Water consumption or evapotranspiration
Unit : Cubic meters per hectare (m3/ha)
Indicator : Water consumption and withdrawal
Metric Type : Pressure
Frameworks alignment notes
Target example
[Company name] will reduce its water consumption in [water basin] to [target amount, absolute ML/year] by the [target year]
Target Source: WBCSD target template
Sector
Value chain stage
Metric assessment
Relevance: High
Feasibility: Low
Additional Metric Notes
Rationale: Water consumption (withdrawals minus discharges) may be a more accurate representation of pressure (vs withdrawals alone), but calculation can be more difficult, especially in the agricultural context, and does not account for changes in water quality. Withdrawal and consumption data can be used together to make other calculations, e.g., irrigation efficiency. Key resources: SBTN-Freshwater; WBCSD Regen-ag Metrics - Water chapter Additional/complementary metrics: Intermediate metrics: water withdrawals and discharges, crop-specific consumption rates Landscape deep dives: Mekong Delta, VA - rice (+ aquaculture rotation) - Key indicator for this biome which has med-high water stress Key resources: IRRI - 1M5R: https://ghgmitigation.irri.org/mitigation-technologies/1-must-do-5-reductions; Sustainable Rice Platform: https://sustainablerice.org/; Sidama, ETH - coffee - Key indicator for this biome which has med-high water stress