Total water withdrawal by source
Water is used as cooling water, cleaning water, in products, and for general purposes like sanitary facilities. Sika uses around 2.6 million m³ (2017: 2.1 million m³) both from public supply (59%) and groundwater wells (41%). In water-rich areas, like Switzerland, the UK, and Eastern USA, cooling water is mainly obtained from ground water wells in line with local permits. Cooling and process water makes up 39% of Sika’s water use. The company strives to increase water efficiency and has set the target to reduce water consumption by 3% per ton of product sold and year. This target has been achieved over the past 5 years with a total reduction of water consumption of 42%.
((Graphic Water (m3) / ton sold))
Water sources:
- Surface water: 33,000 m³ (previous year: 27,000 m³)
- Ground water: 1,050,000 m³ (previous year: 629,000 m³)
- Public supply: 1,524,000 m³ (previous year: 1,444,000 m³)
- Rain water: A few factories have started to use rain water as 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 own waste water 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: 825,000 m³ (previous year: 877,000 m³)
- Sanitary water: 492,000 m³ (previous year: 461,000 m³
- Water in products: 800,000 m³ (previous year: 722,000 m³)
In some Sika sites ground water cooling capacity is used for secondary cooling cycles without removing water from the ground. This requires state permits, and the corresponding fees are accounted for as purchased cooling energy.