WATER AN INNOVATION, INDUSTRIAL AND HUMANITARIAN CHALLENGE
With the global population set to top 9 billion in 2050, many of the world’s regions are already battling severe water stress. Access to an adequate supply of clean water is — alongside energy
and food resource management — one of the most critical challenges of the 21st century. The United Nations has made it a major sustainable development goal: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (SDG 6).
As a responsible corporate citizen, we intend to do our part to bring about this decisive change. We have therefore made water resources a core focus of our innovation policy, our industrial operations and our stakeholder relationships around the world.
Our push for progress focuses on three areas, which resonate strongly with the three goals of Arkema’s Social Commitment Charter.
1. Innovation-Driven, Sustainable Solutions.
We have made sustainable water management a major focus of our innovation policy and have dedicated one of our six R&D platforms to it. We stand out uniquely for our high-performance solutions for water filtration membranes, made for water purification,
but also increasingly, wastewater treatment markets. These solutions employ specific Kynar® PVDF grades that retain their low-fouling performance for years. Other Arkema products also have key water cycle applications. For example, hydrogen
peroxide is a proven solution to eliminate sulfur residues; Rilsan® polyamide 11 powder is a bio-based alternative to stainless steel for coating water pipes; and various acrylic monomers are used as flocculants, which aid in water
purification by causing particles to clump.
2. Responsibly Managed Industrial Activities.
Launched in 2016, Arkema’s Optim’O program sets ambitious goals to improve the way we manage water at our 136 production sites, notably by reducing the amount of organic matter in our effluents. This proactive program has yielded very convincing results.
Arkema’s overall COD (chemical oxygen demand)1 dropped from 3,437 tons to 2,174 between 2012 and 2018. This was achieved through the combined effects of enhanced industrial processes, detailed water balance tracking and the development of
a genuine, company-wide culture focused on water challenges. While well on its way to surpassing its initial quantitative goals, the Optim’O program is still pushing hard to meet new goals, set for 2025.
1. Chemical oxygen demand, or COD, is an indicator tracked by regulatory agencies worldwide. It measures the amount of oxygen an aquatic environment needs to break down pollutants discharged into it, at the expense of the oxygen aquatic life needs to breathe.
3. Open Dialogue and Close Relationships with Our Stakeholders.
Arkema strives to create with customers, partners and suppliers a responsible value chain that drives progress. That is what prompted us to pursue Project Pragati in India, working with growers of castor beans, which are used in our bio-based Rilsan® polymer.
This voluntary initiative significantly optimizes, among other things, local farming practices and the associated water use. A staunch supporter of basic human rights more broadly, including access to clean water for all, Arkema works with nonprofit
partners on the cause, distributing water filtration kits in different regions of the world
