Water Usage measures the total volume of freshwater withdrawn and consumed by a company’s operations and - where material - its supply chain activities. It distinguishes between:

• withdrawal (gross intake from surface water, groundwater, municipal supply, rain-harvested or reclaimed sources);
• consumption (the portion not returned to the same catchment because it evaporates, is incorporated into products, or is discharged to a different basin);
• return flows (treated effluent) that re-enter the original water body.
• The topic covers quantification by site and water source, tracking of seasonal variability, reporting absolute and intensity metrics, and contextualising usage against basin-level scarcity or stress - aligned with frameworks such as GRI 303-3/303-5, EU ESRS E3 and SDG 6.