Table of Contents
- Watsource
- Watsourcetrackopt
- Watsourcetrackoptall
- Watsourcetrackoptmethod
- Watsourcetrackoptrejected
- Wattrackdomprodsep
- Wattrackdomprodsep Verification And Scoring
- Watgroundlegalreq
- Watgroundlegalreq Verification And Scoring
- Watmonitorleaks
- Watmonitorleaks Verification And Scoring
Select all water sources used by your facility
- Select all the applicable water sources from the list.
- Measurement of water use from all sources is the foundation of water management and the overall sustainability program for a company. Measurement of all water sources allows you to identify areas of significant use, detect any abnormal consumption, and establish reduction targets.
- Based on the selection(s) here, you may see additional questions for more details about the specific water sources. These selections will determine what usage data is collected in the water section.
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Notes and definitions:
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Blue Water Sources - Blue water is fresh surface and groundwater; the water in freshwater lakes, rivers and aquifers.
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Surface Water
- Water that is naturally occurring on the Earth’s surface (ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, icebergs, ponds, lakes, rivers / streams, wetlands, bogs, etc.) Surface water has a low concentration of dissolved solids, is of an acceptable quality, and/or requires minimal treatment to be used for domestic, municipal, or agricultural applications.
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Groundwater
- Water in soil beneath the soil surface, usually under conditions where the pressure in the water is greater than the atmospheric pressure, and the soil voids are substantially filled with the water. Non-renewable groundwater is generally located at deeper depths and cannot be replenished easily or is replenished over very long periods of time. They are sometimes referred to as “fossil” groundwater sources.
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Municipal Blue Water
- Water provided by a municipality or other public provider that is generated by blue water.
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Municipal Water (Origin Unknown)
- (Origin Unknown) Water provided by a municipality or other public provider with unknown origin (e.g., blue, or grey water)
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Brackish surface water/seawater
- Water in which the concentration of salts is relatively high (over 10,000 mg/l). For comparison, seawater has a typical concentration of salts above 35,000 mg/l. Brackish water is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with freshwater, as in estuaries, but also certain human activities can produce brackish water. Brackish water is hostile to the growth of most terrestrial plant species.
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Condensate from External Steam Source
- Water that is generated from the condensate of steam sources that are not located at the facility.
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Rainwater
- Water in the form of precipitation (e.g., rain, snow) that is harvested within the facility either from the roof or other surfaces and stored for use.
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Surface Water
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Grey Water Sources - Grey water is water that has been polluted by human activity (e.g., industrial, or domestic sources).
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Municipal Grey Water
- Water provided by a municipality or other public provider that is generated by grey water.
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Recycled Water
- Wastewater that has been treated using physical, chemical, and/or any additional treatment processes to meet a quality which allows the water to be used again in a process. For example, wastewater that has gone through a membrane filtration process and used back in the industrial operation is considered recycled water. This does not include water cycled in operations such as cooling towers and non-contact heat exchange operations.
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Reuse Water
- Wastewater discharged from one process that is used directly in another process without treatment. This does not include water cycled in operations such as cooling towers and non-contact heat exchange operations.
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Treated Wastewater from External Source
- Wastewater that has been discharged and treated by an external source (e.g., other manufacturing facility) using physical, chemical, and/or any additional treatment processes to meet a quality which allows the water to be used again in a process.
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Untreated Wastewater from External Sources (treated internally)
- Wastewater that has been discharged by an external source (e.g., other manufacturing facility) and treated at your facility using physical, chemical, and/or any additional treatment processes to meet a quality which allows the water to be used again in a process.
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Municipal Grey Water
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Blue Water Sources - Blue water is fresh surface and groundwater; the water in freshwater lakes, rivers and aquifers.
2. Does your facility track any of its water use? (Ref ID: watsourcetrackopt)
- Yes
- No
Answer Yes If: Your facility tracks water use from one (1) or more of its water sources.
Note: If you answer No to this question, no further questions will be asked, and you will receive a score of zero (0) in the water section.
3. Does your facility track the consumption of water from all of the sources it utilizes? (Ref ID: watsourcetrackoptall)
- Yes
- Partial Yes
- No
Answer Yes If: Your facility tracks water use from all water sources used.
Answer Partial Yes If: Your facility tracks water use from one (1) or more, but not all of its water sources.
Note: If you answer No to this question, this means that you do not track water use for any sources and the answer to the previous question should also be No. In this case, no further questions will be asked, and you will receive a score of zero (0) in the water section.
If you answer Yes or Partial Yes to the questions above, you will be asked the following sub question on water tracking.
3.1. Is your facility able to separate and report water consumption by facility type for tracked water sources directly from captured data without relying on estimation? (Ref ID - watsourcetrackoptmethod)
What is the intent of this question?
- The intent of this question is for facilities to indicate whether their reported water consumption split across different facility types is based on estimates or based on direct measurement of water sources at each applicable facility type.
- Answer Yes if : Your water consumption for all tracked water sources is based on data measured directly at each facility type
- Answer Partial Yes if : Your water consumption for only some tracked water sources is based on data measured directly at each facility type and other tracked water consumption is split using estimation.
- Answer No if: Your facility uses an estimation methodology to calculate the breakdown of water usage for all water sources across all facility types.
4. Does the water consumption you track and report include the rejected water quantity from pre-treatment? (Ref ID: watsourcetrackoptrejected)
- Yes
- No
Answer Yes If: Your consumption tracking includes rejected water from onsite pre-treatment of incoming water.
Note: This question only applies to facilities that have indicated that pre-treatment of incoming water occurs onsite in the Site Info section of the FEM.
This question is not scored in the 2024 Higg FEM reporting year. Scoring may be applied in future reporting years.
If you answer Yes to this question, you will be asked the following sub questions:
- Please select the type/s of treatment.
- Does your facility measure the quantity of water rejected from the pre-treatment?
- What are the water sources that you send through pre-treatment?
- Please indicate the annual quantity of rejected water (m3).
- What is the reject percentage (%)?
- What is the method of disposal of the rejected water?
- If Other, please describe.
- Please upload your facility's incoming water pre-treatment process flow and hydraulic diagrams, if you have one.
Are you able to identify and track domestic and production water use separately?
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Answer Yes if: You track the quantity of water used for domestic use and production use separately.
- If you answer Yes to this question, you will separately report details on your facility’s domestic and production water use for each applicable water source.
- Note: This question only applies to facilities that have indicated water is used for production in the applicability question on production water use.
- If you answer Yes to this question, you will be asked to complete two (2) tables to provide details on your facility’s domestic and production water use for each applicable water source.
- Note: If your facility selects multiple facility types in the facility profile structure section of the FEM (e.g., Finished Product Assembler and Material Production), a separate table for production water use will be displayed for each selected facility type.
- If you have also selected multiple facility types, then you will separately report details for each selected facility type.
- If you answer No to this question, you will be asked to complete a single table to provide details on your facility’s total water use for each applicable water source.
- The following question on your facility’s water use will be asked for each applicable water source:
- Does your facility use this water source for Domestic/Production Use?
- Does your facility track its water use from this source?
- What quantity of water was used from this source for Domestic/Production Use during this reporting year?
- Unit of Measure
- Which method was used to track this water source?
- What was the frequency of measurement?
- Provide any additional comments.
- The following question on your facility’s water use will be asked for each applicable water source:
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Definitions
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Production Water Use
- Water used in manufacturing processes or operations used to make goods (e.g., dyeing or rinse water, steam generation, water used in mixtures applied to the product, cleaning of equipment components or tools that contact the product during the manufacturing process, etc.)
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Domestic Water Use
- Water used for washrooms, sanitation, food preparation, landscape irrigation, non-contact cooling etc.
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Production Water Use
Note: Uploading of all utility bills and/or metering records is not required, however they should be available for review at the time of verification.
Guidance for Higg FEM:
This question is not scored in the 2024 Higg FEM reporting year. Scoring may be applied in future reporting years.
What is the intent of these questions?
The intent of these questions is to help facilities understand the sources of the water they are using, and the quantity of water used from each source.
Technical Guidance
Identifying and measuring water use from all sources is the foundation of a water management program and the overall sustainability program for a company. Measurement of all water sources allows you to identify areas of significant water use, detect any abnormal consumption, and establish water use baselines and reduction targets. Additionally, tracking domestic and production water use separately can help facilities further identify specific areas for improvement and conservation efforts.
When establishing your water tracking and reporting program, start by doing the following:
- Mapping out business and operational processes to identify water sources, areas/processes that consume water.
- Establish procedures to collect and track water use data:
- Use utility bills to determine the quantity of purchased water.
- Determine methods to track water consumption from other applicable sources, such as rainwater, recycled water, etc.
- Install sub-meters to track the amount of water used on-site.
- If estimation techniques are used to determine water use, the calculation methodology should be clearly defined and be supported by verifiable data.
- Take inventory of how the site obtains water and gathers information on where the water comes from and who or what supplies the water.
- Record tracking data (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly consumption records) in a format that is easy to review [e.g., spreadsheet (e.g., Microsoft Excel) or similar data analytics program that allows export of data in a readable format (e.g., Excel, csv)] and maintain relevant supporting evidence for review during verification.
Reporting Water Use Data in Higg FEM:
Before reporting water use data in the FEM, data quality checks should be performed to ensure that the data AND the processes used to collect and record the data are effective at producing accurate data.
Do:
- Review source data (e.g., utility invoices, meter logs, etc) against aggregated totals to ensure it is accurate.
- Compare the current year with historical data. Any significant changes (e.g., an increase or decrease of over 10%) should be attributable to known changes. If not, further investigation may be warranted.
- Ensure the most recent and updated versions of data tracking spreadsheets are being used and that all automated calculations/formulas are correct.
- Ensure the proper units are reported and verify any unit conversions from source data to reported data.
- Review any assumption or estimation methodology/calculations to ensure accuracy.
Do Not:
- Report data that is not accurate (e.g., the data source is unknown or has not been verified).
- Report estimated data if it is not supported by verifiable and reasonably accurate estimation methodology and data (e.g., engineering calculations).
Wattrackdomprodsep Verification And Scoring
How This Will Be Verified:
When verifying a facility’s water sources, Verifiers must review all aspects of the facility’s water tracking program that could produce inaccuracies including:
- The initial data collection processes and data sources (e.g., invoices, on-site meters, metering logs, etc.); and
- The process and tools used to aggregate the data (e.g., spreadsheet calculations, unit conversions, etc.)
Full Points:
Full points will be awarded to facilities that track water use from all applicable water sources.
Documentation Required:
- Documentation that supports the reported water source and water use data which may include:
- List of all water sources used at the facility.
- Water consumption records (e.g., utility bills, metering records, etc)
- Note: Annual consumption records compiled in a spreadsheet (e.g., Excel) is ok if detailed consumption records are available for review.
- Water meter calibration records where applicable (e.g., as per manufacturer’s specifications)
- Documented estimation methodologies if applicable.
- Documentation that supports responses to the sub questions on water source. This may include:
- Water treatment/reject quantity tracking from pre-treatment processes.
- Records of tracking domestic and production water separately, if applicable.
Interview Questions to Ask:
- Staff responsible for managing water can explain the facility’s water tracking program (e.g., how water sources are identified, and water use quantities are tracked).
- Key staff should understand:
- The procedures in place for tracking water use.
- How data quality of the water use tracking program is maintained.
- Any estimation methodologies used to calculate annual water use.
Inspection - Things to Physically Look For:
- All water sources observed are properly identified and tracked.
- Appropriate equipment for water use measurement is present (e.g., meters) if applicable.
Partial Points:
- Partial Points will be awarded to facilities that fully track at least one (1), but not all water sources.
- Are there any Legally Mandated Groundwater Abstraction Restrictions in your country? (Ref ID: watgroundlegalreq)
Note: This question only applies to facilities that use groundwater as indicated in the water applicability questions.
Answer Yes if: There are legally mandated groundwater abstraction restrictions in the facility’s country or jurisdiction of operation that apply to your facility (e.g., limits on the amount of water that can be extracted).
Answer Unknown if: You cannot confirm the presence or absence of legally mandated groundwater abstraction restrictions in the facility’s country and/or jurisdiction of operation that apply to your facility.
If you select Yes, you will be asked the following sub question(s):
- Please upload the relevant legal regulation.
- Please provide the following information.
- How much in m3/h is your facility allowed to abstract ground water? (m3/h)
- How much in m3/day is your facility allowed to abstract ground water? (m3/day)
- How much per unit of time is your facility allowed to abstract ground water? (m3/unit of time)
- Are you abstracting within the legal limit?
Suggested Uploads:
- Copies of the applicable laws or regulations that specify groundwater abstraction restrictions in your country or jurisdiction of operation (e.g., water resource management acts, water use permits, or groundwater protection regulations, etc).
- Copy of the facility’s groundwater abstraction permit showing the permissible extraction volume, restrictions, and any applicable monitoring or reporting requirements.
- Groundwater abstraction/consumption tracking records (e.g., metering logs).
What is the intent of the question?
The intent of this question is for facilities to ensure they understand and are complying with any applicable legal requirements related to groundwater abstraction.
Technical Guidance
Legally mandated groundwater abstraction restrictions are typically in place to prevent over-extraction, protect the environment, and maintain a balance between water supply and demand for various users, including the natural ecosystems and surrounding communities.
It is important that facilities understand any applicable legal requirements and/or restrictions related to groundwater abstraction and establish appropriate procedures and practices to ensure compliance. If your facility requires a permit or license for groundwater abstraction, facilities should review the permit and applicable regulations to ensure all requirements (e.g., permissible abstraction volumes, monitoring, and reporting requirements) are fully understood.
Watgroundlegalreq Verification And Scoring
How This Will Be Verified:
Full Points:
Full points will be awarded if there are applicable legally mandated groundwater abstraction restrictions in the facility’s country or jurisdiction of operation that apply to your facility and the facility is in compliance with these requirements.
Note: If there are no applicable legally mandated groundwater abstraction restrictions in the facility’s country or jurisdiction of operation that apply to your facility. This question will be unscored and will not impact the overall Water section scoring.
Documentation Required:
- Documentation that demonstrates the facility is aware of and complying with any applicable legal requirements related to groundwater abstraction. This may include:
- Copies of the applicable laws or regulations that specify groundwater abstraction restrictions in your country or jurisdiction of operation (e.g., water resource management acts, water use permits, or groundwater protection regulations, etc).
- Copy of the facility’s groundwater abstraction permit showing the permissible extraction volume, restrictions, and any applicable monitoring or reporting requirements.
- Groundwater abstraction/consumption tracking records (e.g., metering logs).
Interview Questions to Ask:
- Staff responsible for water management and groundwater abstraction at the facility understand any applicable regulations and/or permitting requirements related to groundwater abstraction and can explain the facility’s procedures for monitoring groundwater use and ensuring compliance with applicable requirements.
Inspection - Things to Physically Look For:
- Observations on site indicate that the facility is operating its groundwater wells in compliance with any applicable requirements (e.g., all wells have applicable permits, when required, abstraction/consumption records do not exceed the permissible volume).
Partial Points: N/A
7. Does your facility have a process to inspect and monitor its water supply network for leaks? (Ref ID: watmonitorleaks)
Answer Yes if: Your facility has a process in place to identify, prevent and monitor potential leaks that covers all components of your facility’s water supply network (i.e. all infrastructure components that distribute/transfer water from its source to points of use within your facility).
If you select Yes, you will be asked the following sub question(s):
- If yes, please describe how you monitor.
- Please upload documentation.
Suggested Uploads:
- Documentation that shows the facility’s process for inspecting and monitoring all water supply network components at your facility (e.g., preventative maintenance/inspection schedules or procedures, completed inspection checklists or maintenance records, etc.)
What is the intent of the question?
The intent of this question is to ensure that facilities have an established process in place to proactively identify and prevent leaks in the water supply network.
Technical Guidance
Leaks in the water supply network can lead to significant losses which can have both an environmental and financial impact. Preventative maintenance is maintenance that is regularly scheduled and performed on equipment to reduce the chance of water loss due to equipment/component failure and identify potential problems before they result in breakdowns or leaks. Regular inspections and maintenance should be planned and scheduled based on available information for each piece of equipment (e.g., manufacturer’s recommendations for inspection/maintenance, past breakdowns or leaks, operating conditions, etc.)
The water supply network in a facility consists of interconnected infrastructure components designed to collect, store, and distribute water throughout the facility. Key elements that should be covered in a facility’s inspection and maintenance program include:
- Water storage (e.g., tanks and reservoirs)
- Water distribution system (e.g., pipes, pumps, valves)
- Equipment/facilities that use water for production and domestic use.
It is also important to ensure responsible staff are properly trained on leak detection and response to ensure leaks are detected and fixed as soon as possible.
Watmonitorleaks Verification And Scoring
How This Will Be Verified:
Full Points:
Documentation Required:
- Inspection and/or maintenance plan that covers all water supply network components at the facility. This may include:
- Inspection and maintenance schedule or procedures
- Preventative maintenance procedures
- Completed inspection checklists.
- Service records or maintenance logs
Note: If the facility’s equipment is inspected and maintained by a third-party service provider, copies of relevant inspection and maintenance documentation such as those listed above should be made available for verification.
Interview Questions to Ask:
- Staff responsible for the maintenance and/or inspection of the facility’s water supply network understand and can explain the facility’s inspection and maintenance procedures.
Inspection - Things to Physically Look For:
- All water supply network components (e.g., tanks, pumps, piping) are in good working repair and observations indicate that regular inspection and maintenance is conducted as per the facility’s procedures.
Partial Points: N/A