Conquering Industrial Water Waste

As more company leaders develop and achieve sustainability goals, many examine how to reduce industrial water waste. That’s a crucial aim with more areas of the world experiencing scarcity while accessing this essential resource. How can executives make meaningful gains? 

Determine Which Processes Cause Industrial Water Waste

A good starting point is to scrutinize internal processes, finding the ones associated with the most excessive resource usage. Water is an essential part of many industries’ operations, so while companies likely cannot eliminate it, they can likely tweak steps to use less of it. 

One increasingly accessible option is to connect smart sensors to industrial equipment. Although executives can tell a lot by carefully studying processes, the real-time sensor data can track trends and reveal things people may have missed. 

After taking this process-based approach to water usage, those involved should investigate whether their average resource requirements are above or below the averages associated with peers. They can use those findings to set challenging but achievable goals that motivate everyone and show them which targets to hit.

Install Leak Detection Technology 

Some industrial water waste occurs because of unknown leaks. Unfortunately, the ramifications can span beyond unnecessary resource usage. Consider the case of a fire at a pet food factory. Investigation revealed a water leak set a mechanical system ablaze, requiring several firefighters to extinguish it. 

One of the challenging factors of leaks is that they’re often tiny, making them difficult or impossible for humans to detect. They only notice something amiss once something significant changes, whether that means a fire starts or an administrative team member flags an extremely high utility bill from the water company. 

Fortunately, advanced leak detection products can curb industrial water waste with options such as ultrasonic waves that identify issues and flag users. Besides preventing industrial water waste, these solutions can reduce insurance costs because they allow proactiveness rather than responsiveness after damage occurs. 

Encourage Workers to Reevaluate Their Views 

The statistic that the Earth is 70% water is true and often repeated. Additionally, water is a renewable resource. Together, these facts emphasize that scarcity and waste are not pressing concerns. However, the matter gets complicated because the liquid is both renewable and scarce.

For starters, people cannot immediately use significant amounts of the planet’s water due to its form or the need for treatments. Plus, water consumption has increased along with the world’s population. These realities mean waste reduction should ideally happen at the industrial and consumer levels. 

Industrial leaders can encourage consumer changes to start among staff members. If someone washes their food container after taking a lunch break, they can be careful not to leave the water running when turning around to talk to a colleague or otherwise getting distracted. That is only a minor example, but it illustrates how easily people can waste water. Once they know the importance of conservation, that awareness will help them develop and retain better habits to use at work and in their homes. 

Join Collective Efforts 

Industrial water waste is easier to manage when people do it alongside others who share the goal. Consider a 2023 French initiative where the government chose and supported 12 industrial sites to reduce their water usage, intending for an additional 35 entities to join them by the end of that year. 

Besides altering applicable industrial processes, the participants will explore opportunities such as water reuse and recycling. Such group efforts have numerous benefits. Firstly, many leaders find they want to make changes to manage excessive water usage but are not sure how to get started. Seeing the methods others have tried and identifying the most effective possibilities reduces trial and error, maximizing the eventual results. 

Additionally, it is much easier for people to stay motivated and see it’s time for change when others are working on the same ideals. The feedback exchanged with other company representatives can show everyone they are not alone in encountering specific challenges or feeling momentarily disheartened. 

Set Goals and Track Progress

Goal-setting exercises show that company leaders are serious about industrial water waste and will do whatever they can to minimize it. It is insufficient for executives to merely say things such as, “We will prioritize this matter over the next five years,” because statements are good starts that do not go far enough. Instead, those involved should determine precisely what they want to achieve and how they’ll get to that point. 

A strong example came from a Danish brewery, where executives set about reducing their most water-intensive processes. Additionally, they knew they wanted to improve water-recycling options for non-production liquid, such as that used for cleaning. Making progress involved using advanced systems and technologies, including a closed-circuit reverse osmosis solution. The commitment paid off, enabling water usage reductions of nearly 59% and reusing 90% of the facility’s process liquid. 

Such results typically happen over time, so people must remember to be patient and follow best practices to see the best results. However, when they create goals and monitor the progress toward achieving them, it is easier to gain executive buy-in and convince leaders to continue investing in their industrial water waste improvements.  

Remain Open to Change

Most humans resist doing things differently because they find familiarity comforting. Committing to significant changes in industrial environments can be especially challenging if executives worry that they will cause temporary profitability drops or other short-term undesirable effects. Such hesitation is understandable since these leaders remain accountable to stakeholders and fellow C-suite members. 

However, they must realize that willingness to change processes and mindsets for the sake of reducing industrial water waste represents responsible behavior that stays accountable to the planet and all its inhabitants. Conversely, although changes don’t usually pay off right away, executives must accept when improvements are taking too long to generate the expected advantages. In such cases, they may need to make further changes after finding out the root causes of the ineffectiveness. 

Industrial Water Waste Is a Controllable Factor 

The industrial water waste problem can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, these tips show that’s not the case. Company employees, from the executives to those in entry-level roles, can and must work together to minimize overconsumption. By doing so, they can emerge as leaders for others to take inspiration from and follow.