84 OECD Insights: Sustainable Development

5. Production and Consumption

Beer (250 mL)

Milk(200 mL)

Cheese(1 kg)

Hamburger

Beef (1 kg)

75Beer

0 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 15 000 16 000 L

75 L

200 L

500 L

2 500 L

16 000 L

DRINK MORE BEER?Water footprint (L)

The water footprint of an individual is the total water used for the production of the goods and services he or she consumes.Some products you might think are similar to each other show surprising variations. A cup of tea “costs” 30 litres of water for instance, while coffee costs 140 and fruit juice 190.You could argue that drinking beer is the righteous path for the concerned citizen since a 250 ml glass will only set the planet back 75 litres of water. But as pointed out above, the water footprint includes the whole production chain, and the can, bottle or barrel has to be included, too. The global average water footprint of industrial products is 80 litres per dollar of value added, but this varies widely, e.g. 10 to 15 litres for Japan, Australia and Canada; 20 to 25 for India and China; and 50 for Germany and the Netherlands.The water footprint of a nation includes that part of the footprint that falls inside the country (internal footprint) and the part due to using water in other countries (external footprint). The global average per person is about 1 250 m3 a year, half the value of the biggest per capita consumer, the US. For China, it is 700 m3 of which only about 7% is outside the country. Japan, with a footprint of 1 150 m3, has about 65% of its total water footprint abroad.

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