Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies, has released its 2018 corporate sustainability report, Accelerating Meaningful Change, which highlights its work with leading companies throughout the world to reduce environmental impact and drive cost savings. The 2018 publication is Ecolab’s 12th annual corporate sustainability report.
“Businesses are increasingly realising the importance of sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices. Such initiatives now go hand-in-hand with business growth and profitability,” said Ecolab Managing Director, ANZ, Jan Pacas, “What’s more, being sustainable can help improve brand value and reputation, provide a platform for innovation, help attract and retain staff and strengthen stakeholder relations. By the nature of our work, we help companies achieve such operational and sustainability goals.”
In 2018, Ecolab helped companies at nearly three million locations around the world:
- Conserve more than 188 billion gallons of water, equivalent to the annual drinking needs of 650 million people. Ecolab is ahead of schedule toward reaching its 2030 goal of saving 1.1 trillion litres of water, equal to the needs of one billion people.
- Save 5.6 billion kWh of energy
- Avoid 1.1 billion kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions
- Eliminate 24.49 million kilograms of waste
Australia and New Zealand-specific results:
- Ecolab helped Australian and New Zealand businesses save approximately 32 billion litres of water last year (equivalent to the annual drinking water needs of 29+ million people).
- Across the last year, Ecolab’s SMARTPOWER™ was deployed by several hotels and restaurants, including Four Points by Sheraton Sydney. The ware-washing solution translates into savings of 304 employee hours and $557 annually in water and energy costs per unit, which soon adds up for operators across multiple locations.
Case studies in Ecolab’s 2018 corporate sustainability report include:
- Developing a sustainable process to drive water management improvements across the global operations of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), one of the world’s largest food and agriculture companies. Using 3D TRASAR™ Cooling Water Technology, ADM achieved water savings of 8.7 billion litres annually.
- Minimising the risk of Legionella bacteria in the water systems of SAP, a leader in the software industry and in water safety management practices and helping to avoid approximately $8 million in potential revenue loss per year.
- Reducing corrosion and foaming issues within the operations of Energias do Brasil (EDP), one of Brazil’s largest electric utility companies, using Ecolab’s Purate™ Technology to help save 1.19 billion litres of water per year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 8.57 million kilograms annually.
Within its own operations, Ecolab is working to reduce water withdrawals by 25% and greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by 2020.
Through its work with customers and within its own facilities, and through a number of dedicated projects in communities around the world, Ecolab supports the U.N.’s sustainable development goal six, promoting clean water and sanitation. By 2030, Ecolab aims to conserve 1.1 trillion litres of water per year by reducing consumption in its own operations and those of its customers. This would be equivalent to the annual drinking water needs of more than 1 billion people.
Ecolab’s 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report was developed in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 core guidelines. The report summary and complete GRI Index are available at www.Ecolab.com/Sustainability.
