Expanding the scope of our water assessment
At Givaudan, a lot has changed since our last worldwide corporate water footprint assessment in 2018.
While local assessments and continuous data collection have allowed for day-to-day monitoring in the interim, it is now important to take another look at the big picture.
We have added new sites and raw materials, and stronger emphasis is being placed on water-related topics. Emerging recommendations from organisations such as CDP, SBTN and TNFD are driving us to increasingly regard parameters of quality – freshwater eco-toxicity and freshwater and marine eutrophication – to be on equal footing with those of quantity, and central to the development of an environmental impact strategy.
Expanded scope on water footprint
All of these considerations motivated the expanded scope of our most recent water footprint assessment.
The 2023 assessment covered 78 sites, and evaluated water use in direct operations and indirect water use from energy as well as purchased ingredients (scope 3.1). The quantity assessment confirmed our existing approach to water management in sites in stress areas, where we focus our efforts on a 25% reduction in water withdrawal intensity.
It also showed that the ingredients we purchase account for our highest water use in terms of all three parameters considered: water withdrawal, consumption and scarcity. As an example, scope 3.1 accounts for about 421.5 million m3, or a full 92%, of Givaudan’s total water withdrawal of 457 million m3/year. Similarly, scope 3.1 accounts for about 216 million m3, or about 97% of Givaudan’s total water consumption, which amounts to 223 million m3; out of which 66% of that linked to naturals, and 33% to synthetics. Overall, the water footprint quantity indicators show that ingredients represent at least 92% of the total footprint. And although our products do not require much water themselves, our supply chain is linked to significant water quantity hotspots.
Gaining maturity and visibility
These results helped us identify 15 ingredient groups that account for about 61% of Givaudan’s scope 3.1 water consumption. These groups will be the focus of our efforts in 2024. Some projects will be spearheaded by our Agronomy team, who plan to work with our partners to improve agricultural practices, including aspects related to water management.
While the results from the quality assessment are still outstanding, we are already gaining maturity and visibility in our approach thanks to better data collection. This will allow us to set targets in the future.
Overall, the exercise underscored the prominence of the supply chain in our water use. This reinforces our conviction that we must partner with our suppliers to find solutions together, and continue to pursue approaches such as regenerative agriculture projects when possible.