Water evapotranspiration 

Unit

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: Cubic meters per hectare (m3/ha)

Indicator

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: Water consumption and withdrawal

Metric type

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: Pressure

Framework alignment notes

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Target 16
Mandatory (Core global) Forestry: Additional sector guidance TNFD C3.0 "Water withdrawal and consumption (m3) from areas of water scarcity, including identification of water source"
E3-4. 28A. Total Water Consumption
Regen agri water chapter, Annex B, table 5: "Sediment and pollutant loads"
Voluntary P1 Water consumption: Water efficiency (volume unit/year /production unit)
CDP Water Security Voluntary W 1.2b What are the total volumes of water withdrawn, discharged, and consumed across all your operations, how do they compare to the previous reporting year, and how are they forecasted to change. W1.2h Provide total water withdrawal data by source
Voluntary Monthly or annual volume, per source (surface water, groundwater, municipal grid, etc.) of water consumption.
Voluntary Table 1: Total consumption for each site
Mandatory quantities of water used (including water withdrawal and release) types of water resources used (including for water withdrawal and water receiving body) changes in drainage, stream flow, groundwater flow or water evaporation that arise from land use change, land management activities and other forms of water interception, where relevant to the scope and boundary of the study being undertaken
UN Convention to Combat Desertification 2017, Strategic objectives and expected impacts, Strategic objective 3 - "Expected impact 3.1 Ecosystems’ vulnerability to drought is reduced, including through sustainable land and water management practices."

Target example

[Company name] will measure its water evapotranspiration by [target year].

Target Source: WBCSD target template

Metric assessment

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Relevance: Medium

Feasibility: High

Additional Metric Notes

ACT-D stage: Assess Maturity stage: Developing Metric Contribution to Action: Tracking water evapotranspiration identifies water-intensive processes, guiding actions to reduce water loss. Observations/Sucesses/Challenges: > Unlike withdrawal metrics, this accounts for actual water loss to the atmosphere (evapotranspiration), giving a better picture of net consumption. > Evapotranspiration requires specialized models or satellite data, making it complex and resource-intensive to track at a detailed scale. > Unlike water withdrawals, businesses often have limited ability to reduce evapotranspiration, particularly in agricultural supply chains. > Companies may not always account for water that returns to the system (e.g., precipitation replenishment), leading to over- or underestimation of true water loss.

Related actions

Reduce water use and wastage, particularly in water-stressed areas

Reduce water use and wastage, particularly in water-stressed areas

Description