Using water and promo­ting it

Water is the basis for all life on Earth …

… and an indis­pensable resource for humans, animals and plants. Without water, we could not exist, because our bodies are made up of more than half water, which serves as a building material for cells and as a trans­port medium for nutri­ents and waste products. Water regulates our body tempe­ra­ture, supports diges­tion and is important for many vital processes such as the produc­tion of oxygen by plants.

 

When it comes to water requi­re­ments, the follo­wing catego­ries are distin­gu­ished:

Drinking water requi­re­ment

On average, we drink about 2 to 3 litres of water daily, because our body constantly needs water to maintain vital functions. Water is essen­tial for our health. This gives us a direct drinking water requi­re­ment of around 1,000 litres per year.

 

Direct water requi­re­ment

Direct water demand comprises exclu­si­vely the water used directly from the tap. This includes drinking water use as well as all domestic activi­ties such as bathing, cooking, cleaning. The largest share is for personal hygiene. This value is appro­xi­m­ately 126 litres per day and corre­sponds to about 46,000 litres per year per person.

 

Water footprint: indirect water requi­re­ment

Indirect water demand refers to „virtual water“ needed to produce all consumed products, such as food, clothing, electro­nics and other goods. This also includes the water consumed in the produc­tion of imported goods. Indirect water consump­tion per person is 7.200 Liter täglich. 86 % of the indirect water needed for the produc­tion of goods consumed in Germany is used abroad.

 

Blue Gold

Trotz seiner schein­baren Fülle ist Süßwasser nur in sehr geringem Anteil auf der Erde vorhanden, und davon ist nochmals nur ein Bruch­teil als Trink­wasser nutzbar. Deshalb ist Wasser nicht nur ein Grund­stoff des Lebens, sondern auch eine wertvolle und schüt­zens­werte Ressource, deren nachhal­tiger Umgang für das Überleben aller Lebewesen von größter Bedeu­tung ist. In Deutsch­land stammen 70 % des Trink­was­sers aus den Grund­was­ser­res­sourcen. Über 40 % der Fläche aller deutschen Wasser­schutz­ge­biete liegen im Wald. Das im Wald gebil­dete Wasser hat eine sehr gute Qualität und unter­schreitet an fast allen Stand­orten die geltenden Nitrat-Grenz­werte. Wald ist somit auch für die Trink­was­ser­qua­lität sehr wichtig.

 

Consume and promote water?

We all consume resources and, as part of sustaina­bi­lity, must switch produc­tion and consump­tion to use resources more sparingly. What about consump­tion that cannot be reduced any further?
Are you aware of the consump­tion for ….
• the product water: for the annual water requi­re­ment directly incurred in the produc­tion of products?
• the produc­tion water: for the water footprint required for the entire manufac­ture of a product?
• the company water: for the opera­tional water consump­tion that a company needs annually?
• the personal drinking water consump­tion: that people need per year?

Gerade in Unter­nehmen kommt da einiges an Trink­wasser zusammen, das täglich verbraucht wird. Durch die Pflan­zung von stand­ort­ge­rechten Laubbäumen in monostruk­tu­rierten Nadel­wäl­dern oder auf Schad­flä­chen entstehen klima­re­si­li­ente Laubmisch­wälder, die die Grund­was­ser­neu­bil­dung erhöhen. So können Laubbaum­pflan­zungen der Natur etwas von dem Wasser zurück­geben, das verbraucht wird.