ESRS E3-1 — water consumption disclosure¶
What ESRS E3-1 requires¶
ESRS E3-1 covers water-related impacts and dependencies. For data-centre-related water consumption, the relevant disclosures are:
- Total water consumption in m³ for the reporting period
- Water consumption in areas of water stress (AWARE-100 weighted)
- Cooling-method assumption (evaporative, dry, hybrid)
- Methodology and boundary
What we provide¶
Every receipt carries a water consumption estimate in millilitres, AWARE-100 weighted. Quarterly aggregates roll up to litres or m³ as appropriate.
| Region | Cooling | Water intensity (mL/kWh) | AWARE-100 stress factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| scaleway-par-1 | Evaporative + free-cooling | 1,800 | 0.7 (Paris) |
| atnorth-sto-1 | Evaporative | 1,400 | 0.4 (Stockholm) |
| atnorth-isl-1 | Direct seawater + free-cooling | 80 | 0.1 (Iceland) |
| ovh-gra | Evaporative | 1,500 | 0.6 (Gravelines) |
| ovh-rbx | Evaporative | 1,500 | 0.6 (Roubaix) |
| hetzner-fsn-1 | Hybrid | 1,200 | 0.5 (Falkenstein) |
Water intensities are derived from provider disclosures (where published) and Carbone-4-style modelled defaults (where not). Methodology lineage is in the evidence pack.
Worked example¶
For the same Q1 2026 example as in E1-6:
| Region | Queries | Energy (kWh) | Water (L) | AWARE-weighted (L) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scaleway-par-1 | 3,100,000 | 715 | 1,287 | 901 |
| atnorth-sto-1 | 600,000 | 138 | 193 | 77 |
| atnorth-isl-1 | 200,000 | 46 | 4 | 0.4 |
| ovh-gra-1 | 300,000 | 69 | 104 | 62 |
| Total Q1 | 4,200,000 | 968 | 1,588 L | 1,040 L AWARE |
Disclosure language:
AI inference water consumption, Q1 2026: 1,588 L direct withdrawal, 1,040 L AWARE-100 weighted. Cooling-method weighted: 89% evaporative, 11% direct/free-cooling. Methodology: Vetted Inference v0.4.2 with regional provider-disclosed water intensities; AWARE-100 weighting per WULCA factor table 2024.
Notes for assurance review¶
- Water consumption is withdrawal, not consumption-net-of-return. Our reported number is consumption (water that does not return to the source as liquid; primarily evaporative loss). For some buyers, withdrawal-based disclosure is the requested form; we provide both numbers in the evidence pack.
- Provider-disclosed water intensities vary in granularity. Where a provider does not publish per-DC intensity, we use a regional default and note this in the pedigree score.
- AWARE-100 stress factors are updated periodically by WULCA; we pin to the version used at receipt time.