New cooperative initiative will tackle carbon and water together

This Friday 22nd March on World Water Day 2013, Best Foot Forward and the Water Footprint Network launch their new initiative to tackle the water-carbon nexus. The organisations are inviting industry stakeholders to join a new working group that will tackle the challenge of integrating carbon and water management.
In the spirit of the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013, World Water Day is dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water and on this day we are joining forces to tackle the issue of carbon and water footprint in a truly cooperative way.

The outcome will be a paper which offers the best practice and advice, including case studies from companies who have successfully managed their water and carbon use in an integrated way. By avoiding trade-offs and creating efficiencies, companies can do more to reduce environmental impact.

Kurt Unger from the Water Footprint Network, said:
'Bringing together the two global problems of unsustainable water use and climate change into one set of integrated solutions will quickly advance companies toward reducing their impacts and improving the sustainability of their products.'

Chris White from Best Foot Forward said:
'It's vital for businesses to consider both carbon and water footprint together, but this isn't an easy thing to do. We have some powerful capability and experience in this field but we don't have all the answers so we're asking business leaders to work with us to help come up with solutions.'

Companies can find out more about the initiative by contacting either organisation directly.

Notes to editors
The Water Footprint Network is a dynamic, international learning community; a platform for connecting diverse communities interested in sustainability, equitability and efficiency of water use. The network makes data, methods and tools available for free and incorporates diverse perspectives from a broad range of stakeholders from different social, cultural, economic and environmental backgrounds.
http://www.waterfootprint.org/

Best Foot Forward is an award-winning sustainability consultancy based in Oxford. It has worked with hundreds of organisations, providing evidence-based strategy to help them reduce environmental impact in a world of limited resources. The company helped develop the carbon management strategy for London 2012, and is currently working with Tesco to reduce its supply chain impact. It has been leading developments in international footprinting methodologies and tools - including water footprinting - since 1997. http://www.bestfootforward.com/

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. In 2013, in reflection of the International Year of Water Cooperation, World Water Day is also dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water. http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013


Contact information
For more information or to be involved with the initiative, please contact:

Dr. Ashok K. Chapagain
Science Director
Phone +31 53 489 1065
E-mail: ashok.chapagain@waterfootprint.org

Paul McNeillis
Director, Best Foot Forward
07787 518 534
01865 250818
Paul.McNeillis@bestfootforward.com