Raisio Adds H20 Labels to Products

The Elovena H2O label indicates the product’s water footprint throughout the production chain – from the field to the ready, packaged product. The footprint includes the water that the plant uses for growth, the water used in production, as well as the resulting waste water.

16/04/09 Raisio is the world’s first food company to add an H2O label to product packaging, indicating the total water consumption of the product. The label was added to Elovena oat flakes, which only a year ago pioneered the CO2 label. In addition to climate matters, water consumption is one of the biggest global environmental challenges. Clean, drinkable water is becoming a scarce resource worldwide, and the lack of water will affect all of us directly or indirectly.

The total water consumption of Elovena oat flakes is 101 litres per 100 grams of the product. According to the Water Footprint Network, the total water consumption of, for example, one apple (100 g) is around 70 litres, while that of beef is some 1,600 litres per 100 grams of meat.

The Elovena H2O label indicates the product’s water footprint throughout the production chain – from the field to the ready, packaged product. The footprint includes the water that the plant uses for growth, the water used in production, as well as the resulting waste water. Most of the consumption consists of the water that oats use during the growth period and get from rain water, as a part of the natural water cycle. Since the oat grown in Finland is not irrigated, it does not compete for clean, drinkable water.

Raisio devised its own calculation model, since no internationally established formula and product labelling exist as yet. The calculations for primary production are based on evaporation data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s weather observation stations, the water consumed in oat cultivation and the three-year averages for oat crops supplied by Raisio’s contract farmers. Oat flake production and packaging materials jointly account for well under one per cent of the overall water consumption. The production process does not generate any wastewater, since oat flakes are made by steaming.

Consumers are showing increasing interest in the impact that their consumption habits have on the climate change and the environment. Matti Rihko, Raisio’s CEO, says the company hopes to receive feedback on the label and the calculation method so that both can be further developed. “If consumers find that the label gives them the information they need for consumption choices, Raisio will add the label to other products as well.”

Freshwater, that is, water suitable for drinking and cultivation, accounts for only around one per cent of the global water resources. Around 70 per cent of this is used for agriculture. The average water footprint of Finns is 4,700 litres a day (1,727 m3 a year)*. Most of this is hidden water. As much as 41 per cent of the volume is generated outside of Finland, meaning that it affects the water reserves of other nations. The UN estimates that two-thirds of the world’s population will suffer from lack of water in 2025.