← Back to comparisons
Food

1 liter tap water (EU average)

1 litra hanavettä (EU-keskiarvo)

0.0
Truecost score
Data confidence: HIGH

Extremely well-characterized. Tap water infrastructure is one of the most studied public services.

One liter of EU tap water produces just 0.35 g CO₂e — nearly 500x less than bottled water. Zero waste, zero packaging, strictly regulated quality.

Did you know? Switching from bottled to tap water for a year (2L/day) saves ~117 kg CO₂ — equivalent to driving 750 km. And tap water contains fewer microplastics.
Transparent calculation

How was this number determined?

The Truecost score is calculated from absolute physical values. Each row below shows the measured value, how it was normalized, and where it comes from.

Dimension Absolute value Score 100 = Normalized Weight Weighted Confidence
Carbon Emissions 0.00035 kg CO₂e 9.5 kg CO₂e 0.0 ×0.35 0.00 HIGH
Water Consumption 1.0 liters 3840 liters 0.03 ×0.2 0.01 HIGH
Land Use 0.0 m²·year 51 m²·year 0.0 ×0.2 0.00 HIGH
Waste 0.0 kg 5 kg 0.0 ×0.15 0.00 HIGH
Toxicity 0.0 µDALY 162 µDALY 0.0 ×0.1 0.00 HIGH
Truecost score (weighted sum) 0.0

Share of your annual planetary budget

Water Consumption <0.01%
Source data by dimension

Where do the absolute values come from?

Carbon Emissions
HIGH
German Consumer Advice Centre (Verbraucherzentrale): tap water produces 0.35 g CO₂e per liter. Botto et al. (2009) found 0.91 g CO₂e/L for Siena, Italy tap water. EU average ~0.3-0.5 g CO₂e/L. Dominated by electricity for pumping and treatment (97% of footprint).
  • Verbraucherzentrale (2023): CO₂-Bilanz von Leitungswasser
  • Botto et al. (2009): Tap water vs. bottled water in a Footprint Integrated Approach — Nature Precedings
  • Danfoss (2024): The carbon footprint of potable water

Very consistent across EU studies: 0.3-1.0 g CO₂e/L. Lower in countries with low-carbon grids (Nordic), higher in coal-heavy grids.

Water Consumption
HIGH
1 liter of tap water uses approximately 1 liter of source water plus 5-15% losses in treatment and distribution. Effectively ~1.1 L input per 1 L delivered.
  • Danfoss (2024): The carbon footprint of potable water

EU water distribution losses average ~10-15%. Source water is renewable (ground/surface water).

Land Use
HIGH
Water treatment plants and pipe infrastructure occupy land, but amortized over decades of service and millions of liters, per-liter land use is effectively zero.

No meaningful land use per liter.

Waste
HIGH
Zero packaging waste. Water delivered through municipal infrastructure. No single-use materials.

Zero waste is a fundamental advantage over bottled water.

Toxicity
HIGH
EU drinking water standards are among the strictest globally (Directive 2020/2184). Regular testing for 48 parameters. Chlorination byproducts exist at trace levels but well within safety margins.
  • EU (2020): Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184

EU tap water is safe by design. Lower microplastic content than bottled water.

Comparisons

Methodology

Based on EU municipal water supply lifecycle data. Covers source water extraction, treatment (filtration, disinfection), pumping, and distribution.

Sources