KPI of the Day – Sustainability: # Water recycled and reused
Definition
Measures the amount of wastewater that has been treated to remove solid particles and impurities and is reused for different purposes, such as agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, and replenishing a groundwater basin.
Purpose
To monitor the effectiveness of water recycling and reuse initiatives, representing an important metric to assess the environmental sustainability efforts of an organization. This KPI is particularly relevant for big manufacturing companies, which use large amounts of water in their processes and can initiate recycling efforts to make up for the high # Water consumption.
Recommendations
While water recycling can be both planned and unplanned (for instance, the use of water from rivers by municipalities), we are taking a closer look at planned projects, which when implemented efficiently, increase the value of this KPI, as their main goal is to ensure the beneficial reuse of recycled water.
In addition to benefitting the environment by providing a supplementary water source, decreasing the diversion of water from sensitive ecosystems, reducing wastewater discharges, or minimizing pollution, water recycling and reuse can improve operational efficiency through reduced water consumption, treatment, and disposal costs, and positively contribute to an organization’s environmental sustainability goals.
There are several initiatives that companies can implement in order to increase their # Water recycled and reused:
- Invest in intelligent wastewater treatment and reuse technologies, such as desalination, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration membrane, or ion exchange processing resins, which allow for efficient and cost-effective water recycling
- Install smart water meters and demand response systems that automate water pump schedules for improved efficiency
- Partner with organizations from the public, private and civic sectors to jointly develop sustainable and large-scale recycling solutions, thus expanding the reach and reducing investment costs
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