At the World Water Week in Stockholm, Borealis and Uponor announced that the two companies will enter into a joint initiative to pilot the concept of water footprint in the manufacturing of a plastic application.

Using the concept of water footprint and virtual water developed by John Anthony Allan (see Today’s Video), the initiative will investigate water uses across the entire plastics industry value chain from raw materials extraction to a full system installed at home.

Initial findings show that a typical under floor heating and tap water plumbing systems for a 100 m² apartment using 500 meters of PEX pipe requires some 29 m³ of water from “cradle to home,” with the plastic materials and pipe production accounting for a third of the total footprint of the system once installed.

Last year, Borealis was on the advisory board for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Global Water Tool.