Ecolab: Industry can save Spain the equivalent of the water consumption of Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Valencia with recycling.

Ana Tuñas Matilla

Spanish industry only recycles 10% of its water and disposes of the remaining 90%, despite the fact that current technology would allow the recycling rate to be raised to 30%, thereby saving the equivalent of the consumption of 5 million people—the combined population of Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Valencia—according to data from Ecolab.

With more than 100 years of history, the company seeks to make the world "healthier, safer, and more sustainable," among other actions, by helping companies make better use of water, the company's head of Water Circularity, Xavier Cardoso, explained to EFEverde.

All industries, in one way or another, need water for heating, cooling, transportation, processing, as a raw material, etc. In Spain, the sector consumes 20% of the water, a resource that, in the context of global warming, will become increasingly scarce, he warned.

300 billion liters/year

Of the water they use, some evaporates and some remains "integrated" into the products, and of the water they discard, 90% is dumped and only 10% is recycled and reused, despite the fact that existing technology would allow for much more recycling.

Specifically, according to the data they have, it would be feasible to raise that percentage to 30%, which would save 300 billion liters of water each year—the same amount as the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Valencia combined.

Of the total water consumed in Spain, 20% is consumed by industry, another 20% is consumed by urban areas, with an average of 130 days per day per citizen, and the remainder, almost entirely, is consumed by agriculture.

Globally, if industry recycled 30% of its water, "we could save 1 trillion liters a year," equivalent to the consumption of 12% of the world's population. These are staggering figures , Cardoso emphasized.

It's not a cost, it's an investment

" The technology exists ," the executive insisted, emphasizing that if it isn't being leveraged, it's because, in many cases, sustainability is understood as a cost, rather than an investment, and because water is viewed as waste rather than a resource.

"We need to change the paradigm; water isn't linear, it's circular," and companies need to turn what they now see as a cost into an investment. The key is to understand that when they save water, they improve their competitiveness, he asserted.

Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the price of water is not what you see on your bill . That's not its real price; its price is much higher because the risks associated with its scarcity must be taken into account, regardless of whether or not there is water available now.

In this regard, he noted that last year, several companies had to shut down operations due to water restrictions imposed in Catalonia due to drought, and that, according to the data he handles, the risk to the global industry due to water is $300 billion .

The country with the most expensive water is Denmark, with a price of 5 euros per cubic meter, while in Spain, one of the countries with the highest risk of drought, the average is 2 euros per cubic meter.

Incorporate the cost of not having it into the "price" of water

"I'm not advocating for water to become more expensive, but rather for the industry to realize that the price of water isn't what you see on your bill. We estimate it's five times higher due to issues such as supply risks, fines for non-compliance with legislation, and the impact on brand reputation, as consumers increasingly look at the sustainability of what they buy."

To help understand this, they have developed Smart Water Navigator, a tool that allows each company to calculate the adjusted water price taking these factors into account. This helps companies understand that improving water management is not a cost, but an investment that brings benefits.

By 2030, he added, it is estimated that demand for water will outstrip supply by 56% due to economic growth and, due to climate change, less availability, which will affect many businesses, as without water their activity will stop or be reduced.

"We want economic progress and sustainability to go hand in hand, not be antagonistic, so that saving water and energy also means saving money (...) The time to do it is now; the message has gotten through. We no longer need to convince the industry because the industry is moving."

Thus, in Spain alone, there are 90 water recycling projects underway, with breweries and refineries, which will save approximately 10 billion liters per year with consumption reductions of between 18 and 30%. EFEverde ATM