The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) Releases the True Cost of Water Toolkit 3.0

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 7, 2024 /3BL/ -

The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) released The True Cost of Water Toolkit 3.0 to help beverage facilities better estimate their “true cost” of water.

Traditionally, the cost of water is calculated using the incoming water bill plus the sewer water bill. However, these costs may only represent 25-50% of the true cost of water for a facility, especially a manufacturing facility. The True Cost of Water Toolkit 3.0 includes all the costs associated with the use of water, including purchasing water, energy to heat, cool, and transport water, chemicals and other materials used to treat water, and discharge costs.

Building upon previous versions of the True Cost of Water Toolkit, version 3.0 provides:

• Two effective options for estimating the true cost of water: the Simple True Cost of Water Tool and the Detailed True Cost of Water Tool. 
• These easy-to-use, calculation worksheets support estimating the true cost of water based on site data availability. The Detailed True Cost of Water Tool offers a more in-depth tool that includes eleven beverage production-specific water-using operations or 'pinch point' options that allow users to drill down on these common operations.
• Each tool automatically populates calculations based on the data entered in the sheets, accompanied by supporting information for additional guidance and detailed information on the specific cost category.
• As an added feature in version 3.0, the tool includes a water stress multiplier to help facilities quantitatively assess how future water stress, as measured by Water Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct data, will affect their True Cost of Water.

“The True Cost of Water Toolkit 3.0 helps businesses better estimate the full value of water for their operational processes and identify at-risk revenue through current and future water scarcity. Since its introduction by BIER in 2015, the True Cost of Water tool has helped the beverage sector make investments in water efficiency, reuse, and treatment by supporting better ROI decisions. In its latest version, the tool allows for both quicker implementation and in-depth analysis, which BIER hopes will encourage its wider adoption and use, to drive continued improvements in operational water stewardship in the beverage sector.” ~ Daniel Pierce, BIER Executive Director

The True Cost of Water Toolkit 3.0 is available for download at https://www.bieroundtable.com/publication/true-cost-of-water-toolkit/.

For more information, please contact: Daniel Pierce, BIER Executive Director
Daniel.Pierce@anteagroup.us

About BIER

BIER is a technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector. Formed in 2006, BIER is a common voice across the beverage sector, speaking to influence global standards on environmental sustainability aspects most relevant to the sector, affect change both up and down the supply chain, and share best practices that raise the bar for environmental performance of the industry. By doing so, BIER is able to monitor data and trends, engage with key stakeholders, develop best practices, and guide a course of action for the future. BIER members include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bacardi, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heineken, Keurig Dr Pepper, LION, Molson Coors, Monster, Ocean Spray Cranberries, PepsiCo, and Pernod Ricard. For more information, visit www.bieroundtable.com.