Water Footprint Score: A Practical Method for Wider Communication and Assessment of Water Footprint Performance

Abstract

In the present study, we propose a simple and practical method for assessing and communicating Water Footprint (WF) performance of a crop. We introduce the concept of “Water Footprint Score” (WFS), a comprehensive and comparable indicator of farmers’ water resources management performance, which can be incorporated into agricultural products’ labels. WFS as the outcome of the comparison with a water footprint annual reference level, and is a spatiotemporally comparable metric that reflects the convergence to best cultivation practices and can be easily perceived by both farmers and consumers. Examples of water footprint score for two different crops, kiwifruits and table olives, are provided.

Keywords

• water footprint annual reference level
• water footprint labeling
• kiwifruit
• table olives