Water footprints and water allocation in a sustainable manner

Water footprint assessment (WFA) is a rapidly expanding area of study. This Special Issue includes a collection of articles that advance the subject or demonstrate novel applications. The first seven articles are WFA studies on a regional scale, S ranging from urban to continental; the following five papers are global in scope; and the last five papers are focused on water sustainability from a commercial perspective. The collection of articles demonstrates that the historical image of a town depending on its hinterlandfor water andfood is no longer accurate: urban consumers’ water impact is worldwide. Even while water is and will remain a public resource with government playing a key role, it has become apparent that smart water administration is no longer the sole province of government. With the majority of water utilized in the production of food and other consumer products, and product supply chains becoming more complicated and global, consumers, businesses, and investors are becoming increasingly conscious of their involvement. Interest in sustainable water use is growing rapidly in both civil society and the business community, but due to companies’ lack of transparency regarding their direct and indirect water use, we still have a long way to go before we can expect them to effectively contribute to making water footprints more sustainable on a large scale.