Oerlikon’s operations do not require the use of significant amounts of water for production or processing. As a result, water is not considered a material area where we can make a meaningful impact.
Water and Effluents
GRI 303-1,2,3
At the same time, we recognize that there are communities around the world struggling with water scarcity. Thus, we seek opportunities to optimize water management overall across our sites and particularly in water-stressed locations.
In 2021, we expanded our water assessments to include an analysis of water stress. Using the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas tool, we have mapped out and assessed our operational sites according to the level of baseline water stress of the local watershed. The tool helps us identify which of our sites are in water-stressed areas. With the data, we can monitor and take the necessary measures to better manage water consumption and mitigate water risk, particularly in the high-risk areas.
Of 166 Oerlikon operational sites in 2022, 26 are located in areas facing extremely high levels of water stress; 24 are in high water-stress areas; 36 are in areas with medium-to-high levels of water stress and 80 sites are in low and medium-to-low water-stress areas.
In 2022, total water withdrawal increased compared to our 2019 baseline, mainly due to the acquired sites added. In terms of usage, around 61 300 m3 of water was consumed by our sites from extremely high water-stressed areas, and 149 800 m3 was withdrawn in high water-stressed areas, representing 8% and 20% of our total water consumption worldwide, respectively.
For water discharged, we fully comply with local regulatory requirements and regularly perform compliance checks on effluent discharged when conducting our health, safety and environmental checks.
| Water withdrawal | Unit | 20221 Total |
20212 Total |
2019 Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party water withdrawal | thousand m3 | 756.4 | 707.0 | 700.2 |
| Surface water | thousand m3 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 11.8 |
| Groundwater | thousand m3 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 4.1 |
| Sea water | thousand m3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Produced water | thousand m3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total water withdrawal | thousand m3 | 766.6 | 717.4 | 716.2 |
1 Including 2021 acquisitions.
2 Excluding 2021 acquisitions.
