Water: An Example of Ecolab's Positive Impact

Clean water is integral to Ecolab's vision. It is important itself, but it also enables our success in the other vital areas we impact — safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. In 2011, we made great progress toward our vision; progress that can be measured through our efforts to make more water available for more people. While the numbers here are just highlights, they add up to enough water to sustain more than 21 million people for a year¹. That’s equal to the populations of Shanghai, China, Sydney, Australia, and Pune, India, combined. And they demonstrate that by taking on each challenge with a stewardship mindset, we can truly make a difference.

We help our customers save:

• 351 billion liters of water worldwide annually with 3D TRASAR® cooling water technology.
• 9.4 billion liters of water by a typical five-line beverage, brewing or food processing plant using DryExx® dry conveyor lubricant.
• Up to 40% of a typical customer’s water consumption through the innovative wash processes of our Aquanomic™ laundry system.
• 8 billion liters of water in papermaking and other industrial applications using PARETO™ mixing technology.
• Up to 50% of water use by restaurant customers with our Apex™ Conveyor dish machine.

We improve our own operations:

• 90 million liters preserved annually at our Joliet, Ill., plant through process and equipment changes.
• 7.5 million liters reclaimed in a year at our Marinsburg, W. Va., plant through process improvements.

We help others:

• $500,000 three-year grant for Water for People, funding water, sanitation and hygiene programs in West Bengal and Bihar, India.
• $450,000 committed over three years to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), funding a water stewardship program that is identifying solutions to protect Taihu Lake, the third largest freshwater lake in China and a primary water source for more than 33 million people around Shanghai.

Details of the positive impact Ecolab makes through our customers and in our own operations can be found in our 2011 Sustainability Report. 

Here is a powerful look at water, the element that connects every aspect of our business.

¹ Per United Nations data on basic human water needs of 50 liters per person, per day www.unwater.org/statistics_san.html