As a beverage company, water used in our operations and in the production of our ingredients is one of our material issues. In 2022, we kicked off the development of a water stewardship strategy which we aim to finalize in 2023.

‍

Water Used in our Operations

A third-party water footprint analysis conducted in 2021 showed that less than 1% of Guayakí’s total enterprise water footprint was associated with direct operations and classified as blue water footprint, defined as the volume of surface or groundwater consumed. As a business with operations in California, we recognize that this relatively small percentage still has an impact. In 2022, 100% of Guayakí’s co-packer facilities, accounting for the majority of Guayakí’s beverage production, operated in high water scarcity areas. Companies like Guayakí in the food and beverage industry have a significant role in managing this critical resource through their direct and indirect operations.

‍

Water Used in the Production of our Ingredients

Over 87% of Guayakí’s total enterprise water footprint was classified as green water footprint, defined as the volume of rainwater consumed for growing the ingredients, based on a third-party water footprint analysis we conducted in 2021. Water scarcity risk was found to be typically low for the growing stage of shade-grown yerba mate. However, given that our primary ingredients such as yerba mate depend heavily on rainfall, periods of sustained drought that are further exacerbated by climate change will have a direct impact. Ongoing droughts in parts of South America continued to negatively affect the yerba mate industry as a whole. We are proud to support shade-grown yerba mate production systems that create microclimates and help conserve water, mitigating risk against drought and building resiliency against climate changes.