Ecolab’s Greensboro, North Carolina, 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 Greensboro, North Carolina, is a blend plant that primarily produces industrial cleaning and sanitizing chemicals. The Greensboro facility uses water from the city of Greensboro, which sources water from three locations: Lake Townsend, Lake Brandt and Lake Higgins. Water from these lakes is treated by two local water treatment facilities, the Mitchell Water Treatment Plant and the Townsend Water Treatment Plant, before it is sent to the city and then to Ecolab's Greensboro facility. The Greensboro facility effluent water gets neutralized on-site and is then sent to the T.Z. Osborne Water Reclamation Facility. The reclamation facility discharges water into South Buffalo Creek, which eventually reaches the North Atlantic Ocean.

The Greensboro 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 were implemented to reduce overall water use:

• Implementation of Water Flow Intelligence: Powered by ECOLAB3D™ to provide enhanced water metering and monitoring throughout the facility.
• Installation of automated valves on timers in high water usage areas.
• Extruder washout optimization to reduce automatic washout duration.
• Automated valves on the conveyer to reduce water use.

As a result of these actions, the Greensboro facility achieved substantial water savings. 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.