Water challenges are a pressing issue, both globally and locally. Because water is a shared resource, water challenges, such as scarcity and quality, can affect water use and availability across a local community watershed. The chemical industry plays a vital role in developing the products and technologies that enable clean water and responsible use of water resources.
ACC member companies are helping to safeguard water quality in the communities they serve. Many have implemented water stewardship programs and set goals to reduce water consumption, protect vital water resources, and enhance water quality in their communities. Companies are taking a holistic approach to water stewardship, identifying and mitigating water-related risks to operations inside and outside their fence lines.
Here are a few examples of what some ACC members are doing to advance water stewardship.
Cabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation's water stewardship program focuses on reducing water usage across its facilities by setting site-specific targets to decrease water intensity. With commitments for water intensity reductions by 2025, comprehensive water balance and efficiency assessments have been developed to analyze where and how water is extracted and utilized in each plant, uncovering opportunities for greater water efficiency and reduction of water used in the process. Based on this analysis, Cabot addressed leaks to reduce water loss and identified several potential water-saving opportunities to drive continuous improvement in water performance. The company also reviews water supply infrastructure and engages in community water stewardship efforts as part of their broader sustainability strategy.
Dow
Water plays a crucial role in safe operations, primarily used to aid cooling processes for companies in the chemical industry. According to Dow, approximately 96 percent of the water withdrawn by the company is sustainably returned to the environment. Looking ahead, Dow has set several targets focused on establishing water resilience for their sites and surrounding communities, conserving habitat in key ecosystems and positively impacting nature throughout the value chain.
LyondellBasell
In 2023, LyondellBasell aligned its environmental stewardship strategy with the United Nations CEO Water Mandate. The company is adopting a proactive water risk management approach, focusing on its largest sites and those in high water stress regions. They also initiated biodiversity impact assessments to understand the company’s significant biodiversity risk locations and activities to improve biodiversity management.
These are just a few examples of actions ACC members are taking to address today’s issues while also innovating new products and technologies to enhance water stewardship into the future by establishing overall vision and goals for water stewardship.
We look forward to sharing additional company examples in future articles. If you have a story to share, contact Deborah Dailey.
