Ernest Barcelo
Vice President Sustainability - Omya
The challenge
Omya has set ambitious water targets as part of its overall commitment to sustainability. In order to ensure they meet these goals, it is necessary to understand which of the areas where they operate are more exposed to water risks. With that information, they will be able to prioritize production sites, develop mitigation strategies and take action to respond to these potential risks. The challenge was to consolidate water risk and water accounting information for production sites not just for reporting but most importantly to prioritize and proactively take action.
The solution
Waterplan implemented a hydrologic model for the operational site under analysis, calibrating and validating it with pre-existing hydrological studies and measurements.
On top of that, Waterplan analyzed the Volumetric Water Benefit impact of four renaturing regions. The activities started in 2003. Recreation of the baseline conditions was possible thanks to the proprietary Waterplan methodology that leverages remote sensing and historical information.
Transparency is possible as Waterplan methodologies are openly shared with all the members of the company. These methodologies are well-documented, compliant with existing scientific practices in the field of hydrology and remote sensing, and reviewed by experts from different world-recognized water institutions.
Using Waterplan, Omya was able to solve the initial challenge of data consolidation from both the facility and the catchment to proactively identify and act upon water risk exposure.
A key finding for Omya is that the site under analysis is operating in a sustainable way and in a low-risk area, even considering short-term projections and different climate scenarios.
Given the success of the pilot, Omya will continue to integrate new facilities to provide better insights on water accounting, proactive risk management and opportunities detection across different catchments around the world
About the company
Industry
Omya is a leading producer of calcium carbonate and a worldwide distributor of specialty chemicals.
Commitment to sustainability
Omya is fully committed to realizing a governance structure that incorporates the principles of sustainability at all levels of the company. Driven by their vision and their strong value-led corporate culture, Omya takes on their role as a partner for a sustainable future
