type
Framework alignment notes
TNFD A3.2 - Total volume (m³) or percentage of water (total, freshwater or other) reduced, reused or recycled
WBCSD Regen Ag 2.1 Onsite water circulation: Q water use - Q total water withdrawal/ Q total water withdrawal +1
AWS 3.7.1 Indirect water use targets: Volume and % reduction achieved
Voluntary P2 Water replenished, restored, or regenerated: Total volume of water replenished, restored or regenerated (volume unit/year)
ICMM Table 1: Operationa water reuse/recycle volumes for all sites (as an aggregated total)
PWI P2 Water replenished, restored, or regenerated: Total volume of water replenished, restored or regenerated (volume unit/year)
Target example
[Company name] will increase its water recycling capacity so that [target amount in ML/year] are recycled by [target year]
Target source: WBCSD target template
Metric assessment
Relevance:
High
Feasibility:
Low
Additional Metric Notes
ACT-D stage
Disclose
Maturity stage
Advancing
Metric Contribution to Action
Measuring water reuse and recycling quantifies progress toward reducing overall consumption. This also contributes to site-level risk and opportunity evaluation, especially in water-scarce regions.
Observations, Successes and Challenges
- The metric is measurable, providing clear targets for water reduction, reuse, and recycling efforts.
- Without a clear baseline, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of water reduction efforts. Companies might claim reductions without a proper comparative standard.
- Water that is reduced may not always be of good quality for reuse or recycling, making the volume of reduced water less meaningful without quality metrics.
- Leadership commitment is a key success factor for advancing this metric. Without strategic prioritization of water efficiency and circularity, progress is limited.