Water Stewardship
At Orbia, we recognize the interdependencies between climate and water and acknowledge the role our actions related to water can play towards climate change mitigation. Our ambition is to achieve net positive water impact by conducting water risk assessments, developing water stewardship plans and targets and engaging in collective action in priority basins.
Net-Positive Water Impact Framework
Our approach focuses on risk mitigation and embracing opportunities through our operations, solutions, and ventures, especially in priority basins and scarcity areas. Our framework is aligned with the Volumetric Water Benefits Accounting methodology, covering the three dimensions of water: quantity, quality and access (and contributing to SDG 6). Learn more about our water strategy and performance:
Our approach towards operational improvement focuses on water circularity, reuse and recovery, as well as product development and investment for the long term.
We continuously monitor our water use in areas of water stress using the Aqueduct tool of the World Resources Institute (WRI) version 3.0. According to the tool, 41% of our sites were in areas of high or extremely high water stress at the end of 2023 and represented 49% of our total water withdrawal. However, 70% of our sites in stressed areas have closed-loop water systems in place to minimize withdrawal. Learn more about our water approach, here.
Additionally, Orbia’s offerings span from stormwater management solutions and blue-green infrastructure to caustic soda and chlorine; smart water network systems to precision irrigation technologies. Food & Water Security solutions represent 40% of our portfolio.
Orbia Water Commitments
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The CEO Water Mandate is a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General and the UN Global Compact, providing a multi-stakeholder platform to advance corporate water sustainability policies and practices. Orbia became a signatory to the CEO Water Mandate in 2018, confirming our commitment to sustainable water management and practices. |
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In 2015, all UN Member States adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 to provide a shared blueprint for action by all nations. More specifically, SDG 6 calls for the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. |
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Since 2012, Orbia has supported the Latin American Water Funds Partnership, investing over $800,000 in financing, products and technical knowledge to the development of five Water Funds located in areas near our operations in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. |
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Orbia is also one of the companies taking action in Forward Faster, a global initiative to guide companies on where they can make the biggest, fastest impact by 2030, particularly in the Water Resilience target. |
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Through our UN Global Compact and CEO Water Mandate memberships, in 2023 Orbia joined the WASH4Work working group, focused on designing WASH programs that connect social, environmental, economic and health benefits. In the second half of 2023, we joined other corporate members in a collective pilot aimed at testing the working group’s WASH Benefits Framework with one of our programs. The effort aimed to help the framework and understand the comprehensive co-benefits of our WASH interventions. |
As part of our commitment to providing solutions to the global water crisis, Orbia has joined the Business Leaders' Open Call for Accelerating Action on Water.
Every year, Orbia also reaffirms its commitment to environmental and climate change disclosure by reporting to CDP Climate Change and Water Security. Orbia has maintained a B score since 2021.