Ecolab’s Barueri, Brazil, Plant

As a global leader in water solutions and services, Ecolab remains dedicated to creating a more water-secure future through smart water management, conservation and stewardship. By 2030 we aim to continue to achieve a Net Positive Water Impact through:

• Reducing, recycling and replenishing water at operational sites. We aim to reduce water impact by 40% per unit production across our enterprise from a 2018 base year.
• Protecting local watersheds by working to restore greater than 50% of our absolute water withdrawal volume at high-risk sites.
• Delivering outcomes through the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard by achieving AWS certification for Ecolab manufacturing sites located in high-risk watersheds.

Ecolab's manufacturing facility located in Barueri, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, is a key contributor to these goals. The Barueri facility produces industrial chemical solutions for cleaning and disinfection. The Barueri facility primarily utilizes municipal water from the São Lourenço Water Supply System, which draws water from the Cachoeira do França Reservoir, located in the Ribeira de Iguape River Basin. The facility obtains additional water, including potable, from the São Paulo Aquifer. Domestic and industrial effluents are sent to an outsourced industrial treatment facility before being discharged into the Tietê River.

The Barueri facility was identified as a priority location to pursue AWS Certification, enhance the site's smart water management approach and implement innovative technologies to advance enterprise water goals.

To contribute to Ecolab's enterprise water goals, the local team's objective is to reduce annual water use per ton of product by 40% from 2018 to 2030.

The following projects help improve the facility's water balance and have been implemented to reduce overall water use:

• Refinement of equipment washout and cleaning processes
• Improvement in reverse osmosis (RO) units to increase efficiency
• Expansion of treated water reuse from filtration systems
• Ongoing use of automated effluent treatment processes with performance validation
• Adjustments to cleaning cycle timing and activation settings for improved efficiency
• Enhanced control of cooling system temperatures and chemical dosing in air scrubbers
• Strengthened leak detection and monitoring practices
• Streamlined handling and organization of containers to support efficient washing practices
• Application of continuous improvement methodologies to identify water reduction opportunities

As a result of these actions, the Barueri site achieved substantial water efficiencies. The improvements made at the site have proved to be a helpful step forward for enhancing the site's operations and advancing Ecolab's sustainability goals.