Total water withdrawal by source
Water is used as cooling water, cleaning water, in products, and for general purposes, such as in sanitary facilities. Sika uses around 3.4 million m³ (previous year: 3.6 million m³) both from public supply (54%) and groundwater wells (46%). In water-rich areas, like Switzerland, the UK, and Eastern USA, cooling water is mainly obtained from groundwater wells in line with local permits. Cooling and process water accounts for 54% of Sika’s water use.
Water consumption per ton sold was around 0.22 cubic meters (previous year: 0.34 cubic meters). The decrease is mainly due to the lower-water-intensity acquisitions completed since 2019 and the initiatives implemented by the countries.
Efficient production projects have been implemented using closed-loop cooling, cooling towers, and switching from public to groundwater. In Spain for example, production process optimisation allowed to reduce water consumption by 7,000 cubic meters.
The company strives to increase water efficiency and has set itself the target of reducing water consumption by 3% per ton of product sold and year.
Water sources:
- Surface water: 37,655 m³ (previous year: 82,000 m³)
- Groundwater: 1,516,054 m³ (previous year: 1,835,000 m³)
- Public supply: 1,811,707 m³ (previous year: 1,692,000 m³)
- Rainwater: A few factories have started to use rainwater to cover part of their freshwater demand, specifically when public water supply is limited. There are no detailed data available.
- Reused water: In many companies, water from rinsing and cleaning is reused. Some factories run their own wastewater-cleaning facilities, e.g. through sedimentation, distillation, or filtration, and reuse filtrate or distillate for production or cleaning.
Sika uses water for the following purposes:
- Process and cooling water: 1,805,445 m³ (previous year: 2,065,000 m³)
- Sanitary water: 664,543 m³ (previous year: 620,000 m³)
- Water in products: 880,707 m³ (previous year: 891,000 m³)
At some Sika sites, groundwater cooling capacity is used for secondary cooling cycles without removing water from the ground. This requires state permits, and the corresponding fees are posted as purchased cooling energy.
