Growing populations and periodic drought conditions have exacerbated water stress in many areas worldwide. Consequently, it would be valuable to manage both supply and demand of water to fully address water sustainability. Additionally, the inextricable link of water and energy -- energy is required to pump, treat, and distribute water and water is often used in the production of energy -- creates the need to study the use of these resources together. In response to water stress, some municipalities have considered desalination of saline water as a freshwater supply. Unfortunately, desalination requires a sizeable energy investment and causes significant carbon emissions with conventional approaches. However, renewable energy technologies can be paired with desalination to mitigate concern over the environmental impacts of increased energy use. At the same time, desalination can be operated in an intermittent way to match the variable availability of renewable resources. Both wind and brackish groundwater resources are plentiful in the Panhandle region of West Texas, making an integrated wind-powered desalination facility an option for meeting increasing water demands. Integrating wind power and brackish groundwater desalination generates a high-value product (drinking water) from two low-value resources (saline water and wind power without storage). This thesis presents a thermoeconomic, geographic, and operational analysis of an integrated wind-powered reverse osmosis facility treating brackish groundwater in West Texas. The results demonstrate the favorability of the integrated facility under certain economic, geographic, and operating conditions. Also in response to water stress, corporations are becoming increasingly interested in identifying water vulnerabilities in their operational portfolios to minimize physical, reputational, regulatory, and financial risks associated with potential water shortages. The water footprint is one tool available to assess water use, identify vulnerabilities, and guide mitigation strategies. This thesis provides an accounting methodology for water reporting that includes direct water uses and indirect (embedded in energy, services, and products) water uses in the operations. Further, a case study is considered to illustrate the methodology by assessing the water impact of a mixed-use facility in Palo Alto, California. The results demonstrate the importance of considering the indirect water uses, which requires a more exhaustive analysis. / text

ICA vill utveckla sitt miljöarbete i vattenfrågor. Denna rapport syftar till att öka medvetenheten hos ICA om verksamhetens miljöpåverkan genom att analysera vattenfotavtrycket – vanligen kallat Water Footprint – för ett livsmedel. Vattenfotavtryck är ett verktyg inom miljösystemanalys som används för att kartlägga sambandet mellan produktion och konsumtion av produkter och vattenanvändning. Studien visade att vattenfotavtrycken är ungefär 14 500 liter/kg och 16 500 liter/kg för svensk respektive irländsk nötfärs. Ursprunget till fodret samt vilka sorters vatten som används visade sig vara avgörande för vilka konsekvenser vattenfotavtryck ger upphov till. Utvärdering av de negativa konsekvenserna är en genomgående svårighet med vattenfotavtryck, en lösning kan vara att relatera vattenfotavtryck till den lokala vattenstressen samt hushållens vattenkonsumtion. / ICA is one of the leading companies in retail trade in northern Europe and is established in Sweden, Norway and the Baltic countries. ICA is interested in developing the business environmental management by taking into account water-related issues. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the link between company activities of ICA and water use, by applying the tool of water footprint. It is an environmental systems analysis tool that was developed by Professor Arjen Y. Hoekstra at University of Twente and the Water Footprint Network and it is mainly used to calculate the consumption of fresh water that is linked to the consumption of a product. The water footprint concept covers three different types of water; blue, green and grey water, where the green water is rain water, blue water is fresh water and groundwater, and grey water is a theoretical volume of water consumed as a consequence of emission of pollutants. In this study, the blue and green water footprint of Swedish and Irish minced beef has been analyzed. The results showed that the total water footprint of Swedish minced beef is about 14 500 liters per kg, of which about 14 200 liters is green water and 200 liters is blue water. About 98% of the water footprint is domestic since the majority of feed materials origins from Sweden. The total water footprint of Irish minced beef is about 16 500 liters per kg, of which about 15 000 liters is green water and 1 500 liters is blue water. Approximately 21 % of the total water footprint is external due to imports of water intense feed materials. Assessing the environmental and social impacts of the water footprint showed to be difficult because they are multidimensional. As an example, the consequences of a relatively small water footprint in countries with extremely scarce water may be severe, while a much larger water footprint in countries such as Sweden has a relatively small impact. In order to identify water footprints with the potential of causing major environmental and social impacts, data on regional water stress and water availability was used. For example, total household water consumption in water scarce Pakistan is about 58 liters per person and day, roughly 10 times lower compared to the U.S. This water is almost equivalent to the water footprint (52 liters per kg) in Pakistan caused by the production of Irish minced beef. The analysis section also showed that there are substantial difficulties in comparing water footprints of foods in order to identify products with minimum environmental impact. This has two main reasons: First, green water, i.e. evapotranspiration, is a part of the natural cycle of water which varies regionally. Secondly, foods are not always comparable, because different foods provide different nutrients. One solution would be to compare foods on the basis of a common denominator, e.g. animal based foods could be compared on the basis of protein content.

Vatten är en nödvändig resurs för allt liv på jorden. Med en ökande befolkningsmängd förväntas även sötvattenanvändningen att öka, vilket ställer krav på att hanteringen av de vattenresurser som finns sker på ett hållbart sätt. Jordbrukssektorn är i dagsläget den största konsumenten av vatten, varpå det är viktigt att uppmärksamma konsumenter om vattenanvändning vid produktion av livsmedel så att kunskapen ökar kring hur vatten används idag. Ett verktyg för att bedöma miljöpåverkan från vattenanvändning är det så kallade vattenfotavtrycket. De senaste åren har flera beräkningsmetoder tillkommit för att beräkna vattenfotavtryck, och dessa tar hänsyn till olika aspekter. Syftet med denna studie var att utvärdera tre sådana metoder och använda dem för att beräkna vattenfotavtrycket för ett antal livsmedel, jämföra resultatet och slutligen ta fram en rekommendation kring vilken eller vilka metoder som lämpar sig för konsumentvägledning. De metoder som undersöktes var TOTAL som är en metod av Water Footprint Network (WFN), metoden WSI och metoden AWARE. Resultatet visade att vissa nötter fick särskilt högt vattenfotavtryck oavsett vilken metod som användes, för exempelvis mandlar erhölls med respektive metod ett vattenfotavtryck motsvarande 15 m3 vatten/kg, 3,3 m3 WSI-H2O-ekvivalenter/kg samt 165 m3 AWARE-H2O-ekvivalenter/kg. Att resultaten har olika enheter samt storleksordningar beror på att metoderna är olika uppbyggda. Generellt fick baljväxter, spannmål samt frukt och grönt låga resultat, dock varierade resultaten något beroende på vilken metod som användes. Detta beror bland annat på att endast WSI och AWARE tar hänsyn till hur den lokala vattensituationen ser ut där vattnet används. Vid jämförelse av metoderna ansågs både metoden TOTAL samt AWARE vara lämpliga att använda för konsumentvägledning då den förstnämnda är väl beprövad samt lättförstådd medan den sistnämnda är en uppdaterad indikator som tar hänsyn till lokal vattenbrist. / Water is a vital resource for all life on earth. With an increasing population, the use of freshwater is also expected to increase, which requires a sustainable management of existing water resources. The agricultural sector is currently the largest consumer of water, and it is important to pay attention to consumers about water use in food production so that knowledge is increasing about how water is used today. The so-called water footprint is a tool for assessing the amount of water used to produce a good or a service. In recent years, several calculation methods have been added to calculate water footprints, and these take into account various aspects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate three such methods and use them to calculate the water footprint for a number of foods, compare the results and finally give a recommendation on which method or methods that are best suited for consumer guidance. The assessed methods were TOTAL by Water Footprint Network (WFN), the WSI method and the AWARE method. The results showed that some nuts had a particularly high water footprint regardless of the method used. Almonds, for example, obtained with each method a water footprint corresponding to 15 m3 water/kg, 3.3 m3 WSI-H2O-equivalents/kg and 165 m3 AWARE-H2O-equivalents/kg. The fact that the results have different units and orders of magnitude is because the different structure of the methods. Generally, legumes, cereals and fruits and vegetables had low water footprints, but the results varied somewhat depending on the method used. This is partly due to the fact that only WSI and AWARE take into account how the water situations looks where the water is used. When comparing the methods, both TOTAL and AWARE were considered suitable for use for consumer guidance, since the former is well-proven and easily understood while the latter is an updated indicator that takes local water shortage into account.

This thesis has established models of water footprint in the Eco-industrial Park. The model was presented in three different levels, namely the level of Eco-industrial Park, the level of enterprises and the level of products. There are two parts of each model. The first part is the schema tization of different components of the water footprint. The second part is the mathematical model of water footprint counting.   After the models, we made several case studies using these m odels established in this thesis. The first case is the water footprint assessment of the Yixing Economic Development Zone (YEDZ). There are water footprints of the YEDZ in the year of 2009, 2012 and 2015 separately, which are 6787613.6 10 × m3,  61110018 10 × m3 and 62413749 10 ×  m3. Considering the different scales of the YE DZ, for example, the increasing industrial production and economic development, we also make the water footprints per capital of the YEDZ in the year of 2009, 2012 and 2015. The results are 19690.34 ×103m3/capita, 24667.07 ×103m3/capita and 48274.98 ×103m3/capita.  In the level of Eco-industrial Park,  we take several enterprises as case studies. The enterprises are within different types of industries including Chemical industry, Textile and dye ing industry, Optoelectronic industry, and Mechanical, Photovoltaic industry and machinery manufacture industry, etc. These enterprises are investigated by surveys and statistical documents. From  the results, we can see that the enterprises with big footprint are mostly in Chemical industry, Textile and  dyeing industry and Photovoltaic industry.  In order to make the data more reasonable, we also calculated the water footprint per unit out-put value. What’s interesting, the enterprises in Chemical industry, Textile and dyeing industry and Photovoltaic industry also have big water footprint per unit out-put value.  In the level of product, we take the surfactants produced by Jiangsu Guanyang Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. This enterprise has moved to a new place and made some improvement in the production. On one hand, they have increased the scale of production for three times than before; on the other hand they have adopted a lot of water saving facilities and measures, such as the use of rain wa ter, the increase of water recycling and the involvement of water cascade utilization. So in this thesis, we comp ared the water footprint of surfactants before and after moving. The Water Footprint of surfactants per year before moving is 22914.8(m3), after moving is 56804.4 (m3). However, the Water Footprint of surfactants before moving  is  2.52 (m3/t), while after moving is 2.08 (m3/t).  Finally, we gave some response options after the analysis and discussion of the results. The suggestions are given in three levels as well. The first one is to the gov ernment or so-called policy makers; the second one is to the enterprises; the third one is to the staff members in the Yixing Economic Development Zone.

Global trade and increasing food demand are important drivers of impacts in the water system across scales. This study coupled a spatially-explicit physical account of trade between Brazilian municipalities with a water footprint accounting model, in order to analyse water footprints of Brazilian soy produced for domestic and international consumption, and assess their relevance in the context of water scarcity and competing demands for water resources. The water footprints of Brazilian soy production were assessed for different levels of spatial-explicitness for comparison. The Swedish water footprints were analysed within this framework to illustrate the use of the methodology. As a result, temporal and geographical patterns of variability of water the footprints related to Brazilian soy production, attributed to different consumers in the global market, were identified. The study found the methodology to unveil important processes connected to economic and trade drivers, as well as to variability in climate and production yields. It was found that important regional variability was not considered or fully understood when accounting for water footprints as a national aggregate. Opportunities for improvement and further research were also discussed.

Water is a critical resource that is essential for human well-being and economic development. Many regions around the world face ongoing water scarcity and competition over water resources. Climate change, other drastic social changes, and population and economic growth can significantly impact the supply and consumption of water. There has been an increasing body of research focusing on the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus. There is a mismatch between the spatial resolution of data availability and the resolution that water resources follow. Lack of quality sub-county water data also makes the research of micro-level food-water dynamics difficult if not impossible. These challenges pose obstacles to the further understanding of water scarcity in the context of the FEW nexus and leaves critical gaps in the research of the nexus. In this dissertation I asked and answered the question: how do socio-economic forces shape localized groundwater depletion and surface water scarcity within the United States at the field and basin scale? Specifically, I tested whether irrigated farm size leads to reduction in groundwater application per unit area and whether an increase in the annual depletion in the underlying aquifer storage increases the probability of an irrigated land transfer, with a Kansas field level dataset and an econometrics approach. I estimated the FEW production and the water footprint of FEW production in every US watershed and compare the water footprint of production against their water scarcity. Then the groundwater reserves and dam storage in watersheds were examined as the buffers for the watersheds' FEW production against water shortages. I mapped the transfers of FEW goods and services and both the virtual and physical water flows from watersheds to US cities. The transportation infrastructure and other infrastructure that supports the FEW transfers are analyzed in terms of their contributions to the movement of FEW goods. This dissertation improves our understanding of how broad structural changes within the agricultural industry are interconnected with the overexploitation of groundwater resources. It is the first study of water footprint accounting with the most recent input data for the whole US food-energy-water system at the watershed level and includes an analysis of cities' infrastructure reliance for food-energy-water transfers and infrastructure as buffers. The transfers of virtual water and physical water were compared. The resulting data and findings from the novel data synthesis will provide insights for consumers, food companies, and other decision-makers at various levels on their connection to water resources in non-local areas. The outcomes of this dissertation will also improve our ability to analyze drivers and solutions to local small-scale watershed water scarcity challenges and allow a quantifiable basis for policy support in the water resources management domain and beyond. / Doctor of Philosophy / Water is an important resource for humans and the economy, but many regions around the world face ongoing water shortages and competition over the limited water resources. The Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus has gained increasing attention as a framework for understanding the complex relationships between water, food, and energy systems. However, research in this area has faced challenges in data availability and data resolution. This dissertation addresses these challenges while exploring how socio-economic forces shape localized groundwater depletion and surface water scarcity within the United States at the field, basin, and city scales. The author tests hypotheses related to irrigated farm size, irrigation water use, groundwater depletion, and the irrigated land transfers. The author estimates the FEW production and water footprint of production in every US watershed. The author also tracks and analyzes the transfers of FEW goods and services and embedded water footprint. Infrastructure's role in delivering FEW goods and buffering against water shortages were also examined. Overall, this dissertation provides insights into the connections between water resources and broad structural changes within the food system, and offers a novel data synthesis that can facilitate the understanding of connections between production and consumption of FEW at various spatial scales and water resources in local and non-local areas. The findings will also help analyze the drivers and solutions to local small-scale watershed's water scarcity challenges, and provide a quantifiable basis for policy support in the water resources management domain and beyond.

Water is a prerequisite for life on our planet. Due to climate change and pollution, water availability for agricultural production, industry and households is increasingly put at risk. With agriculture being the largest water user as well as polluter worldwide, we estimate anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to fresh water related to global crop production at a spatial resolution level of 5 by 5 arc min and calculate the grey water footprints (GWF) related to EU-27's crop production. A multiregional input-output model is used to trace the the GWF embodied in the final consumption of crop products by the EU-27. The total GWF related to crop production in the EU-27 in 2007 was 1 × 1012 m3/year. Spain contributed about 40% to this total. Production of cereals (wheat, rice and other cereals) take the largest share, accounting for 30% of the GWF, followed by fruits (17%), vegetables (14%), and oil crops (13%). The total agricultural GWF of the EU-27 related to crop consumption was 1830 billion m3/year, which is 3700 m3/year per capita on average. Overall, the EU-27 was able to externalize about 41% of the GWF to the rest of the world through imports of crop products.

Esta dissertação apresenta o conceito de pegada hídrica (water footprint). Entendido como um conceito de grande valia para o gerenciamento sustentável dos recursos hídricos, inicialmente buscou-se, por meio da realização de uma pesquisa bibliométrica, a identificação de uma publicação científica que versasse sobre um modelo estruturado de gestão da água para o setor produtivo elaborado a partir do conceito de pegada hídrica. Como não foi identificado nenhum estudo neste sentido, foi proposto o desenvolvimento de uma pesquisa que resultasse em um modelo estruturado de gestão da água a partir dos conceitos de pegada hídrica. Para isso, primeiramente foi feita uma pesquisa qualitativa e exploratória, através de entrevistas com especialistas no tema, com o objetivo de identificar suas contribuições para um modelo de gestão da água a partir das aplicabilidades do conceito de pegada hídrica. Através das contribuições fornecidas pelo painel de especialistas, bem como do entendimento do autor do conteúdo da pesquisa bibliográfica realizada, foi proposto um modelo de gestão da água para a produção de bens e serviços a partir do conceito de pegada hídrica, estruturado na forma do modelo de gestão PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action). Assim, acredita-se que o resultado final deste modelo possa ser aplicável a uma empresa real, pois este conta com elementos de gestão elaborados a partir de boas práticas empresariais de gestão da água, aprimorados através do conteúdo do referencial teórico e das contribuições vivenciadas pelos especialistas no conceito de pegada hídrica. Ele proporciona uma visão holística de todo o processo necessário para o gerenciamento sustentável dos recursos hídricos por uma organização e envolve a participação de diversas partes interessadas e a cadeia de suprimentos. Também, conta com uma forma inovadora e abrangente de contabilização do uso e consumo da água e descarte de efluentes, proporciona uma gestão de riscos adequada e pode servir como um dos subsídios necessários para a elaboração de estratégias operacionais e comerciais, contribuindo de maneira importante para o desenvolvimento sustentável de uma organização. / This research introduces the concept of water footprint. Known as a concept of great value for the sustainable management of water resources, initially it was sought, through the performance of a bibliometric research, the identification of a scientific publication which would deal about a structured water management model for the productive sector prepared from the concept of water footprint. As no study has been identified in this direction yet, the development of a research that resulted in a structured water management model from the concepts of water footprint was proposed. In this regard, firstly a qualitative and exploratory research was made through interviews with water footprint experts with the aim of identify their contributions for a water management model from the applicabilities of the concept of water footprint. Also, through the contributions provided by the experts panel as the author\'s understanding of the content of the bibliographic research conducted, it was proposed a water management model for the production of goods and services from the concept of water footprint, structured in the form of the model management PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action). Consequently, it is believed that the end result of this model may be applicable to a real company because this one has elements of management drawn from good business practices of water management, improved by the contents of the theoretical framework and the contributions from experienced experts on the concept of water footprint. It provides a holistic view of the entire process needed for sustainable management of water resources within an organization and involves the participation of several stakeholders and supply chain. It also has an innovative and broad manner of accounting the use and consumption of water and wastewater discharge, provides a suitable risk management and can serve as the required support for the development of operational and commercial strategies, contributing considerably to the sustainable development of an organization.

Nos últimos anos, as questões relacionadas à problemática ambiental multiplicaram sua presença na agenda do setor empresarial. Mais recentemente, observa-se o aumento do interesse das empresas pela água, recurso natural indispensável para a manutenção do equilíbrio dos ecossistemas e das atividades socioeconômicas humanas. Diante da ampliação da pressão sobre seu uso, resultado do crescimento populacional e incremento dos padrões atuais de produção e consumo, diferentes ferramentas têm sido desenvolvidas para contribuir para que o uso da água se torne mais racional e sustentável. Uma delas é a Pegada Hídrica (PH), um indicador de consumo direto e indireto da água utilizada durante a produção de bens ou serviços. A PH está relacionada com a pressão causada aos recursos hídricos pelas atividades humanas e classifica a água usada nesses processos e atividades de acordo com sua origem e impacto. Sua utilização pelo setor empresarial tem sido cada vez mais frequente. Tendo como base este contexto, este trabalho busca compreender quais são os principais motivos que tem levado as empresas a utilizarem a PH. Esta Tese, de caráter interdisciplinar, utiliza como referenciais teóricos a Teoria da Modernização Ecológica (TME), a Teoria dos Stakeholders (TS) e elementos da Nova Sociologia Econômica (NSE). Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, foram utilizados três procedimentos metodológicos: a) levantamento documental; b) revisão bibliográfica sistemática; c) estudos de caso. Os motivos que justificam a utilização da PH extraídos dos documentos analisados na revisão bibliográfica sistemática foram sistematizados e agrupados em quatro categorias que podem ser relacionadas com os referenciais teóricos utilizados. Os resultados obtidos na pesquisa indicaram que os motivos que têm levado as empresas a utilizarem a Pegada Hídrica são: 1) vantagens do método, já que permite uma visão detalhada do consumo de água em toda a cadeia produtiva (TME); 2) comunicação com stakeholders, pois reconhecem que é necessário avaliar o consumo da água em toda a sua cadeia, para atender as demandas dos diferentes stakeholders internos e externos e melhorar sua comunicação com eles (TS; NSE); 3) porque a PH pode colaborar na identificação de riscos associados à água, o que permite agir com certa antecipação a futuras regulações e contestações dos diferentes stakeholders (NSE); 4) porque os resultados dos estudos de PH podem fornecer informações que colabore na tomada de decisão para reduzir o consumo de água, estabelecer parcerias e cooperação entre os diferentes setores da sociedade (TME). Entre os motivos apontados, os mais frequentes são aqueles relacionados com as vantagens do método, o que permite uma compreensão mais ampla da pressão e impactos à água causados pelas atividades das empresas. Entretanto, considerando que sua utilização pelo setor empresarial é muito recente, pesquisas futuras necessitam ser realizadas para acompanhar a evolução das ações e do comportamento das empresas sobre a temática da água. Nesse sentido, torna-se cada vez mais urgente uma reflexão sobre a necessidade de que os limites físicos existentes e a capacidade de suporte dos ecossistemas orientem a organização das sociedades. / In recent years, several environmental issues have multiplied their presence in the corporate sectors agenda. More recently, an increased interest is observed among companies on the topic of water, an essential natural resource for the maintenance of ecosystems equilibrium and human socio-economic activities. To face the increasing pressure over the resource, resulting from the combination of population growth and changing consumption patterns, several tools have been developed. Their goal is to make corporate water consumption more rational and sustainable. One of these tools is the Water Footprint (WF), an indicator of direct and indirect water consumption in the production of goods and services. The water footprint quantifies and assesses the pressure from human activities on water resources. It classifies water resources according to their source and potential impact. Its use by the private sector is increasingly frequent. Against this context, this work aims at understanding the main reasons for companies adoption of the WF Assessment. This thesis, embracing a multidisciplinary approach, makes use of three theoretical frameworks: the Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT), Stakeholder theory (ST) and elements of the New Economic Sociology (NES). To this end, three different methodologies where used: a) document research; b) systematic literature research; c) case studies. The stated reasons for using the WF found in the literature research where classified into four categories that may be related to the theoretical frameworks presented. The results from this research identified as the main reasons under private sectors adoption of the WF. The first reason could be called advantages of this methodology, since it allows for a detailed analysis of water consumption in the supply chain, which can be analyzed using the EMT. A second reason would be related to the communication with the stakeholders. Companies recognize the need for addressing water consumption over their whole supply chain in order to meet the demands of different stakeholders and improve their communications with them. This recognition is explained by the ST and NES. Thirdly, risk assessment was is another important argument. WF assessment may help to address water-related risks, allowing them to anticipate the introduction of new regulations or contestation from different stakeholders. NES allows us to understand this reason. Lastly, companies include informed decision-making as another adoption reason. WF may be used for establishing goals and priorities for lower water consumption rates, identifying key partners and working together with key sectors of society. Ecological modernization theory contributes to explain this effect. The most frequent reasons mentioned were those related to the advantages of the methodology, arguing that the WF provides a broader understanding of pressure resulting from corporate activities. Nevertheless, considering the recent adoption by the private sector of this method, it would be important to re-evaluate the relation between water and the private sector, and with the WF in particular. In this sense, it is increasingly necessary that environmental limits and ecosystems carrying capacity guide societal organization.

Esta dissertação apresenta o conceito de pegada hídrica (water footprint). Entendido como um conceito de grande valia para o gerenciamento sustentável dos recursos hídricos, inicialmente buscou-se, por meio da realização de uma pesquisa bibliométrica, a identificação de uma publicação científica que versasse sobre um modelo estruturado de gestão da água para o setor produtivo elaborado a partir do conceito de pegada hídrica. Como não foi identificado nenhum estudo neste sentido, foi proposto o desenvolvimento de uma pesquisa que resultasse em um modelo estruturado de gestão da água a partir dos conceitos de pegada hídrica. Para isso, primeiramente foi feita uma pesquisa qualitativa e exploratória, através de entrevistas com especialistas no tema, com o objetivo de identificar suas contribuições para um modelo de gestão da água a partir das aplicabilidades do conceito de pegada hídrica. Através das contribuições fornecidas pelo painel de especialistas, bem como do entendimento do autor do conteúdo da pesquisa bibliográfica realizada, foi proposto um modelo de gestão da água para a produção de bens e serviços a partir do conceito de pegada hídrica, estruturado na forma do modelo de gestão PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action). Assim, acredita-se que o resultado final deste modelo possa ser aplicável a uma empresa real, pois este conta com elementos de gestão elaborados a partir de boas práticas empresariais de gestão da água, aprimorados através do conteúdo do referencial teórico e das contribuições vivenciadas pelos especialistas no conceito de pegada hídrica. Ele proporciona uma visão holística de todo o processo necessário para o gerenciamento sustentável dos recursos hídricos por uma organização e envolve a participação de diversas partes interessadas e a cadeia de suprimentos. Também, conta com uma forma inovadora e abrangente de contabilização do uso e consumo da água e descarte de efluentes, proporciona uma gestão de riscos adequada e pode servir como um dos subsídios necessários para a elaboração de estratégias operacionais e comerciais, contribuindo de maneira importante para o desenvolvimento sustentável de uma organização. / This research introduces the concept of water footprint. Known as a concept of great value for the sustainable management of water resources, initially it was sought, through the performance of a bibliometric research, the identification of a scientific publication which would deal about a structured water management model for the productive sector prepared from the concept of water footprint. As no study has been identified in this direction yet, the development of a research that resulted in a structured water management model from the concepts of water footprint was proposed. In this regard, firstly a qualitative and exploratory research was made through interviews with water footprint experts with the aim of identify their contributions for a water management model from the applicabilities of the concept of water footprint. Also, through the contributions provided by the experts panel as the author\'s understanding of the content of the bibliographic research conducted, it was proposed a water management model for the production of goods and services from the concept of water footprint, structured in the form of the model management PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action). Consequently, it is believed that the end result of this model may be applicable to a real company because this one has elements of management drawn from good business practices of water management, improved by the contents of the theoretical framework and the contributions from experienced experts on the concept of water footprint. It provides a holistic view of the entire process needed for sustainable management of water resources within an organization and involves the participation of several stakeholders and supply chain. It also has an innovative and broad manner of accounting the use and consumption of water and wastewater discharge, provides a suitable risk management and can serve as the required support for the development of operational and commercial strategies, contributing considerably to the sustainable development of an organization.