Water DataBase Project: Quantis Creates Database to Help Companies Manage Their Impact on Water Resources

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 3, 2011 - Quantis, an international firm specialized in sustainability, Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA), carbon footprinting and water footprinting, is joining
forces with a consortium of businesses to develop an innovative
water-footprint database.

Quantis is creating the first comprehensive database of water footprints
across various sectors of manufacturing. To bring this project to fruition,
Lausanne-based Quantis is working in partnership with Ecoinvent, the leading
supplier of LCA data. In addition, seven partner companies support this
project. These companies are food and beverage corporations Danone (France)
and Kraft Foods (USA), Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd, cosmetics
manufacturer Natura (Brazil), consumer products group Unilever PLC (UK),
environmental services group Veolia Environnement (France) and office
furniture manufacturer and space planner Steelcase (USA). Thanks to its
experience in LCA and water footprint, Quantis is acting as coordinator of
this Water DataBase Project.

In some countries, demand for water from manufacturing industries exceeds
60% of total water use while, on a global scale, the agricultural sector ties
up 70% of the fresh water used by all sectors as a whole. Excessive use of
water resources is impacting the environment, people's health, and social and
political balances. By calculating the water footprint of their business
activities or products, companies can become part of the solution while
properly managing their own strategic risks relating to water shortages.
Against the backdrop of climate change, availability of water has become a
matter of serious concern for society at large - with several conferences
held on this theme (World Water Week, London Business Conference, Ethical
Corporation, etc) meeting with a great deal of success. In addition, new
standards on water management are being developed by different initiatives
while reporting organisations (Global Reporting Initiative and Carbon
Disclosure Project) now include a water dimension in their reports.

The database offered by Quantis aims to provide a complete life-cycle
view of a company's or product's water footprint so that impacts associated
with water can be reduced. Life cycles span the entire supply chain,
encompassing logistics and utilisation. The Water DataBase Project is
covering several thousands of processes and is adaptable to different regions
so that local conditions can be taken into account.

"As a leading agro-food company in water resources management, Danone
supports and is fully committed to this project. An accurate, comprehensive
database is fundamental to water-footprint management," states
Jean-Christophe Bligny, head of environment at Danone's water division.
"Through the Water DataBase Project, it will be possible to identify ways in
which environmental impacts can be reduced, instigate policies safeguarding
water resources and improve water footprints throughout our products' life
cycles."

The project has just been launched. We look forward to hearing from other
companies wanting to join the project.

For further information, please visit our website
www.quantis-intl.com/waterdatabase.php

or contact Sandrine Chappuis, head of communications:
sandrine.chappuis@quantis-intl.com, T: +41-21-693-91-98, M:
+41-78-690-40-04,

Quantis, PSE Bât. D, 1015 Lausanne, T: +41-21-693-91-92 , F:
+41-21-693-91-96,

info@quantis-intl.com , www.quantis-intl.com

Sandrine Chappuis, head of communications: sandrine.chappuis at quantis-intl.com, T: +41-21-693-91-98, M: +41-78-690-40-04, Quantis, PSE Bât. D, 1015 Lausanne, T: +41-21-693-91-92 , F: +41-21-693-91-96, info at quantis-intl.com