Water and your carbon footprint

Everyone has a 'carbon footprint' - it is your own personal measure of how much carbon dioxide* (CO₂) is created by your actions in the home and workplace. We're all aware that reducing power consumption (such as fitting energy efficient lightbulbs) has a direct affect on the amount of CO₂ released into the atmosphere - however reducing water wastage in the home can contribute further to reducing carbon emissions.

Why is water efficiency good for the environment?

Because it helps to reduce your carbon footprint...
Your daily demand for water, how you use it in the home, and the amount of dirty water that goes into the sewer system, all have a big impact on CO₂ emissions**. When you consider that around 50% of water you use in the home involves electricity or gas, then any water efficiencies you make will help to reduce the amount of CO₂ emissions from power stations and have a positive effect on your energy bills too (and if you're on a water meter, you'll also make further savings).

...and it helps to reduce our carbon footprint
To ensure you receive a constant supply of safe, clean drinking water, we have to use enormous amounts of energy to collect, treat and transport it to your home. We then have to take away your wastewater and clean it before returning it to our rivers and seas. Therefore, any reduction in the amount of water we supply to your home is good for the environment, requiring less energy at our treatment works - helping to reduce our own carbon footprint.

The EnviroCycle

The following diagram represents how the demand for water has an impact on carbon dioxide emissions.

*When we refer to carbon or carbon dioxide (CO₂) we mean the six recognised greenhouse gases which are Carbon (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous Oxide (N₂O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), Perfluorocarbons (PFC) and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆).

**Strong evidence shows that human emissions of greenhouse gases are changing the world's environment. The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO₂), produced when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas for energy.

Why not try out our Carbon Calculator to find out the carbon impact of your water use?

Useful links

• The Carbon Trust website - The Carbon Trust is a private company, set up by the Government, in response to the threat of climate change
• The Energy Saving Trust, home efficiency assessment - this tool will enable you to assess your home's energy efficiency
• The Defra carbon calculator - this will help you to assess your carbon footprint
• Some hints and tips on how you can be more energy efficient