Saturday, October 24, 2009

Merck shows the way, brings down water usage

As water supplies across the world dwindle in the wake of climate change and population growth, some companies with a global presence are undertaking serious reduction in water usage. Most of these companies have been making these efforts as part of the overall plan to become more sustainable and minimize business impact on the environment.

Global pharma major Merck announced earlier this month that it has achieved and exceeded its corporate goal to pare water use by 15 per cent between 2004 and 2008. It thus joins a growing list of corporates, including Wal-Mart, Kraft Foods and Whole Foods Market, that are cutting down on water usage in their production systems.

Merck said its strategy for improving water use efficiency included reducing overall demand for water, controlling water discharges and understanding the water-related challenges in regions where it operates.

Merck has achieved significant savings in water use. During 2008, its facilities recycled or reused 1.8 billion gallons of water, reducing its water use by 15 per cent during the previous five years from 2004.

In 2008, the company used 6.1 billion gallons of water less than in 2004, which translated into a 52 per cent reduction. The closure and sale of two water intensive facilities accounted for 59 per cent of its total reduction. Water use reductions at the remainder of its facilities, including new sites that have been added, were 21.4 per cent.

According to the company, it is engaged in numerous initiatives worldwide to reduce water use. Although it has achieved the water use reduction goal, the company said it continues to place high priority on optimizing use of water.

Merck has assigned a water manager at each of its major site who is responsible for identifying water use reduction opportunities, preparing a facility water "balance" to help prioritize the implementation of best practices and conducting water audits to identify leaks and opportunities to reduce water use.

During this year, the company said it will continue its efforts to map water use at its facilities and begin to create profiles of water availability and risks at facilities around the world. The company intends to use that information to identify water use improvements and opportunities that optimize environmental benefit and business value.

It is time that other leading companies too emulate Merck and make efforts to bring down the usage of water, and energy through adoption of efficient methods of production. The need of the hour is to reduce the water footprint and be more water-efficient.

No comments:

Post a Comment