BASF is the first chemical company to achieve gold-level certification for its production site in Tarragona, Spain according to the European Water Stewardship (EWS) standard.
Auditors of third-party certification body TÜV Nord Integra assessed the entire water-management performance of the site, from extraction of water at its source to its reintroduction in downstream water bodies. The European standard was developed by governments, businesses and NGOs under the leadership of the independent organization European Water Partnership (EWP) and became effective at the end of 2011.
The application of the EWS standard aims to lower the quantity of water used by companies and farms while simultaneously safeguarding the integrity of local ecosystems within the vicinity of the site. The assessment includes more than 50 indicators, addressing the four principles of water stewardship: sustainable water abstraction, ensuring good water status, protection of high conservation areas and equitable water governance. Amongst others, the assessment requires a water recycling strategy and a cohesive crisis management strategy to be in place.
"The Tarragona site fulfills the required criteria and receives the gold certification," said Friedrich Barth, Vice-Chairman of the EWP. The production site is certified for a period of three years, during which water management on-site is inspected annually. Bart Maes, General Manager of TÜV Nord Integra congratulated BASF as an international company with awareness of the utmost importance for water as a restricted resource of the future.
BASF uses water as a coolant, solvent and cleaning agent, as well as directly in chemical production. The company says it has implemented the standard in order to promote its global water goals.
By 2020, BASF plans to reduce the withdrawal of drinking water from supply sources for production by half compared with a 2010 baseline. The emissions to water of organic substances and nitrogen are to be reduced by 80 percent, the emissions of heavy metals by 60 percent, compared with 2002.
BASF says it aims to improve its sustainable water management even further. In regions considered to be "water-stressed," more than 60 percent of the naturally available water sources are exploited by humans.
In total, 20 percent of all BASF sites, including Tarragona, are located in water-stressed areas. Last year, BASF abstracted around 7 percent of its worldwide water supply from these areas. "By the year 2020, we want to introduce a water management following the EWS standard at all sites where water is scarce," said Dr. Ulrich von Deessen, head of BASF's Competence Center Environment, Health and Safety.
BASF recently partnered with the Seattle Mariners for the second season of Sustainable Saturdays at Safeco Field, which aims to divert ballpark waste from the landfill. The season-long initiative features BASF-sponsored zero-waste stations throughout the ballpark to recycle plastic bottles and compost food waste. To date, Mariners fans have already diverted more than 86 percent of game-day waste from local landfills, according to BASF.
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Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published May 7, 2013 10am EDT / 7am PDT / 3pm BST / 4pm CEST