Resource Innovation Institute, Berkeley Cannabis Research Center and New Frontier Data team up to study cannabis and hemp water practices
The Cannabis Water Report will be published in late 2020 and will be peer-reviewed by RII’s Water Working Group
PORTLAND, Ore. (June 8, 2020)─As cannabis and hemp regulation expands globally, its impact on water resources is relatively unknown. However, a partnership between Resource Innovation Institute (RII), the Berkeley Cannabis Research Center and New Frontier Data will change that.
The three organizations will publish The Cannabis Water Report in late 2020. The report will study water practices and usage rates across a range of cultivation methods and geographies, and will offer strategic recommendations for governments and other stakeholders.
“Resource Innovation Institute has been exploring cannabis energy issues for years, and now we’re expanding our scope to include the critical subject of water,” said Derek Smith, executive director of RII, a non-profit organization that advances resource efficiency in the cannabis industry through the establishment of standards and best practices. “Like we did for The Cannabis Energy Report, we’ll be assessing real data from actual cultivation operations to determine usage benchmarks for indoor, greenhouse and outdoor cultivation environments. Our intent is to inform government and industry leaders to guide effective decision-making.”
Dr. Van Butsic, co-director of the UC Berkeley Cannabis Research Center, echoed the importance of the report. “Many policymakers are concerned with water withdrawal from salmon-bearing streams in California. This report will help us put cannabis water use in context,” he said.
“As the cannabis industry expands globally, optimizing the resources used to grow cannabis will be vital to improving cost efficiency in an increasingly competitive industry. And in an increasingly drought-prone world, reducing cultivators’ water use is not just good for businesses, it is key to the sustainable growth of the industry,” said Giadha A. DeCarcer, CEO of New Frontier Data.
The Cannabis Water Report will be peer-reviewed by the newly-formed Water Working Group of RII’s multi-disciplinary Technical Advisory Council:
- Andrew Alfred, LivWell Enlightened Health
- Barb Anderson, Washington Dept. of Ecology
- Chris Dillis, Berkeley Cannabis Research Center
- Rob Eddy, Blue Arrow Botanicals LLC
- Matthew Gaboury, House of Cultivar
- Hollie Hall, PhD, Compliant Farms Certified
- Kyle Lisabeth, Silver Bullet Water Treatment
- Richard Miller, Argus Controls
- Bob McDonald, Carpinteria Valley Water District
- Chuck Nora, Desert Aire
- Austa Parker, Denver Water
- Sara Schoenhals, HydroLogic
- Elizabeth Shilling, Ceres Greenhouses
- Andy Souza, TEP Engineering
- Madison Walker, Grodan
- Beau Whitney, Whitney Economics
- Cale Winters, Rhythm CSS
- Al Zylstra, Dramm Corporation
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Shawna Seldon McGregor at 917-971-7852 or shawna@themaverickpr.com.
About Resource Innovation Institute: Advancing Resource Efficiency to Cultivate a Better Cannabis Future
Resource Innovation Institute (RII) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance resource efficiency to cultivate a better agricultural future. Founded in 2016 in Portland, OR, USA, RII’s Board of Directors includes the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a former Energy Policy Advisor to two Oregon governors, a former board member of the US Green Building Council and leading cannabis industry players. The organization has unique expertise on intelligence, policy and education related to energy use in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Its Cannabis PowerScore benchmarking tool is backed by the world’s largest dataset on CEA energy use. RII’s Technical Advisory Council is the leading multi-disciplinary body assessing the environmental impacts and best practices associated with cultivation resource issues. In 2018, RII advised the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on the establishment of the world’s first cannabis energy regulations, and it is now advising Illinois, California and other governments on CEA-related energy policies. RII’s Efficient Yields cultivation workshops are the only grower-led, non-commercial venues for the exchange of resource efficient cultivation best practices. RII is funded by utilities, foundations, governments and leading members of the supply chain serving CEA, from LED manufacturers to HVAC engineers. Visit our website at ResourceInnovation.org. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Berkeley Cannabis Research Center
The Cannabis Research Center is a research group based at the University of California, Berkeley that promotes interdisciplinary scholarship on the social and environmental dimensions of cannabis production. For more information, please visit: crc.berkeley.edu.
About New Frontier Data
New Frontier Data is an independent, technology-driven analytics company specializing in the global cannabis industry. It offers vetted data, actionable business intelligence and risk management solutions for investors, operators, researchers and policy makers interested in the cannabis space worldwide. New Frontier Data’s reports and data have been cited in over 80 countries and drive over 15 billion in media reach across the world. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices in Denver, CO and London, UK.
New Frontier Data does not take a position on the merits of cannabis legalization. Rather, its mission and mandate are to inform cannabis-related policy and business decisions through rigorous, issue-neutral and comprehensive analysis of the legal cannabis industry worldwide.
For more information about New Frontier Data, please visit: NewFrontierData.com.
