In an Expert Focus article for WaterBriefing, Francesca Priora, Vice President, Climate & Nature, at global food processing and packaging giant Tetra Pak discusses why water scarcity is an urgent priority for the food and beverage industry.

Francesca Priora, Vice President, Climate & Nature, Tetra Pak: The world is running out of water faster than it can be replenished. A recent UN report raised the issue of "global water bankruptcy", highlighting that many societies are drawing on freshwater resources at a rate that stretches nature's ability to keep up - and warning that the effects ripple through our interconnected global food systems.¹

As extreme weather and droughts become more frequent, supply chains grow more volatile, especially when set against geopolitical instability. With the global population projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050,² pressure on land, energy and water will only intensify. Dwindling freshwater resources mean that prioritising efficient water use is urgent now, not later.

This is a dire warning to people and the planet. For industries that depend on stable water supplies, it is also an urgent operational reality. A pragmatic approach to productivity and business growth must now drive the food and beverage industry to lead the way on responsible water use.

The responsibility of food and beverage leaders

The interconnectedness of global food systems and supply chains means the F&B industry is both highly dependent on water and highly exposed to water-related risk. That means businesses across the sector must actively adopt water stewardship to manage their impact on shared water resources.

There are two routes to tackled water stewardship, and both must be addressed now. Companies need to reduce water use within their own operations, while also working with suppliers to improve water management across the value chain.

The first step forward on both paths is to fully understand water use. Monitoring and robust assessment enables producers to first and foremost see where water is being used and where it can be saved. Equipped with effective measurement data, producers can set meaningful goals. Equally importantly, these targets can be reported transparently in line with external frameworks such as CDP, which ranks companies in a dedicated water security category, and the Science Based Targets Network.

To assess our own water use, we worked with environmental sustainability consultancy Quantis. This process identified that much of our water consumption originates from upstream procurement and downstream customer use. These insights showed where action is needed, reinforcing the importance of including water management in our supplier partnerships.

Our own experience shows that improvements in water efficiency are already achievable at scale. At Tetra Pak, we have reduced total water withdrawal at sites in scope of our water target by 17% since 2019, demonstrating how operational improvements can ease pressure on local water resources.

How innovation and efficiency save water and improve profits

Once producers understand their water use, they can take targeted action to reduce consumption and improve efficiency. This is not just a nice-to-have: operational efficiency reduces the use of raw materials, makes materials go further and reduces loss and waste, which hits sustainability targets, and cuts costs while improving productivity and profitability. Sustainability and business success go together.

Technological innovation plays a significant role in helping to reduce water use and product loss, while maintaining and even boosting productivity. Upgrading existing equipment is a great first step to unlock efficiencies, balancing manageable investment with access to game-changing innovation.

A recent study by Tetra Pak found that the latest best practice solutions can reduce water use by up to 49%, compared to best practice solutions from 2019³. Smart producers think about total cost of ownership (TCO) across the life of the equipment and the production line, and applying that mindset to savings like this demonstrates the clear business case for sustainable practices.

Innovative upgrades are already saving water and money for forward-thinking producers. In 2025, Brazilian fruit juice producer Tial set out to curb its water consumption by installing a new aseptic blending line. Conventionally, an entire batch of orange juice has to be pasteurised, which is a heat and energy-intensive process. Tial's upgraded line pasteurises only the juice concentrate, while separately filtering the water portion that is then added to the sterilised concentrate. This upgrade reduced steam use by 65% and water needed for cleaning circulation by 50%. It also reduced product losses by an eye-opening 92%, saving 190,000 litres of concentrate each year.⁴

Water is a social issue

Water scarcity is not only an environmental and business risk. Water is essential to human life, and the impact of water scarcity are unevenly distributed. Around 1.8 billion people still do not have drinking water available on their premises. In two-thirds of those households, women and girls are responsible for collecting water, often travelling long distances each day.⁵ Time spent fetching water limits access to education, reduces economic participation and undermines wellbeing.

Women also remain underrepresented in the water sector itself. Globally, women make up roughly one-fifth of the workforce in water-related professions and hold relatively few decision-making roles.⁶ Addressing that imbalance matters. Diverse leadership brings a wider range of perspectives to water management, which leads to more inclusive and more durable solutions.

Water stewardship will only become more important as regulation develops. Producers must be proactive in getting ahead of compliance with mandatory disclosures, such as the recently adopted European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the associated European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) on Water & Marine Resources.

Water must be a strategic priority

Water management is increasingly recognised as a material issue across food value chains, from raw material sourcing to manufacturing and consumer use. Industrial supply chains can add pressure to regional water supplies, which gives businesses both a responsibility and an incentive to lead on water stewardship. This is especially true in food systems, where the entire value chain is dependent on agricultural inputs that are often in the frontline of water dependence.

Because the challenge spans the value chain, the response must do the same. Collaboration between industry players is key, as change will only come from coordinated action rather than isolated commitments.

That is why collaboration across the value chain matters. Sustainability programmes that engage suppliers at scale, including Tetra Pak's work with more than 150 prioritised suppliers, can help address environmental impacts beyond direct operations, and drive meaningful efficiency improvements.

The challenge of feeding a growing global population is already clear. We must also recognise that water is fundamental to that goal. Food security and water security are inseparable. Water is the precondition for resilient global food systems and must be a key part of the conversation if we are to protect people and planet into the future.

1. https://unu.edu/inweh/news/world-enters-era-of-global-water-bankruptcy#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWater%20bankruptcy%20is,not%20crisis%20management.%E2%80%9D
2. https://www.un.org/en/desa/world-population-projected-reach-98-billion-2050-and-112-billion-2100
3. https://www.tetrapak.com/insights/cases-articles/improve-dairy-lines
4. https://www.tetrapak.com/insights/cases-articles/juice-production-concept-big-on-savings
5. https://www.unwater.org/publications/who/unicef-joint-monitoring-program-update-report-2023
6. https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-world-water-development-report-2026