Bottled Water

Material Composition Assumptions

A standard 500ml single-use bottled water product consists primarily of the packaging rather than the water itself — the water contributes negligible embodied carbon relative to the container and distribution system. Key material inputs include:

• PET bottle body: Approximately 16–22 g of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin for a standard 500ml bottle. Lightweight bottles (‘light-weighting’ is a key industry trend) can be as low as 12 g; premium still-water and spring-water bottles often use thicker wall stock at 22–28 g.
• Polypropylene cap: Approximately 2–3 g. Some brands use polyethylene (PE) caps. The cap resin contributes ~0.008 kgCO2e per bottle.
• Label: Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) label, approximately 1–2 g per bottle. Paper labels are used by some brands.
• Secondary packaging: Shrink-wrap film (PE or PP) bundling 6 or 12 bottles; cardboard retail trays in some formats. Attributed packaging overhead per bottle is approximately 1–2 g.
• Water: Source water (spring, mineral, or treated municipal) requires minimal energy for extraction and treatment. Pumping and UV/filtration treatment contributes approximately 0.005–0.01 kgCO2e per litre.

The CCI score of 0.3 kgCO2e per 500ml bottle uses a representative 20 g PET bottle, global-average grid for bottle forming, and European-average freight mix (blend of near-source spring water and some imported mineral water).

Why the Score Is What It Is

Bottled water is unusual in that the product itself — water — has a near-zero embodied carbon footprint. The entire score is driven by the packaging and the logistics required to move a heavy, low-value liquid from source to consumer.

PET bottle production accounts for nearly half the total footprint (~48%). PET resin is derived from petrochemical feedstocks (primarily purified terephthalic acid and monoethylene glycol, both from crude oil) and is manufactured in energy-intensive polymerisation and solid-state polycondensation processes. At approximately 2.2 kgCO2e/kg of virgin PET resin and 20 g per bottle, this contributes ~0.044 kgCO2e before blow-moulding is added. The blow-moulding step adds ~0.008 kgCO2e at average grid intensity.

Distribution is the second-largest contributor (~28%). Water weighs 1 kg per litre, making it one of the heaviest products per unit of product value in the food and beverage sector. A pallet of 500ml bottles (~500–600 bottles) weighs approximately 300 kg, of which ~250 kg is water. This mass makes road freight emissions per bottle significantly higher than for equivalent-volume lighter products. International shipping of imported mineral water (e.g., Evian from France to the USA, or San Pellegrino to Asia) adds substantially to this component.

Bottle forming and filling electricity (~13%) covers the bottling plant’s compressed-air systems, conveyors, filling lines, capping, and labelling. These are relatively efficient compared to heavy-manufacturing processes, but the grid intensity of the bottling location matters.

What Drives Variation

Bottle weight is the primary material lever. Ultra-lightweight bottles (12–14 g PET, used by brands like Nestlé Pure Life and some private-label water) can reduce the packaging footprint by 30–35% relative to a standard 20 g bottle. Premium glass bottles of equivalent volume carry 3–6 times the footprint of PET due to the energy intensity of glass manufacturing.

Source proximity dramatically affects the distribution component. Locally sourced tap water refilled into a reusable bottle carries a footprint close to zero per serving. Regional spring water bottled and sold within 200 km of source may add only 0.03–0.05 kgCO2e/bottle in freight. Internationally imported mineral water — which constitutes a significant share of premium retail sales — can add 0.05–0.15 kgCO2e/bottle in additional sea and road freight, depending on origin and destination.

Recycled PET content (rPET) can meaningfully reduce the material footprint. Virgin PET carries ~2.2 kgCO2e/kg; mechanically recycled PET (rPET) carries approximately 0.5–0.9 kgCO2e/kg depending on collection and reprocessing systems. A bottle made from 50% rPET saves approximately 0.013–0.016 kgCO2e relative to the all-virgin baseline. Some brands (Evian, Danone) have committed to 100% rPET bottles by 2025, which would reduce the material footprint by ~60%.

Packaging format matters significantly. Large-format bottles (1.5 L, 2 L) use less packaging material per litre of water than 500ml bottles, reducing the per-litre footprint by 30–50%. Multi-packs with minimal secondary packaging are more efficient than single-serve retail units.

Grid intensity at the bottling plant affects Scope 2. A bottling facility powered by renewable energy reduces the electricity component (~13% of total) to near zero, but the overall score reduction at the system level is modest — under 0.04 kgCO2e — because Scope 3 (packaging and logistics) dominates.

Manufacturing Geography

Bottled water production spans virtually every geography. Major global brands — Nestlé Pure Life, Danone (Evian, Volvic), Coca-Cola (Dasani), PepsiCo (Aquafina), and San Pellegrino (Nestlé) — operate hundreds of bottling facilities worldwide.

France and Italy dominate the premium mineral and spring water segment in Europe; French sources (Alps, Vosges) supply significant European and North American markets. China has the largest domestic bottled water market by volume (brands include Nongfu Spring and C’estbon), with production largely serving domestic demand. USA is dominated by purified municipal-source water (Dasani, Aquafina) and regional spring brands.

PET resin is a globally traded commodity, predominantly manufactured in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and India, with significant EU and North American capacity. Resin is typically shipped to regional blow-moulders or preform manufacturers near bottling plants.

Provenance Override Guidance

Buyers and brands can override the default CCI score using:

1. Bottle weight documentation per SKU — the most impactful single data point. Manufacturer or converter specifications for gram-weight of PET per finished bottle.
2. rPET content certificates from resin supplier, specifying percentage of mechanically or chemically recycled content and its verified emission factor.
3. Freight data covering mode (road, sea, air), distance from bottling plant to distribution centre, and secondary logistics. Imported mineral water brands should include origin-to-port sea freight.
4. Bottling plant energy audit specifying grid connection emission factor and any on-site renewable generation.
5. EPD from PET preform or bottle converter, available from major resin producers (Indorama, DAK Americas) and some integrated bottlers.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 0.3 kgCO2e per 500ml bottle reflects a standard 20 g virgin-PET bottle, global-average grid for bottling, and a blend of local and regionally distributed spring/mineral water. Published data from WRAP and Botto et al. range from 0.15 kgCO2e (locally sourced, lightweight rPET bottle) to 0.55 kgCO2e (heavy glass bottle or imported international mineral water).
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 dominates at ~93% (0.28 kgCO2e), driven by PET resin production and distribution logistics. Scope 2 (bottling plant electricity) is ~6% (0.02 kgCO2e). Scope 1 (direct combustion) is ~1%.
• Functional unit: One 500ml single-use PET bottle of water, cradle-to-gate at retail distribution centre (consumer use and end-of-life excluded).
• Per-kg figure: 0.6 kgCO2e/kg reflects the total system weight of bottle plus water (~0.52 kg total). The packaging-only per-kg figure is approximately 13 kgCO2e/kg of packaging — reflecting the high carbon intensity of virgin PET relative to its mass.
• Confidence is medium because bottle weights, rPET content, and distribution distances vary substantially across brands, geographies, and retail formats.