ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The results of the International Bottled Water Association’s (IBWA) second benchmarking study reveal the amount of water and energy used to produce water products in North America is still less than any other type of packaged beverages, according to a press release.
On average, 1.32 liters of water, including the liter of water consumed, and 0.24 mega joules of energy are used to produce one liter of finished bottled water, stated the release.1
The release reported that the first benchmarking study, released in 2013, focused solely on water use; however, with energy’s crucial role in bottled water production, the second study added an energy component to help better understand resource-use efficiencies in the industry.
In total, 76 North American bottled water facilities contributed to the study, a 20 percent increase in participation from the inaugural study conducted last year, and the participating facilities in the current study represent 21.6 million liters of bottled water production, around 56 percent of the total 2013 U.S. bottled water consumption, added the release.
Participating facilities were asked to provide five years, 2009-2013, of facility-specific information including the type of facility, total water use, total production, supplementary process information and total energy use, noted the release.
Read the entire release here.
