Europe’s Food Industry Reasserts Commitment on UN World Water Day

While food and drink production as such only accounts for about 1.8% of European industry’s water use, great strides have been made to achieve measurable water reduction and efficiency from the factory level to the final product.

23 March 2012 --- On the occasion of the United Nation’s annual World Water Day on March 22, Europe’s food and drink operators have reaffirmed their commitment to continuously strive for sustainable water use throughout their supply chain.

With a demand for water expected to rise 25% by 2025 worldwide, addressing water scarcity is a key global priority. While food and drink production as such only accounts for about 1.8% of European industry’s water use, great strides have been made to achieve measurable water reduction and efficiency from the factory level to the final product.

As the soon to be published FoodDrinkEurope 2012 Sustainability Report makes clear, through improved water efficiency, wastewater quality, better water re-use and water disclosure, the industry is making a conscious effort to save one of the world’s precious natural resources. Through the development and use of water consumption monitoring tools – from harvesting rainwater and redesigning processing techniques to undertaking significant efforts to purify wastewater such as recovering water from steam -  the food industry continues to invest in processing innovations to enhance water sustainability.

FoodDrinkEurope members continue to be frontrunners in water efficiency and are actively working to develop a protocol on the assessment of the environmental impact (which includes water) of food and drink products in addition to continuing to raise awareness of the importance of water sustainability in support of the UN objectives for World Water Day.