Skip to the disclosure focus
Courses

London Reporting Academy ESRS E3 · Water · Disclosure Requirement E3-4

Applicable from FY2027

This revised ESRS edition applies from reporting year 2027. For reporting years 2024–2026, use the ESRS 2023 edition.

Water metrics

E3-4 · mandatory · metrics + narrative

E3-4 reports six metrics for own operations: total water consumption, total water consumption in areas with water stress, total water withdrawal, total water discharge, total water recycled and reused, and total water stored.

Start preparing ↓ Official European Commission source ↗

Disclosure focus

Each metric is reported in cubic metres or multiples thereof. Water consumption, withdrawal and discharge are distinct defined concepts; water use is not a substitute for water consumption.

Recycled and reused water form one required combined metric. Separate recycling and reuse figures may be added as entity-specific information but must not replace the combined total.

This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official European Commission source.

Prepare

What to collect before drafting

Tick each field as the evidence lands. Owners are the teams that usually hold the source files.

  • Total water consumption

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Report total water consumption for own operations in cubic metres or multiples thereof.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water consumption.

    Watch for The published response for total water consumption is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Water consumption in areas with water stress

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Report total water consumption in areas with water stress.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting water consumption in areas with water stress.

    Watch for The published response for water consumption in areas with water stress is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Total water withdrawal

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Report total water withdrawal.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water withdrawal.

    Watch for The published response for total water withdrawal is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Total water discharge

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Report total water discharge.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water discharge.

    Watch for The published response for total water discharge is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Total water recycled and reused

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Report the combined total of water recycled and reused.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water recycled and reused.

    Watch for The published response for total water recycled and reused is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Total water stored

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Report total water stored.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water stored.

    Watch for The published response for total water stored is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Metric and unit

    Sustainability reporting

    State the metric and unit of measurement.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting metric and unit.

    Watch for The published response for metric and unit is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Relationship to material matters

    Sustainability reporting

    Explain the metric's relationship to material impacts, risks or opportunities and to policies, actions or targets where relevant.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting relationship to material matters.

    Watch for The published response for relationship to material matters is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Methodology and sources

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe the measurement or calculation methodology, source data and significant assumptions.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting methodology and sources.

    Watch for The published response for methodology and sources is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Scope and boundary

    Sustainability reporting

    State the reporting boundary, scope limitations and any applicable ESRS 1 relief.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting scope and boundary.

    Watch for The published response for scope and boundary is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Validation

    Sustainability reporting

    State whether and how the metric was validated by an external body other than the assurance provider.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting validation.

    Watch for The published response for validation is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Comparatives and changes

    Sustainability reporting

    Provide required comparative information and explain changes in definitions or methodologies where applicable.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting comparatives and changes.

    Watch for The published response for comparatives and changes is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

Before you start

  • Use own operations and the reporting boundary required by ESRS 1; preserve the defined terms and combined recycled-and-reused metric.
  • Separate recycling and reuse may be shown only as additional information alongside the required combined total.
  • Have the supporting records and the final response been reconciled?
＋ Show E3-4 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)

How to prepare it

Use own operations and the reporting boundary required by ESRS 1; preserve the defined terms and combined recycled-and-reused metric.
Collect and reconcile the records for: Total water consumption; Water consumption in areas with water stress; Total water withdrawal; Total water discharge; Total water recycled and reused; Total water stored; Metric and unit; Relationship to material matters; Methodology and sources; Scope and boundary; Validation; Comparatives and changes.
Separate recycling and reuse may be shown only as additional information alongside the required combined total.
Draft the response using the defined terms shown in the disclosure focus; do not substitute broader internal labels.
Review the final wording against every requirement and the supporting governance or data records before sign-off.

Request the data

Request the disclosure evidence

Translate the disclosure into an internal business question — then adapt it to your organisation's own language.

Provide the water balance, source records, six metric calculations, units, areas-with-water-stress mapping, boundary reconciliation, assumptions, validation and comparative information.

Use the organisation's own role and document names, but preserve the defined ESRS terms and the scope described above.

Better request

Provide the water balance, source records, six metric calculations, units, areas-with-water-stress mapping, boundary reconciliation, assumptions, validation and comparative information.

Draft your disclosure

Notes that turn data into a disclosure

LRA training templates — adapt them to your organisation, and check the official source before sign-off.

Method note

Reconcile withdrawal, discharge, consumption, storage and recycled-and-reused flows without double counting and document estimation methods.

Context note

Explain acquisitions, disposals, scope changes or reliefs through the applicable ESRS requirements rather than an invented fluctuation rule.

Download Centre

Preparation tools & forms

Download preparation tools for E3-4 with free verified email access for 24 hours. Source-report links remain public.

Free · Email access
01XLSPrep & Assurance workbookDatapoints, risks, evidence to check, owner and evidence pack.Get it free ↧ 02XLSData-request packRequest email, message template, response fields and sign-off structure.Get it free ↧ 03PDFLibrary CardPrintable one-page summary of this disclosure card.Get it free ↧

Check

For each claim, check the evidence

  • Total water consumption is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates total water consumption.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water consumption.

  • Water consumption in areas with water stress is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates water consumption in areas with water stress.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting water consumption in areas with water stress.

  • Total water withdrawal is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates total water withdrawal.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water withdrawal.

  • Total water discharge is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates total water discharge.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water discharge.

  • Total water recycled and reused is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates total water recycled and reused.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water recycled and reused.

  • Total water stored is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates total water stored.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting total water stored.

  • Metric and unit is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates metric and unit.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting metric and unit.

  • Relationship to material matters is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates relationship to material matters.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting relationship to material matters.

  • Methodology and sources is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates methodology and sources.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting methodology and sources.

  • Scope and boundary is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates scope and boundary.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting scope and boundary.

  • Validation is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates validation.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting validation.

  • Comparatives and changes is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates comparatives and changes.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting comparatives and changes.

Evidence pack to prepare

Common reporting gaps

  • Using water use instead of water consumption.
  • Using water-scarce instead of areas with water stress.
  • Splitting recycled and reused water into two required metrics.
  • Reporting an incomplete boundary.
  • Presenting methodology controls as topical datapoints.
✓ Knowledge Hub AI Assistant · Human-in-the-loop
Dr Ross Kurinko

Ask the Knowledge Hub AI Assistant about this disclosure

Get practical answers for your reporting context.

Try How do I prepare E3-4? What data do I need to collect? What mistakes should I avoid?

Framework references

Relevant ESRS requirements and related disclosures

ESRS

E3-4

within ESRS E3: Water

Open official source →

Guides that settle this question

ESRS E3 Water: Withdrawal, Consumption, Discharge and Water-Stress Reporting →

Related & explore

Policies (Water) → CardActions & Resources → CardTargets → CardBrowse all disclosures →

More in ESRS E3 →Browse full catalogue →Search all disclosures →

How this library is built 1,211 published reports indexed 315,012 pages with page-level citations 272 published cards in the active catalogue
/en/knowledge-hub/disclosure-cards/esrs-e3-4/