Water Consumed: Regions with High Water Stress (OI3637)

This metric is intended to capture the volume of water from high-water-stress regions used within the organization for any purpose, including but not limited to productive processes (for example, packaging and manufacturing), human consumption, and agricultural purposes. Organizations are encouraged to footnote the percentage of their total water use that represents water use from regions with high or extremely high baseline water stress.

To calculate this metric (water consumed), subtract the amount of Water Discharged (OI0386) to high-water-stressed areas from the amount of Water Withdrawn (OI0263) from high-water-stressed areas. Report Level of Water Stress (OI2799) to disaggregate land managed by the organization by water stress. For this calculation, organizations should consider “High” or “Extremely High” water stress under Level of Water Stress (OI2799) to be “high water stress.”

Water sources include surface water (including water from wetlands, rivers, lakes, and oceans), groundwater, rainwater collected directly and stored by the organization, wastewater obtained from other entities, municipal water supply, or supply from other water utilities.

Baseline water stress is total water withdrawal as a percentage of freshwater availability in a specific water source. High water stress is defined as a percentage of 40–80%, and extremely high is defined as a percentage greater than 80%. Organizations can refer to the glossary for further guidance on identifying high or extremely high baseline water stress regions. Organizations may also consult resources such as the World Resources Institute (WRI) Water Risk Atlas Tool (http://www.wri.org/resources/maps/aqueduct-water-risk-atlas) and the WWF-DEG Water Risk Filter (http://waterriskfilter.panda.org/).

In some contexts, this metric can serve as an indicator of whether the outcome being sought by an investor or organization is occurring (the WHAT dimension of impact). For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact (https://iris.thegiin.org/document/iris-and-the-five-dimensions/). No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. When possible, the selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.