Add water to glossary, uptrseam and operational emissions

_data/carbonStandard.yml

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 title: Technology Carbon Standard
 
 CatU:
-  description: Upstream emissions relating to the embodied carbon of hardware, the development of software, and content.
+  description: Upstream environmental impacts relating to the embodied carbon and water of hardware, the development of software, and content.
 
 CatUSoftware:
   id: CatUSoftware
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ CatUContentAndData:
   noLink: false
 
 OperationalEmissions:
-  description: Operational emissions are associated to the running of business IT functions and systems. Each operational function may have a hybrid of IT infrastructure across direct and/or indirect emissions.
+  description: Operational environmental impacts are emissions and embodied water associated to the running of business IT functions and systems. Each operational function may have a hybrid of IT infrastructure across direct and/or indirect emissions.
 
 CatO:
   description: Direct running costs that are attributed to the electricity powering servers, networks and devices.
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ CatGGenerators:
   noLink: false
 
 CatC:
-  description: Indirect running carbon costs that are attributed to external hardware and service solutions.
+  description: Indirect running costs that are attributed to external hardware and service solutions.
 
 CatCCloud:
   id: CatCCloud
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ CatCOffsiteEmployeeDevices:
   noLink: false
 
 CatD:
-  description: Carbon associated with the use of products and services produced by the business.
+  description: Carbon and water associated with the use of products and services produced by the business.
 
 CatDCustomerDevices:
   id: CatDCustomerDevices

_glossary/blue_water.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Blue Water
+---
+
+Blue Water (BW) refers to freshwater originating from rivers, lakes reservoirs and aquifers. It is used for many purposes, including agricultural, industrial, and domestic. 
+
+It is worth emphasising that most of AI's water footprint comes from blue water, which is directly accessible for human use but often more limited in availability.

_glossary/green_water.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+title: Green Water
+---
+
+Green Water (GW) refers to water accessible to plants and microorganisms. It comes from precipitation, which infiltrates and is stored in the soil and can only be used in situ by plants. The main process through which green water moves is "evapotranspiration", where it evaporates from soil into the atmosphere.

_glossary/grey_water.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+title: Grey Water
+---
+
+Grey Water refers to domestic wastewater that comes from sinks, washing machines, bathtubs and showers, exluding toilet wastewater (blackwater).

_glossary/water_consumption.md

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+title: Water Consumption
+---
+
+Water withdrawal, or water intake, refers to the total volume water withdrawn from its original source. 
+
+Water consumption by contrast is the portion of withdrawn water that is not being returned to its original source, as a result of evaporation, evapotranspiration, product or crop integration, water transfers to different watersheds, consumption or otherwise removed from freshwater resources.
+
+The difference between water withdrawal and water discharge is the amount consumed. 
+
+By default, water footprint refers to the water consumption unless otherwise specified.

_glossary/water_usage_effectiveness.md

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+title: Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) 
+---
+
+A metric used to measure how efficiently data centres use water for cooling and operations. WUE is quantified in cubic meters per megawatt hour of energy (m3/MWh), representing the amount of water consumed per unit of IT equipment output or computing work.
+To better understand the true water cost of data centres, source (offsite) and site-based (onsite) WUE metrics must be accounted for.
+[The Green Grid](https://airatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Green-Grid-White-Paper-35-WUE-Usage-Guidelines.pdf) distinguishes them as:
+
+- **WUE**: a site-based metric that is an assessment of the water used on-site for operation of the data
+center. This includes water used for humidification and water evaporated on-site for energy production
+or cooling of the data center and its support systems (similar to carbon Scope 1).
+- **WUEsource**: a source-based metric that includes water used on-site and water used off-site in the
+production of the energy used on-site. Typically this adds the water used at the power-generation
+source to the water used on-site (similar to carbon Scope 2). 

index.html

@@ -6,18 +6,25 @@
 <h1>Technology Carbon Standard</h1>
 
 <div>
-  <p>The Technology Carbon Standard is a method, structure and data format for analysing an organisation's Technology Carbon Footprint.</p>
+  <p>The Technology Carbon Standard is a method, structure and data format for analysing an organisation's Technology Carbon and Water Footprint.</p>
 
-  <p>This is developed as an approach to classifying an organisation's technology estate to enable consistent analysis and benchmarking of its technology carbon footprint. This standard takes inspiration from the globally recognised GHG Protocol and its emissions classification into Scopes 1, 2, and 3.</p>
+  <p>This is developed as an approach to classifying an organisation's technology estate to enable consistent analysis and benchmarking of its technology carbon and water footprint. This standard takes inspiration from the globally recognised GHG Protocol and its emissions classification into Scopes 1, 2, and 3.</p>
 
   <p>This method is derived from the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, a systematic approach used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product or service through every phase of its life. LCA examines every stage, from the extraction and processing of raw materials through manufacturing, distribution and use, to the disposal or recycling of the product. It also accounts for all associated energy and material flows.</p>
-  <p>In this regard, the Tech Carbon Standard is designed to help organisations link their carbon emissions to specific components of the LCA, enabling more focused analysis and action.</p>
+
+  <p>In this regard, the Tech Carbon Standard is designed to help organisations link their carbon emissions and water usage to specific components of the LCA, enabling more focused analysis and action.</p>
+
+  <p><strong>Water Footprint</strong></p>
+
+  <p>Whilst the tech industry carbon emissions face growing public scrutiny, its water footprint remains largely underlooked despite freshwater scarcity being one of the most pressing environmental and social challenges. The Technology Carbon Standard therefore seeks to bridge this gap by incorporating water as a key environmental impact.</p>
+
+  <p>Assessing both carbon emissions and water consumption present unique challenges as minimising one footprint might increase the other footprint. It is therefore important to adopt a holistic approach that considers both impacts in tandem.</p>
 
   <h2>Why a New Standard?</h2>
 
-  <p>The goal of this Technology Carbon Standard is to provide a standardised model of tech emissions that can help organisations when mapping out, measuring or improving the environmental impacts of their technology estate. This fills a gap between high-level consultancy guidance and specific projects tackling individual areas like cloud computing. Consistent standards facilitate productive conversations between sustainability stakeholders, technology leadership and practitioners.</p>
+  <p>The goal of this Technology Carbon Standard is to provide a standardised model of tech emissions and water consumption that can help organisations when mapping out, measuring or improving the environmental impacts of their technology estate. This fills a gap between high-level consultancy guidance and specific projects tackling individual areas like cloud computing. Consistent standards facilitate productive conversations between sustainability stakeholders, technology leadership and practitioners.</p>
 
-  <p>By delineating an organisation's technology estate into categories analogous to GHG Protocol scopes, technology practitioners can more easily identify the most carbon-intensive areas to prioritise for impact reduction. This is not intended to reinvent existing efforts in sustainability measurement and reporting. Where relevant, the methodology references and integrates with established open-source initiatives for calculating technology emissions.</p>
+  <p>By delineating an organisation's technology estate into categories analogous to GHG Protocol scopes, technology practitioners can more easily identify the most carbon and water intensive areas to prioritise for impact reduction. This is not intended to reinvent existing efforts in sustainability measurement and reporting. Where relevant, the methodology references and integrates with established open-source initiatives for calculating technology emissions and water consumption.</p>
 </div>
 
 <div class="py-8 not-prose">
@@ -26,7 +33,7 @@ <h2>Why a New Standard?</h2>
 </div>
 
 <div>
-  <p>Note that the Tech Carbon Standard does not include other aspects of an organisation's carbon footprint. For example, People, Buildings and Travel (i.e. commuting) are not included in the standard.</p>
+  <p>Note that the Tech Carbon Standard does not include other aspects of an organisation's carbon and water footprints. For example, People, Buildings and Travel (i.e. commuting) are not included in the standard.</p>
   <p>This standard provides comprehensive coverage of an organisation's technology carbon footprint while clarifying the different sources of emissions. Improving quantification and transparency aims to spur more targeted, impactful efforts to reduce tech-related emissions.</p>
 </div>
 

pages/about.md

@@ -6,11 +6,11 @@ permalink: /about
 
 # About
 
-The Technology Carbon Standard provides a structure for organisations to understand, measure, and reduce the carbon emissions associated with their technology infrastructure and usage. It is part of a broader Sustainable Technology Framework that incorporates additional sustainability considerations beyond just carbon.
+The Technology Carbon Standard provides a structure for organisations to understand, measure, and reduce the carbon emissions and water consumption associated with their technology infrastructure and usage. It is part of a broader Sustainable Technology Framework that incorporates additional sustainability considerations beyond just carbon.
 
-Specifically, the Carbon Standard focuses on quantifying and minimising the carbon footprint of an organisation’s technology estate.
+Specifically, the Carbon Standard focuses on quantifying and minimising the carbon and footprints of an organisation’s technology estate.
 
-By providing a structure to categorise and account for carbon across these different technology facets, the Standard aims to help organisations map out their technology footprint, identify hotspots for reduction opportunities, and track progress over time. It serves as a proposed standard for organisations on their journey toward sustainable technology. Adopting the Technology Carbon Standard brings organisations one step closer to fully understanding and minimising the climate impacts of their digital ecosystem.
+By providing a structure to categorise and account for carbon and water across these different technology facets, the Standard aims to help organisations map out their technology footprint, identify hotspots for reduction opportunities, and track progress over time. It serves as a proposed standard for organisations on their journey toward sustainable technology. Adopting the Technology Carbon Standard brings organisations one step closer to fully understanding and minimising the climate impacts of their digital ecosystem.
 
 The Technology Carbon Standard was developed and is maintained by [Scott Logic](https://www.scottlogic.com) and offered as an open-source project. Scott Logic has aligned its approach with other open-source and science-backed, cross-industry frameworks such as the GHG Protocol and Green Software Foundation.
 

pages/impact_categories/downstream.md

@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ redirect_from:
 
 Downstream emissions (Category D) are the emissions produced by using an organisation’s products and/or services. This could be B2B or B2C users of the products and services. The emissions are attributed to the customer’s device energy use and the transmission of data to use that product or service.
 
+To assess the downstream water footprint of an organisation's operations, it is essential to include the water required to use the products or services, as well as the water embedded in the energy consumed by customer devices and data transmission.
+
 Downstream emissions are related to GHG Protocol Scope 3.
 
 {% include linkedHeading.html heading="Customer Devices" level=2 %}
@@ -18,15 +20,17 @@ This considers the emissions generated from the electricity consumption of devic
 
 The [embodied carbon of customer devices](/technology-categories/lifecycle/embodied) is not required for attributional accounting of indirect scope 3 emissions. However, there is a consequential effect that organisations should consider when releasing digital products and services. If the software requires significantly powerful hardware or requires the latest operating systems, for example, this could force customers to replace their hardware and devices to be able to use the product. This carries a downstream consequence of increasing the embodied emissions of customer devices, as well as increasing waste. [Read more about hardware lifecycle emissions](/technology-categories/lifecycle).
 
-When content and data are consumed by customers, it is essential to account for emissions generated across all interactions, including:
+The embodied or virtual water tied to customer devices includes both the water consumed to generate the electricity they consume and the water embedded in their manufacturing. As software requires more computing power, it increases electricity consumption. In addition, when new software requires customers to upgrade or replace their devices, the water impact grows further.
+
+When content and data are consumed by customers, it is essential to account for both the carbon and water usages across all interactions, including:
 - Streaming, playback or download 
 - Content creation such as live streaming and uploads 
 - Embedding and sharing on third-party platforms
 - AI-enabled features such as auto-captions and recommendations
 
-Special consideration also needs to be given to AI applications. As the size of LLMs continues to increase so do the hardware requirements needed to run them effectively. If your customers need to upgrade their devices to run your AI applications this will contribute to e-waste as mentioned above and could also lead to increased energy consumption. 
+Special consideration also needs to be given to AI applications. As the size of LLMs continues to increase so do the hardware requirements needed to run them effectively. If your customers need to upgrade their devices to run your AI applications this will contribute to e-waste as mentioned above and could also lead to increased energy and water consumption. 
 
-It is also important to consider the number of end users that will be consuming your AI. A [study released by Mistral AI in July 2025](https://mistral.ai/news/our-contribution-to-a-global-environmental-standard-for-ai) into the energy usage of their Large 2 model stated that to generate 1 page of text or 400 tokens produces 1.14 gCO₂e. This is roughly equivalent to a user in the U.S. streaming online video for 10 seconds. While this per-request impact may appear minimal, the cumulative emissions scale rapidly when multiplied across thousands of users performing inferences multiple times per day. 
+It is also important to consider the number of end users that will be consuming your AI. A [study released by Mistral AI in July 2025](https://mistral.ai/news/our-contribution-to-a-global-environmental-standard-for-ai) into the energy usage of their Large 2 model stated that to generate 1 page of text or 400 tokens produces 1.14 gCO₂e and uses 45 mL of water. This is roughly equivalent to a user in the U.S. streaming online video for 10 seconds. While this per-request impact may appear minimal, the cumulative emissions and water consumed scale rapidly when multiplied across thousands of users performing inferences multiple times per day. 
 
 It is therefore important to consider ways to reduce the number of inference attempts a user needs to obtain the desired information as well as reducing how long inference takes and the length of the answer returned.
 
@@ -46,8 +50,8 @@ In the context of AI applications, writing more precise prompts and requesting c
 
 These emissions come from physical infrastructure and systems that your customers deploy or operate to use your products or services. This includes IoT (Internet of Things) devices, locally hosted servers, edge computing / embedded devices, dedicated storage systems, networking equipment, and specialised hardware (also know as OT or Operational Technology) that customers must install for your service to function. For example, if your cloud-based IoT platform requires customers to install local gateways and sensors, or your enterprise software needs on-premises servers at customer sites.
 
-The usage related emissions from this customer infrastructure should be accounted for under the customer's operational energy consumption (unless it's something like a managed service where you pay for the electricity consumed - in which case it should be included under your operational emissions) and, where relevant, the embodied carbon of hardware that customers acquire specifically to use your offerings. Unlike general-purpose devices, this infrastructure often has longer lifecycles and a range of power requirements (depending on the nature of the device).
+The usage related emissions from this customer infrastructure should be accounted for under the customer's operational energy and therefore water consumption which can vary greatly depending on the type energy used (unless it's something like a managed service where you pay for the electricity consumed - in which case it should be included under your operational emissions) and, where relevant, the embodied carbon of hardware that customers acquire specifically to use your offerings. Unlike general-purpose devices, this infrastructure often has longer lifecycles and a range of power requirements (depending on the nature of the device).
 
-Consider the cumulative impact across your entire customer base, especially where your service requires distributed infrastructure deployment. The geographic spread of customer infrastructure affects carbon intensity calculations, as different regions have varying grid emissions. Your product design decisions around hardware requirements, efficiency, and deployment patterns directly influence the overall carbon footprint of your service ecosystem.
+Consider the cumulative impact across your entire customer base, especially where your service requires distributed infrastructure deployment. The geographic spread of customer infrastructure affects carbon intensity and water consumption calculations, as different regions have varying grid emissions. Your product design decisions around hardware requirements, efficiency, and deployment patterns directly influence the overall carbon and water footprints of your service ecosystem.
 
 If your AI application requires your customers to host the application locally then they may need to implement specialised hardware to ensure optimal performance. For example, dedicated servers and GPUs, additional RAM, specialist storage solutions such as NVMe SSDs, and enhanced cooling systems may all be necessary.