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Saving every last drop: With drought conditions and water restructions set to impact businesses across the US, some businesses are acting now to reduce their water risks

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 19, 2009 at 2:34 pm

From Business Green:

Frito Lay’s factory in parched Casa Grande, Arizona, is close to moving off the water grid.

A large-scale water recycling system, now in its final stages of installation, will direct all water used in the plant through a membrane bioreactor filter system to treat it to drinking-quality standards before funneling it back into the facility for reuse. When fully operational at the end of 2009, the Texas-based global snack food company expects to recycle 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the water used in the plant.

“As an agro-based business, we realised a long time ago that water is critical to our operations,” says Al Halvorsen, Frito Lay’s director of environmental sustainability.

Drought conditions and impending water regulations are spurring smart and environmentally-savvy companies like Frito Lay to focus their sustainability efforts on conserving and managing a precious resource crucial for their long-term viability. Experts say conserving water is moving from noble gesture to shrewd business decision because of the sour economy and the likelihood of the price rising over the next decade to reflect its true cost. [For more on the challenges facing companies in measuring and reducing water use, see Water Basics: You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure, by Andrew Collier and Andrew Glantz.]

“Water upgrades used to be “good to have” but didn’t offer a major return on investment,” says Eric Meliton, an environmental technology research analyst at Frost and Sullivan. “But now with the economy, companies see water reduction projects as good investments.”

Find out other forward-thinking companies, such as Avon & GE, are doing to reduce their corporate water footprint by clicking here.

March 19, 2009 · Filed Under International Water Issues

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