ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses that the question of why product transparency is needed in the context of the broader goal of sustainability. It discusses the question of what precisely companies should be transparent about. The chapter presents the issue of product transparency from different perspectives: final consumers, companies, investors and government and the issue of physical product labelling. It describes the concept of good water stewardship, an umbrella term often used to refer to the overall performance of companies if it comes to their efforts in the direction of sustainable water use in their operations and supply chain and their transparency about those efforts. Transparency of a product regarding its water footprint entails a number of things. It means that: the size and location of the green, blue and grey water footprint of the various product components, the sustainability of this water footprint and what smart plan of action is in place to reduce the water footprint when and where necessary.
