Water

Industry today consumes over a fifth of the world’s fresh water. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For us, that means looking at ways of reducing our burden on fresh water supplies in regions where fresh water is scarce. It also means ensuring the sustainable use of fresh water at all our sites. And, of course, we need to control emissions of contaminated water to surface water.

We aim to have sustainable fresh water management at all our sites by 2015. To achieve this, we’ve been introducing a number of measures. These included a sustainable water pilot carried out in 2007.

Sustainable water management

During the pilot, AkzoNobel sites used a risk assessment model to test the sustainability of their fresh water use. In this model, both water supply (drinkable, ground or surface water) and water discharge side were reviewed. The results showed that 19 out of the 31 sites investigated now have sustainable water use.

The assessment model will be made available to all our sites in 2008 and the review will be completed by 2009.

Waste water emissions

The emission of contaminated water to surface water may also have a negative impact on fresh water resources and eco-systems. That’s why we measure quantities of fresh water consumption and the emission of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in our effluent to surface water. Wherever possible, we’re working to reduce our impact.