What is the water consumption per year?

Total water consumption, not broken down by source

The question on water consumption per year seeks the total volume of water that the undertaking has withdrawn or taken, usually in cubic metres. This is separate from the question on water stress or the source of water (groundwater, mains water, surface water) — the baseline module of VSME initially asks for the total, not the breakdown. If you have multiple sites, in principle you add up all locations together, unless the customer specifically asks for a breakdown by location.

As with total energy consumption per year the following applies here: if you have no measurements, a substantiated estimate based on invoices from the water company is a common alternative. If both measurement and estimate are lacking, then "not known" is the honest answer — entering an estimated figure without an underlying source is not recommended, even if "no" feels incomplete. Businesses with no relevant water consumption, for example pure office activities without production, can also explain this instead of forcing a figure.

Where this appears in the VSME base module

The indicator for water consumption is part of the environmental indicators in the baseline module of VSME, alongside the indicators for emissions and waste. Undertakings that report this indicator together with other environmental data typically also receive questions on direct greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1) and on waste production in the same questionnaire, because customers often request these indicators as a block. The official description of the indicator, including unit and explanation of what is and is not included, is set out in the VSME standard of EFRAG.