WBCSD and BIER Will Develop Guidance to Monitor and Measure Water Circularity

May 20, 2020 | BIER

water circularity
The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) announce collaboration on creation of water circularity metrics.

The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) announced their collaboration to develop a guidance on how to measure the circularity of a facility or operational site’s water sourcing, use, and discharge as contributions to a net reduction in water demand from the local watershed. The goal is for the resulting methodology to be utilized by leading companies to quantitatively compare and monitor the water circularity performance of their global operations.

“Historically, industry has followed a traditional linear philosophy of take-use-discharge,” said Nick Martin, Executive Director at BIER. “Industry in every sector should work towards adopting water circularity thinking whereby every drop of water is optimized towards a shared objective of a net water increase to local water supplies and quality.”

The collaboration includes a water and circularity landscape report, defining a set of Guiding Principles, and development of a water circularity metric(s) methodology to be pilot tested later in the year. The final guidance document and insights will be published and shared in December 2020.

The collaboration builds upon the success of previous initiatives including WBCSD’s Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) and BIER’s Context-Based Decision Guide for Water Reuse and Recycling.

“Companies will have different drivers and levers for improving water circularity based on their sector and where their facilities are located,” said Tom Williams, Director for Water at WBCSD. “This guidance will help companies understand circularity in the context of a basin or watershed setting and in terms of potential applications for recycled and reused water.”

The collaboration is supported by an advisory group of external stakeholders consisting of the Columbia Water Center, LimnoTech, World Resources Institute, Global Reporting Initiative, Isle Utilities, and the International Reference Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG).

For more information, please contact:

Julie Starr
BIER Communications Director
+1 832.419.3230
Email: jurlaub@taigacompany.com

Nicolas Jammes
WBCSD Director, Communications
Email: jammes@wbcsd.org

About WBCSD
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. We help make our member companies more successful and sustainable by focusing on the maximum positive impact for shareholders, the environment and societies. Our member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing a combined revenue of more than USD $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees. Our global network of almost 70 national business councils gives our members unparalleled reach across the globe. Since 1995, WBCSD has been uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues. Together, we are the leading voice of business for sustainability: united by our vision of a world where more than 9 billion people are all living well and within the boundaries of our planet, by 2050.



The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector.
By BIER [crp]

The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. Formed in 2006, BIER is a common voice across the beverage sector, speaking to influence global standards on environmental sustainability aspects most relevant to the sector, affect change both up and down the supply chain and share best practices that raise the bar for environmental performance of the industry. By doing so, BIER is able to monitor data and trends, engage with key stakeholders, develop best practices, and guide a course of action for the future.

Copyright © 2024, BIER. All rights reserved. Best in Market