GB/T 37756-2019 in English

Interpretation of GB/T 37756-2019 National Standard of the People's Republic of China

Overview of the Standard

GB/T 37756-2019 "Guidelines for Product Water Footprint Assessment and Reporting" is an important standard to guide enterprises in conducting product water footprint assessment. The standard specifies the terms and definitions, determination of purpose and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment, interpretation of results and report content of product (including service) water footprint assessment.

Core Terms and Definitions

Assessment steps and methods

1. Determine the purpose and scope

Determine the purpose and scope of the product water footprint assessment according to the requirements of GB/T 33859-2017. The system boundary can be selected as "cradle to grave" or "gate to gate", depending on the data acquisition situation.

2. Inventory Analysis

Collect qualitative information and quantitative data of each unit process within the system boundary, and conduct data review and verification. The inventory consists of water-related inputs (such as raw materials, fresh water consumption) and outputs (such as wastewater discharge).

Interpretation and Limitations of Results

According to the evaluation results, the indirect water footprint contributes significantly (92.01%) to the water scarcity footprint of dairy farms, mainly from purchased feed. At the same time, nitrogen-containing pollutants account for the largest proportion of water degradation footprints (68.46%).

Implementation recommendations

1. Optimize supply chain management and formulate procurement standards that include water efficiency indicators.
2. Use advanced technologies to treat wastewater and reduce nitrogen pollutant emissions.
3. Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of water footprint assessment methods and adjust them based on data acquisition.