Which water is most environmentally friendly?
Drinking water is a basic necessity. We should drink at least two litres a day. But how can we satisfy this basic need in a manner that is as environmentally friendly as possible? What contribution can tap water make in this context? In various studies, ESU-services has compared the environmental impact of tap and bottled water in life cycle assessments.
Drinking water from German taps is significantly more environmentally friendly than packaged mineral water. This was the result of a life cycle assessment carried out by ESU-services on behalf of wvgw Wirtschafts- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gas und Wasser mbH in 2023.
This was the topic of an in-depth study commissioned by the Swiss Gas and Water Association (SVGW). This study traces the entire life cycle from water catchment/extraction to serving it up in a glass in a life cycle assessment (LCA). Tap water is compared with mineral water and other beverages. The study shows that from an environmental point of view, tap water is preferable to bottled water and all other beverages.
Another study investigates the environmental impacts of bottled source water in Zürich and compares it with imported mineral water.
The environmental impacts of tap water can be up to one thousand times lower than the impacts of mineral water. This shows an LCA of ESU-services commissioned by the Swiss Gas and Water Association (SVGW) in 2005. The SVGW won the IWA-PR-Award (International Water Association) for the best popular presentation of water science in 2006 by the IWA. The LCA about tap water and mineral water was addressed in several media articles. Since its publication the former trend for increasing mineral water sales has been stopped and now the consumption is slightly decreasing.
Presentation on the Environmental Impact of Water Consumption
At the Life Cycle Innovation Conference 2024 in Berlin, we gave an insight into our work on the Environmental Impacts of Water Consumption. Here you can find the recording of the presentation.
Publications comparing tap water and bottled water in an LCA
Christoph Meili, Niels Jungbluth (2024) – Potential environmental impacts of Water Consumption: A Comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment of Tap Water and Mineral Water in Germany. ESU-services., Presentation at the Life Cycle Innovation Conference in Berlin, 2024.
Christoph Meili, Niels Jungbluth, Savian Scanu, Nadia Malinverno (2023) Ökobilanz von Trinkwasser und Mineralwasser in Deutschland. ESU-services im Auftrag der wvgw Wirtschafts- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gas und Wasser mbH.
Niels Jungbluth, Regula Keller, Alex König (2016) Life Cycle Assessment of Tap Water: Analysis and Comparison with Mineral Water and other Beverages. Working paper by ESU-services Ltd.
Jungbluth N. and Keller R. (2014) Life cycle assessment of tap water: Analysis and comparison with other beverages. Translation of the script for Aqua & Gas. Project commissioned by the Swiss Gas and Water Association (SVGW)
Jungbluth N. (2006) Comparison of the Environmental Impact of Drinking Water vs. Bottled Mineral Water. ESU-services Ltd.
