25% Water Reduction

Our water use management consists of policies and procedures that have been developed by an interdisciplinary team that involves EHS, engineering, manufacturing, and R&D, among others. The Global EHS function leads the teams that regularly review our water conservation processes. Water is one of the regular topics in monthly multi-disciplinary meetings we use to leverage our global knowledge to drive continuous improvement.

The water management and stress risks are different in each of our plants. O-I evaluates water stress using the Aqueduct™ tool from the World Resources Institute (WRI). In 2020, 35% of O-I plants were in water-stressed areas classified as “high” or “extremely high” baseline stress. Water risk assessment is also part of our Cradle to Cradle (C2C) and ISO 14044 life cycle analysis certifications.

Our conservation initiatives are focused on water recycling and reuse whenever possible, which reduces the pressure on natural resources. Our hot glass rejects process utilizes a water recirculation system to minimize water consumption. This system generally includes a solids and oil/water separator that allows the water to be cycled back to the beginning of the process within the same system. The water recirculation system is used at all locations and reduces over 64,000 m3 of process water per day.

We also reuse water to cool manufacturing equipment in both open and closed-loop water systems. Up to 2% of water evaporates during the cooling phase for both the open and closed-loop systems. This consists of process water itself and a cooling water loop located on the tower.

We also reuse water to cool manufacturing equipment in both open and closed-loop water systems. Up to 2% of water evaporates during the cooling phase for both the open and closed-loop systems. This consists of process water itself and a cooling water loop located on the tower.

The Plant Manager and EHS Manager at each of our locations are responsible for our plants’ compliance with national, state, and local regulations, and permits regarding water withdrawal and wastewater discharge. Wastewater that is not reused within the plant is discharged in accordance with our permit requirements. Discharge wastewater exiting our plants is monitored and periodically sampled and tested as required by the local laws and regulations. In 2020, we did not incur any water supply violations.