What do you think the best applications are for Virtual Water indices?

Published by

5 Replies

Transparency is always the ...

Transparency is always the first step to raise the level of awareness as a pre-requisite for changing behaviors, given the right incentives.... So I am great supporter of providing transparency on water consumptions of the goods and services we use. What seems to be more difficult for me to grasp, is the whether the water consumed is precious or not... in other words the measure does not give any information about the (mostly local) opportunity cost of that water (i.e. could it have been used better in the first place). At the end of the day, we have so far always built our habits on economic (dis)incentives. If water was priced taking into account all externalities, product prices would adequately reflect the purposeful use of water.

Published by

A key component to a virtual ...

A key component to a virtual water index needs to also the answer of how was water use reduced. For example, if a green neighborhood utilized 40% less water than a traditional neighborhood, how is this achieved? Indoor water conservation, high efficiency appliances, outdoor water conservation, etc.

Published by

Since agriculture takes 70 ...

Since agriculture takes 70 plus % of water use if we avoid the food issue, do you think a virtual water index can still have meaningful impact? I like the idea of green neighborhoods. We are engaging with a California development company to plan and market building green neighborhoods and converting old ones, and branding them so get higher resale value. Seems like a good way to help get some movement on home resales.

Published by

I see virtual water data ...

I see virtual water data being used eventually as a marketing tool. "Buy our XXX product, which takes 50% less water to manufacture than the leading brand."

Published by

For humanitarian purposes I'd ...

For humanitarian purposes I'd stay away from food. But I would peg virtual water indices to fuel production, consumer goods and even real estate (American love green lawns! Even in the desert). These indices should serve to encourage more efficient water use by affecting product price, thus encouraging net zero water usage.

Published by