Like energy, water is one of the resources requiring strategic management by public and private organizations and local authorities in charge of drinking water distribution, agricultural uses and wastewater management. The trajectory of the Water Plan, initiated by the public authorities in March 2023, directs these players towards massive water savings and the valorization of cubic meters not consumed, through the sobriety of uses and the quality and availability of the resource.
Best practices and continuous improvement
Promoting water governance in the region
Gestion durable de l’eau : faites-le avec l’ISO 46001
Spearheaded by the AFNOR group, the management system approach consists in building and developing one’s activity through interactions and correlations with stakeholders, in order to achieve objectives and ensure that they have a positive impact. This approach enables us to use resources more efficiently, manage risks more effectively, protect people and the environment, and enhance our ability to deliver impactful products and services to customers and stakeholders. All in a spirit of continuous improvement, with a designated pilot, and following the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” (PDCA) logic. In the water sector, the voluntary standard NF ISO 46001 provides guidelines for building and maintaining this management system.
Organizations focus on documenting and complying with water-related legal obligations, without making any lasting cultural changes to practices and business models. To meet the challenges of the March 2023 action plan for resilient and concerted water management in France, organizations are now called upon to build, each at their own level, a sustainable water management system, using the levers of reduction, substitution or reuse. If your organization is concerned by ESRS 3 (water and marine resources) under the European Sustainability Reporting Directive (SRD), ISO 46001 meets this pillar.
Indeed, ESRS 3 of the CSRD focuses on sustainable water management, requiring companies to disclose detailed information on their water use, impacts on water resources and measures taken to reduce consumption and protect aquatic ecosystems. This includes data on withdrawals, discharges and water-related risks in their operations, all included in the methodology recommended by ISO 46001.
Plan eau : l’industrie doit agir
In France, the publication in 2024 of a list of the 50 industrial sites that consume the most water highlights the limitations of current measures (laws, directives, diagnostics, etc.) in bringing about a lasting reduction in water consumption. The government’s water plan aims to reduce water consumption by 10% by 2030. The ISO 46001 standard makes recommendations, particularly with regard to :
- monitoring and measurement
- documentation, declaration, design and purchasing practices for equipment, systems and processes
- hiring staff to help manage efficient water use.
You can have your water efficiency management system certified to show that you apply it in all respects, and thus enhance the value of your best practices when responding to invitations to tender. You can also call on an AFNOR BAO expert to help you prepare.
The standard helps organizations assess and consider their water use, and identify, plan and implement water-saving measures through three principles:
- reduction, through the use of energy-saving appliances, monitoring of usage and surveillance of losses and leaks
- replacing drinking water with reused water, rainwater or sea water
- reuse, by recycling process water or grey water.
Are you a small business? AFNOR Editions offers you the “Wastewater Recycling and Water Saving” pack for a complete standards and regulations watch. You can also become an expert in industrial water treatment with our 9-day training course.
Animer la gouvernance de l’eau dans son territoire
Local authorities approach sustainable, efficient water management from the angle of risk (floods, droughts, material failures, pollution, etc.). They are at the heart of a multi-voice dialogue with water agencies, sanitation services such as SPANCs and decentralized government departments (water and regional planning departments, Dreal). Here again, a voluntary standard, ISO 37101 on sustainable development in local communities, is helping to organize the issue.
Reducing vulnerability to flooding
In recent years, France has been confronted with intense rainfall episodes, accentuated by climate change. These events have resulted in floods of varying magnitude, whether affecting a single commune or an entire watershed. Flooding is often exacerbated by soil conditions, which can be either very dry or saturated with water, as well as by the type of surface construction and urban planning.
AFNOR is currently working on a new voluntary standard to better assess the effectiveness and suitability of flood prevention schemes. These devices include dams, known as cofferdams, which are installed to retain water on a given surface. However, it is often difficult for local authorities to choose the most suitable and effective system. The new standard aims to solve this problem by providing clear criteria for assessing the performance of flood protection devices.
Calculate a water footprint
In 2016, the idea of a water footprint emerged in standards work with the aim of defining, collectively and by consensus, requirements and guidelines for assessing the water footprint of products, processes and organizations based on life cycle assessment (LCA). A water footprint can feed into the indicators of a CSR policy. As underlined by the international standard ISO 14046 , a water footprint can contribute to :
- assessing the extent of potential water-related environmental impacts
- identifying opportunities to reduce potential water-related environmental impacts associated with products at different stages of their life cycle, as well as with processes and organizations
- strategic water risk management
- implementation of efficient, optimized water management at product, process and organizational levels
- information for decision-makers in industry, public authorities and NGOs
- the provision of consistent, reliable information based on scientific evidence.
Equipements pour l’eau :
demander la certification NF
Pipes, valves, water heaters, water treatment equipment, analysis kits… It’s important to point out that the equipment you sell provides quality services. In a field where the absence of quality results in leaks and damage that are highly penalizing, the NF mark acts as a quality signal and is known as such by consumers.
The water analysis sector, for example, is expressing the need for rapid analysis kits. AFNOR Certification has extended the NF Validation mark to the microbiological water analysis sector. To display it on your products, you need to request an audit. Follow the standardization of detection methods for perfluorinated substances (PFAS) in drinking water (draft NF EN 17892 ).
