--- title: "ESRS E3 Water: Requirements, Metrics, Water Stress" description: "ESRS E3 under the 2026 final text: four disclosure requirements, six water metrics in m³, water-stress screening with Aqueduct, links to VSME B6 and GRI 303." image: https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/pexels-cluster-images/9246673.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#main-content) [![Fiegenbaum Solutions Logo](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/Branding/Fiegenbaum-Solutions_Logo.svg) ![Fiegenbaum Solutions Logo](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/Branding/Fiegenbaum-Solutions_Logo.svg)](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/?hsLang=en) - [English](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany) - [Deutsch](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/blog/wasser-und-klimarisiken-im-bericht-sichtbar-machen-praxis-guide-fuer-die-csrd-konforme-risikoberichterstattung-inkl-beispiel) - Services - [Climate Risk Assessment](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/climate-risk-analysis-for-companies) - [VSME Report](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/vsme-reporting-for-smes) - [ESG Due Diligence VCs & Series A+](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/esg-due-diligence-vcs-series-a-startups) - [Corporate Carbon Footprint](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/company-carbon-footprint-methods-tools-best-practice) - Tools - [Scope 3 Quick-Check](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/scope-3-quick-check) - [ESG Investment Quick-Check](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/esg-investment-quick-check) - [CSRD Materiality Screening](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/csrd-materiality-screening) - [Pricing](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/esg-climate-consulting-fixed-prices-carbon-footprint-vsme-due-diligence-climate-risk) - [About me](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/about-me) - [Blog](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog) - [Contact](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/contact) ###### 9 min read # ESRS E3 Water: Disclosure Requirements, Metrics and Water Stress By: [Johannes Fiegenbaum](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/author/johannes-fiegenbaum) on 7/29/25, 8:48 PM · Last updated October 1, 2026 [Climate Risk Assessment](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/tag/climate-risk-assessment) [Biodiversity & Nature](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/tag/biodiversity-nature) ![Dam and reservoir in a mountainous landscape](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/pexels-cluster-images/9246673.jpg) ESRS E3 is the water standard of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The final version, published in the Official Journal on 21 September 2026 ([Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563](http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/1563/oj)), is considerably narrower than the 2023 text. It is now called simply "ESRS E3 Water", marine resources have moved to another standard, and four of the five disclosure requirements remain. Most explainers still describe the 2023 version. This one covers what the final text actually requires: the four disclosure requirements, the six water metrics, the test for areas at water stress, and how E3 relates to the VSME, GRI 303 and the other ESRS. **Contents** 1. [What changed in the 2026 final version](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#what-changed) 2. [The four disclosure requirements](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#disclosure-requirements) 3. [The six water metrics under E3-4](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#water-metrics) 4. [Identifying areas at water stress](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#water-stress) 5. [How E3 relates to the other ESRS](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#other-esrs) 6. [E3 compared with the VSME, GRI 303 and CDP](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#vsme-gri-cdp) 7. [My view](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany#my-view) ## What changed in the 2026 final version The 2023 standard was called "Water and marine resources" and had five disclosure requirements, the last one on anticipated financial effects. The final version narrows the topic: | Item | 2023 version | 2026 final version | | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Water and marine resources | Water | | Sub-topics | Water and marine resources | Water use: withdrawal, consumption, discharge, storage | | Disclosure requirements | E3-1 to E3-5 | E3-1 to E3-4 | | Financial effects | own requirement E3-5 | via ESRS 2 SBM-3 | | Marine resources | in E3 | in ESRS E5 Resource use and circular economy | The regulation enters into force on 10 November 2026 and applies to financial years starting on or after 1 January 2027, with the option to apply it to financial year 2026. A company reports on E3 only if water is material in its [double materiality assessment](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/materiality-assessment-smes-esg-compliance-growth?hsLang=en) (ESRS E3 paragraph 2). ## The four disclosure requirements Three of the four follow the general pattern of ESRS 2: policies, actions, targets. What makes them water-specific is that areas at water stress are reported separately. - **E3-1 Policies related to water:** water policies under ESRS 2 GDR-P. Sites in areas at water stress that no policy covers must be disclosed (paragraph 11). - **E3-2 Actions and resources:** the key actions and the resources allocated to them, with areas at water stress shown separately (paragraph 13). - **E3-3 Targets:** water targets under ESRS 2 GDR-T, where relevant for specific areas such as those at water stress (AR 3). - **E3-4 Water metrics:** six volumes for own operations, covered in the next section. The data from E3-1 and E3-4 feed three indicators that financial market participants must report under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation: investee companies without water management policies, exposure to areas of high water stress, and the share of water recycled and reused. That is why banks and investors ask for exactly these figures, including from companies that do not report under the ESRS themselves. ## The six water metrics under E3-4 Paragraph 16 requires six figures, all in cubic metres or multiples of them (AR 5): | Metric | What it covers | | --- | --- | | Total water consumption | water that is not returned | | Water consumption in areas at water stress | the same figure for affected sites only | | Total water withdrawal | all water entering the company boundary | | Total water discharge | all water leaving the company boundary | | Water recycled and reused | volume used more than once | | Water stored | volume held in own storage | Consumption does not have to be metered. AR 4 allows it to be modelled, estimated or calculated as consumption equals withdrawal minus discharge. A worked example with assumed figures: a plant that withdraws 12,000 m³ a year and discharges 10,500 m³ consumes 1,500 m³. For most companies both figures are on the water and wastewater bills, and the real work is allocating them to sites. Water covers more than mains supply: surface water, groundwater, seawater, brackish water, produced water and third-party water all count (paragraph 7). An own well belongs in the figures. ## Identifying areas at water stress Whether a site sits in an area at water stress runs through all four requirements. AR 2 names four global indicators with thresholds: - **Baseline water stress:** "high" or above, meaning 40 to 80 percent. - **Seasonal water depletion:** above "high", 25 to 75 percent. - **Baseline water depletion:** "high" or above, 50 to 75 percent. - **Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+):** 40 percent or above. The first three indicators and their classes are those of the [World Resources Institute's Aqueduct atlas](https://www.wri.org/aqueduct), while WEI+ comes from the European Environment Agency. In practice, you enter your site coordinates in Aqueduct, read the baseline water stress of the river basin and flag every site rated "high" or above. AR 2 expects the assessment at least at river-basin level and allows tailored methods that draw on local knowledge. Sites in southern Europe, North Africa, India and parts of China cross the threshold far more often than sites in northern Europe, so the screening matters most for suppliers and production abroad. For a broader view of water risk beyond the metrics, see the guide to [water risk assessment for companies](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/water-risk-assessment-companies-tools-strategies-2025?hsLang=en). ## How E3 relates to the other ESRS E3 covers only how much water a company uses. Everything else related to water sits elsewhere (paragraph 9): - **ESRS E1 Climate change:** physical risks such as drought, heavy rainfall, flooding and sea-level rise. These belong in the [climate risk assessment](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/physical-risks-and-transition-risks-how-to-assess-climate-risks?hsLang=en). - **ESRS E2 Pollution:** emissions to water and microplastics. - **ESRS E4 Biodiversity:** effects of water use on freshwater and marine ecosystems. - **ESRS E5 Resource use:** marine resources as a raw material. - **ESRS S3 Affected communities:** local people's access to clean water. This split is the most common source of gaps. A company reports its withdrawal correctly under E3, while the actual business risk, a production stop during low river levels, appears nowhere because it belonged in E1. The article on [water scarcity as a climate risk](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/water-scarcity-biodiversity-loss-climate-risks?hsLang=en) covers that side. ## E3 compared with the VSME, GRI 303 and CDP **VSME B6.** The voluntary standard for companies with up to 1,000 employees ([Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560](http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/1560/oj)) requires total water withdrawal in the Basic Module B6. Consumption and withdrawal in areas at water stress are only required where production uses significant amounts of water, for example drying, cooling or irrigation. For companies with up to 10 employees both are voluntary. Water withdrawal is among the data points a large customer may request from suppliers with more than 10 employees from financial year 2027, while consumption and water stress lie above that value chain cap. More in the guide to the [VSME standard](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/sustainability-reporting-vsme-standard-smes?hsLang=en). **GRI 303.** The [GRI 303 Water and Effluents standard](https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/) asks for withdrawal, discharge and consumption across five disclosures (303-1 to 303-5) and reports in megalitres. Companies already reporting under GRI have the E3-4 volumes and only need to convert them: 1 megalitre equals 1,000 m³. Stored water and recycled water are the new items for E3. **CDP Water Security.** The questionnaire goes further than E3 into risks, supply chain and governance. Companies that answer it have usually done the water-stress screening already and can reuse it for E3-1 to E3-3. ## My view E3 measures how much water you take. The risk to the business usually lies in whether the water is there when you need it, and that sits in E1. The final version draws this line even more sharply. A materiality assessment that tests water only as an E3 topic tends to conclude "not material" for sites in water-rich regions, and misses the low river level, the cooling-water restriction in summer or the supplier in a drought region. My suggestion: screen water once along the whole chain, sites and key suppliers, using Aqueduct and your own outage data. You will then know whether E3 is material, and you will have half of the E1 analysis done as well. If you want to work through this for your sites, [get in touch](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/contact?hsLang=en). ## ESRS E3 FAQ 1\. What does ESRS E3 cover? ESRS E3 Water covers how companies report their water use: withdrawal, consumption, discharge and stored water, plus policies, actions and targets, with a particular focus on areas at water stress. Physical water risks such as drought or flooding belong in ESRS E1, emissions to water in ESRS E2. 2\. Which metrics does ESRS E3-4 require? Six figures in cubic metres: total water consumption, consumption in areas at water stress, total withdrawal, total discharge, water recycled and reused, and water stored. Consumption may be calculated as withdrawal minus discharge. 3\. What changed in ESRS E3 in 2026? Under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 the standard is called simply "Water". Marine resources moved to ESRS E5, and the former E3-5 on financial effects was dropped in favour of ESRS 2 SBM-3. Four disclosure requirements remain, E3-1 to E3-4. The text applies to financial years from 2027 and may be applied to 2026. 4\. How do I identify areas at water stress? The simplest route is the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct atlas: enter the site, read the baseline water stress of the river basin, and treat "high" (40 to 80 percent) or above as affected. ESRS E3 AR 2 also lists water depletion and the European Environment Agency's WEI+. 5\. Do SMEs have to report under ESRS E3? No, the ESRS apply only to companies within scope. The voluntary VSME standard has a lean counterpart in B6: only water withdrawal is required, with consumption and water stress added for water-intensive production. From 2027, large customers may request water withdrawal from suppliers with more than 10 employees. Next step Turn climate risk or ESG data into a decision? In a 30-minute intro call we map where your biggest lever is, with no obligation. [Book an intro call](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/contact?hsLang=en) ![Johannes Fiegenbaum](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/Johannes_07-modified.png) ### Johannes Fiegenbaum ESG and sustainability consultant based in Hamburg, specialised in VSME reporting and climate risk analysis. Has supported 300+ projects for companies and financial institutions, from mid-sized manufacturers to major banks and insurers. [More about](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/about-me?hsLang=en) Related articles ## You may also like ### [ESG Data & Metrics ESG Data Management: Strategies, Tools and Compliance 2026 ESG data has become indispensable for companies, not only to meet legal requirements but also to gain competitive advantages. Its benefits are evident in areas such as risk ... 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