ESRS E3 – Water
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Water and marine Resources
Material Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities
In the double materiality assessment, we have identified negative impacts and risks in relation to water consumption and withdrawals in our own operations and upstream value chain.
At Beiersdorf and its Consumer and tesa Business Segments, we use water to manufacture our products, and it is an important ingredient in our product formulations. In addition, processes such as steam generation, refrigeration and chillers require water to operate. Our production sites therefore draw fresh water from various sources, including groundwater and third-party water. Water scarcity can significantly affect the production processes by interrupting essential processes and causing delays, efficiency losses and higher costs.
Beiersdorf uses the World Resource Institute’s (WRI) “Aqueduct 4.0 Water Risk Atlas” to determine which of our sites are located in areas at water risk, including areas of high-water stress. This atlas translates complex hydrological data into indicators of water-related risks. The Consumer Business Segment has identified eight sites and the tesa Business Segment has identified two sites that are located in areas at water risk, including areas of high-water stress. These areas are characterized in the “Aqueduct 4.0 Water Risk Atlas” by the “Total Water Risk” indicator. This “Total Water Risk” measures all water risks in aggregate by combining indicators for risks related to physical water quantity and quality, groundwater stress, regulatory and reputational risks, among others. The ten affected sites are located in areas that are classified as “high” or “very high” on the “Total Water Risk” indicator.
A detailed overview of all identified impacts, risks and opportunities and the methodology used for the double materiality assessment can be found in the chapter “ESRS 2 — General Disclosures.”
Policies Related to Water
Beiersdorf has introduced several policies to reduce the negative impact in the area of water. These policies support the management of significant impacts, risks, and opportunities related to water and address the key issues of water consumption and water withdrawal identified in the double materiality analysis. The topic of marine resources is not covered by the guidelines, as it is not considered material for Beiersdorf. Additionally, the guidelines do not include provisions focusing on water consumption in areas affected by water risks within our upstream and downstream value chain.
Consumer
Consumer
Beiersdorf Environmental Policy
In the “Environmental Policy,” the Consumer Business Segment stipulates its commitments and ambitions regarding various environmental topics, including water management. The aim is to continually work to reduce water consumption in production processes – where the majority of water withdrawal occurs – and to implement closed water cycles at production sites.
The key contents of this policy include the following:
- Reduction of water consumption: The policy focuses on reducing water consumption across production and the value chain. This includes promoting efficient water use and minimizing water waste in both manufacturing and consumer use.
- Wastewater treatment: The policy demands modern, effective processes to treat wastewater, aiming to ensure that water discharge meets stringent quality standards and adheres to local discharge regulations.
- Water risk analyses: We utilize widely established tools such as the WWF’s ”Water Risk Filter” (WRF) and the WRI’s “Aqueduct 4.0 Water Risk Atlas” to evaluate and respond to water risks within our operations, particularly in high-risk areas. We are also involved in ongoing dialog with the WWF as part of our broader water risk management efforts.
- Use of renewable water sources and recycling: We are committed to using renewable water sources and implementing advanced recycling technologies wherever viable to further reduce the business segment’s overall water footprint. By treating and reusing water in production processes, we can increase operational efficiency, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. This approach not only supports the company’s water conservation efforts but also reduces long-term operating costs.
- Product development: We aim to develop products that reduce water consumption, during both production and consumer use. This is aligned with our sustainability agenda CARE BEYOND SKIN, which seeks to promote water efficiency throughout the product lifecycle.
Our corporate water reduction target and its underlying metrics are also validated by external auditors annually to ensure all externally reported data is accurate.
Site-specific targets for sites of high risks are not yet in place. This is primarily due to the ongoing development of tailored strategies that require further detailed local assessments and consultations with stakeholders like the WWF. We are committed to ensuring that these future policies will address the distinct needs and risks of each site in areas of high water stress.
For further details on the “Environmental Policy,” please refer to chapter “ESRS E1 — Climate Change.”
tesa
tesa
tesa Environmental Guidelines
tesa has established the “Environmental Guidelines” to protect the environment and to support, among other things, risk mitigation as well as the safe and sustainable sourcing and usage of water globally. The “Environmental Guidelines” focus on water conservation and the promotion of efficient processes, while taking local circumstances and needs into account as well as complying with local regulations. The “Environmental Guidelines” require water usage to be reported and monitored internally. Water sources to be reported in this context are groundwater and third-party water.
The tesa sites are required to apply water management including:
- water consumption management (monitoring the quantity and quality of water withdrawals and discharges),
- minimization of potential impacts on water scarcity and reduction of emissions to water through innovation, best practices, and continuous controlling, and
- regular evaluation of internal and external developments that might impact business practices in the future (e.g., forward-looking process technologies, legal changes, community water issues).
The “Environmental Guidelines” emphasize the minimization of impacts on water scarcity through the adoption of innovative technologies, best practices, and continuous controlling. The policy does not explicitly address water treatment or the design of products and services with respect to water-related issues.
We furthermore take preventive measures to avoid accidents. For example, liquids that pose a threat to water are only ever discharged, refilled, or stored in areas that are equipped with appropriate collection facilities. These measures are annually reviewed through external ISO 14001 audits.
We collect water-related data on aspects such as water consumption and wastewater volumes at all tesa production sites on an annual basis. The “Environmental Guidelines” apply to all tesa sites. The Executive Board/the Group Executive Committee (GEC) holds the highest level of accountability for the implementation of the “Environmental Guidelines.” The policy is made available to all stakeholders through tesa’s official website.
Actions Related to Water
To achieve its water-related policy objectives, Beiersdorf has implemented an action plan that constitutes a roadmap for water management. Our actions are not contextually focused towards sites located in areas at water risk, but we are aware of all sites that are located in areas at water risk, including areas of high water stress. All of the actions described below contribute to achieving our Group-wide goal of significantly reducing water consumption by 2025.
Consumer
Consumer
Training and capacity building for employees on water conservation
Description: Technical and sustainability experts at each Consumer production site implement various water conservation actions, such as “Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis” (CCRO) technologies, optimized cleaning cycles and water reuse systems. These efforts are coordinated through the “Sustainability in Manufacturing” (SIM) initiative and the “Global Water & Cleaning Community,” which both ensure factory-level alignment. Employees receive monthly exchanges on these technologies and best practices to enhance their knowledge and promote water-efficient operations. The “Global Water & Cleaning Community” platform allows water experts to discuss progress with the SIM team, while also exploring new (digital) approaches to reducing water consumption in partnership with specialist institutes. We also use external expertise for training and to optimize operations, aiming to ensure a dynamic approach to water conservation.
Scope: Factories globally
Time horizon: Ongoing
Expected outcome: By implementing these measures, we expect our employees to gain increased technical knowledge and be able to further apply water conservation practices in production processes. This can lead to a consistent approach to water management and continuous improvement in water efficiency across production processes, which in turn contributes to achieving Beiersdorf’s 2025 water reduction target.
Continuous improvement of production processes
Description: At our Consumer Business Segment, we have deployed modern equipment and technologies to address high water consumption, particularly in cleaning processes. All our production sites treat their wastewater, either within their own wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), in WWTP within industrial parks, or externally located in third-party WWTP, and we do not discharge untreated wastewater water into the environment. Treated wastewater can then be reused for cooling, irrigation, or sanitation at the company’s production sites. This contributes to keeping our “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) certification, ensuring that all sites meet global sustainability standards. Regular reviews by internal and external experts also ensure that facilities meet the latest standards and processes are continuously optimized.
Moreover, we collaborate with water suppliers, local authorities, and neighboring companies to foster a community- and best-practice-focused approach to sustainable water management.
Scope: Production sites globally
Time horizon: 2025
Expected outcome: Our goal is to reduce water consumption, enhance collaboration with external stakeholders, and comply with LEED certification standards to further support our sustainability targets.
Implementation of reverse osmosis and water recovery technologies
Description: We introduce closed-circuit reverse osmosis (CCRO) and other water recovery technologies to enhance water reuse across our production sites. In 2023, the first reverse osmosis filtration unit was installed in our Indian factory. We plan to test and implement these technologies in ten additional production sites.
Scope: India, and additional factories globally
Time horizon: Continuous, with expansion and upgrades through 2025.
Expected outcome: The measures can reduce the water consumption intensity by up to 30% at the initial Indian site. We expect to achieve further savings at our other factories, bringing us closer to our company-wide target of significantly reducing water consumption by 2025.
Closed-loop water systems and maximized water reuse
Description: In order to maximize water recovery and reuse, we are conducting engineering studies to implement closed-loop water systems at selected production sites. The first study is underway at our Bangkok site. In next phases, we will test and implement similar systems at our Silao and Tres Cantos sites. These measures are also part of our commitment to achieving our 2025 water reduction targets.
Scope: Bangkok, Thailand, as well as Silao, Mexico, and Tres Cantos, Spain
Time horizon: 2025
Expected outcome: Our efficiency measures aim to significantly reduce water consumption. A pre-study at our Bangkok site has shown a potential reduction in water withdrawal of 50 to 60%. Combined with additional efficiency projects, this could result in a cumulative reduction of 70% compared to 2020 at this site.
tesa
tesa
Shutting down steam humidification units to reduce water usage
Description: As a safety measure against charge dissipation, humidification units were originally installed in areas that handle large amounts of solvents. Today, there are other, more efficient ways to deal with such hazards, so newer and safer practices at the tesa plant in Hamburg now allow for humidification units to be shut down. We have therefore initiated a project to shut down the humidification systems, which has already been approved internally. Subject to final regulatory approval, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
This action helps achieve the target of the “Environmental Guidelines” to reduce water consumption and to regularly evaluate internal and external developments related to new technologies.
Scope: tesa Plant Hamburg GmbH
Time horizon: 2025
Expected outcome: We expect the project to save 3,600 m3 of water per year.
Installation of additional cooling water circulation systems to reduce groundwater usage and wastewater discharge
Description: To reduce the reliance on water and its discharge into waterways, the tesa plant in Offenburg plans to install additional circulation systems for cooling water, starting with one specific coating line. This action relates to our objectives of reducing water consumption and implementing best practices.
It furthermore helps to achieve the target of the “Environmental Guidelines” to reduce water consumption.
Scope: tesa Plant Offenburg GmbH
Time horizon: 2025 to 2027
Expected outcome: We expect to save 10,000 m3 of groundwater per year for the pilot phase at the coating line (Hänge 5).
Targets Related to Water
Consumer
Consumer
The global corporate water reduction target, which is a voluntary target, covers all Consumer factories and promotes water efficiency across the board: By 2025, we aim to reduce consumption per manufactured product by 25% (vs. 2018 baseline). This aim to ensure that all sites, regardless of whether they are located in areas at water risk, are pursuing efforts to reduce water consumption and improve water quality.
Beiersdorf’s water-related targets are directly in line with the ambitions set out in the “Environmental Policy” particularly in the “Regenerative Water Environments” field of action.
Beiersdorf’s water-related targets are based on a combination of scientific methods and data-driven approaches. These include comprehensive water risk analyses at all production sites to identify and minimize potential risks, as well as the use of primary data on water consumption. These targets are in line with global water-related sustainability goals, particularly in view of increasing climate challenges and water scarcity. The targets were drafted by consulting internal stakeholders, including the sustainability and environmental teams, factory operations, and the local production centers and Safety, Health, and Environment (SHE) teams.
In 2018, our global water intensity in the production centers was 504 liters/1,000 products manufactured, which serves as the baseline for our water targets. By 2025, we aim to achieve a global water intensity of 378 liters/1,000 products manufactured, which corresponds to a 25% reduction. In 2024, water consumption per product manufactured was reduced by 12% compared to 2018 (base year) to 446 liters/1,000 products.
Despite our efforts and the strides we have made, we acknowledge that external factors and unforeseen obstacles may cause delays to our planned projects and may impact our ability to fully meet our 2025 water conservation targets as hoped. Nevertheless, we remain committed to implementing all planned water conservation actions.
While our Consumer Business Segment does not yet have site-specific targets for areas at water risk, the global “Environmental Policy” applies to all sites, including those located in areas of high water stress.
The policy includes water reduction ambitions and aims to ensure the implementation of water conservation actions at all sites. This enables us to minimize water-related risks for the Consumer Business Segment worldwide, even in areas where specific local targets are still being developed.
In addition, we are developing localized water targets for areas at water risk, with the aim of tailoring our water management to specific regional needs. These site-specific targets will be established in the course of 2025, informed by ongoing assessments using the WWF’s WRF and the WRI’s “Aqueduct 4.0 Water Risk Atlas.” We are developing customized water reduction targets beyond 2025 as part of our strategic partnership with the WWF.
tesa
tesa
For our tesa Business Segment, we currently do not have defined measurable water-related targets. Water tracking is managed via the “SoFi” database. This is mandatory for production sites within the tesa Business Segment which are certified according to ISO 14001. These sites are subject to regular internal audits as well as external environmental audits in the context of matrix certification. Every year, we keep track of water data at our production facilities such as water consumption and effluent quantities and also perform a regular water risk assessment. We also report the results through CDP.
Metrics Related to Water
|
|
Unit |
|
Consumer |
|
tesa |
|
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total water consumption |
|
m3 |
|
577,252 |
|
153,234 |
|
730,486 |
Total water consumption in areas at water risk, incl. areas of high water stress |
|
m3 |
|
404,974 |
|
53,189 |
|
458,163 |
Total water recycled and reused |
|
m3 |
|
161,673 |
|
0 |
|
161,673 |
Total water withdrawals |
|
m3 |
|
1,432,875 |
|
452,737 |
|
1,885,612 |
Total water discharges |
|
m3 |
|
855,624 |
|
299,503 |
|
1,155,127 |
Methods and significant assumptions
The measurement of water-related metrics is based on quarterly data input from the Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) managers at each plant. This data is collected using the “Sphera SCCS” tool, which allows for standardization and consolidation of information across all sites. Thematic experts from our Sustainability in Manufacturing (SIM) team validate the data on a quarterly basis to ensure accuracy, consistency and adherence to defined methodologies.
Key assumptions include the reliability of the data provided by the SHE managers at the plant level and the effectiveness of the validation process performed by the SIM team experts.
The data relates to our production sites only and does not include our office locations. All data is primary data and has not been estimated or extrapolated.
Currently, water-related metrics are validated internally by the SIM team’s thematic experts, rather than by an external body other than the auditor. The SIM team conducts quarterly comprehensive reviews to ensure data integrity and compliance with internal and external reporting standards. Although the validation process is robust, future validation by an independent external body could be considered to increase transparency and provide additional assurance on the accuracy and reliability of the metrics.