Ecofiltro Water Filter: Delivering Water with Minimal Environmental Footprint | Source
This case study is developed by PRé especially for the winner of the first SBIO (Sustainable Brands Innovation Open)
The Challenge: Guatemala-based start-up ecofiltro developed a simple water filter that provides clean drinking water. For placing first at the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) competition, held at the Sustainable Brands ’12 Conference (San Diego, CA) in June 2012, ecofiltro was offered the services of PRé North America to conduct a lifecycle assessment (LCA) of its product, as well as a comparison to two alternative methods of water purification.
The Products: Three water purification systems were analyzed and compared, based on the water consumption of a typical Guatemalan family in one year (2,920 liters of potable water). 
The scope of the study is “cradle to delivery,” which includes raw material extraction through delivery to the consumer. The analysis for all three methods includes raw material extraction, manufacturing, and distribution to the consumer.
Results: Ecofiltro’s climate change impacts are less than 1% of the impacts from consuming the same amount of bottled water, and 35% of the impacts of boiled water.
