SABMiller’s Water Footprinting Report

This report from SABMiller, the World Wildlife Fund and German agency GTZ explores in-depth how much water SABMiller uses for the entire value chain of its breweries in four countries: Peru, Tanzania, Ukraine and South Africa.

From the report’s executive summary:

Over the past year, the three partners have worked together in Peru, Tanzania, Ukraine and South Africa to begin this process, building on work undertaken by SABMiller and WWF in the Czech Republic and South Africa in 2008. in each country detailed water footprints have been undertaken to provide greater insight and an in-depth understanding of the risks faced. With this knowledge, the partnership has been able to draw together relevant local stakeholders to develop a shared approach to tackle issues that have emerged.

 

The findings of these footprints, including a quantification of the water used throughout SABMiller’s value chain from crop production to distribution of products, are presented within this report, along with a summary of the key risks identified in each country.

The results show considerable variation between the footprints — ranging from 61 litres of water per litre of beer produced in Peru to 180 litres per litre in tanzania. the variation clearly illustrates the impact of local factors at play on water consumed within SABMiller’s value chain. it is for this reason that we do not think it is useful to compare this figure directly between countries or even regions to gauge the relative impact, but rather to use the information gathered to gain a better understanding of how water is used within the value chain.