Glossary
The three components
The Water Footprint Network splits it into three.
The blue footprint is the volume of surface and groundwater consumed: water that evaporates, is incorporated into the product or does not return to the same catchment.
The green footprint is the rainwater consumed during production. It weighs most in agricultural and forestry products.
The grey footprint is an indicator of pollution: the volume of freshwater required to assimilate the load of pollutants.
Two ways to measure it
The Water Footprint Network method adds up volumes of water. ISO 14046:2014 starts from life cycle assessment and also looks at the impacts of that use. The same product can give different results depending on which is applied, so a water footprint figure should say which method was used.
How it differs from a carbon footprint
They measure different things. A carbon footprint counts greenhouse gases, in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. A water footprint counts water, by volume.
There is another difference that matters. A tonne of CO2 weighs the same on the climate wherever it is emitted. A cubic metre of water is not worth the same in a water-scarce catchment as in an abundant one.
In Chile
There is the Certificado Azul, a voluntary instrument of the Agency for Sustainability and Climate Change that promotes sustainable water management in companies. The 2026 application window ran from January 2 to March 31.
Source: Water Footprint Network glossary and Certificado Azul, ASCC.
