Metrics

Water consumption

[E3-4 28a, 28b, 28c]

[E3-4 AR 32]

[E3-4 AR 32]

[E3-4 29]

[E3-4 28e]

Changes over time

Total water withdrawal and discharge volumes slightly decreased in 2025 but remain in stable range of typical fluctuation of business operations. However, water consumption significantly increased in group-wide operations mainly due to less water discharged at the pulp production facility in Brazil as an effect of both optimized operations and increase of recycled and reused water. Water use at the Prachinburi (Thailand) site – Lenzing’s only facility located in an area of water risk and high-water stress – remained stable on a year-on-year comparison.

The increase of total volume of water recycled and reused in 2025 is due to expansion and improvement of monitoring, as not all production facilities were able to report these indicators for the first time disclosure in 2024. The largest contributions come from recirculating cooling water and the reuse of process water in lyocell production. For details on scope, accounting principles and data limitations, see the “Accounting principles” section of this chapter.

Contextual information

Lenzing’s objective in water management is to use water resources efficiently by maximizing recycling and reusing water within operations. The pulp mill at Paskov (Czech Republic) operates a closed-loop cooling water system that requires only a small amount of make-up water to compensate for losses. At the Lenzing site (Austria) the integrated pulp and fiber production saves water by eliminating the need to dry and re-moisten pulp due to integration with fiber production. Across the Lenzing Group, pulp and fiber production facilities obtain water from adjacent water bodies (mainly rivers and groundwater) and municipal local suppliers.

Water serves as a cooling and process agent during manufacturing. Substantial volumes of water are consumed by the inherent moisture uptake of cellulose fibers and vaporization in the cooling process. In the lyocell process, the spin bath contains water and the solvent NMMO to dissolve cellulose polymer prior to spinning. The viscose process uses a mixture of process chemicals and water. In both technologies water is efficiently recycled and reused by separating it from chemicals and/or solvents with high efficiency (see also the “E5 Resource use and circular economy” chapter). This state-of-the-art recovery technology is applied to all Lenzing facilities. It enables substantial water savings, provides optimal pre-treatment for wastewater discharge and optimizes consistent fiber quality and performance.

Accounting principles

[E3-4 28e; MDR-M 77a, 77b]

All production sites comply with local legal and permitting requirements. Water withdrawal and discharge are measured and reported on the basis of continuous metering. Sources of withdrawals as well as the destinations and quality of discharges are monitored and reported in the tables “Water withdrawal” and “Water discharge”. The sites submit this information to the Group database monthly. The data is then aggregated for Group-level reporting. The water consumption is calculated as the difference between discharge and withdrawal. While the Group-level data are not validated by any external body other than the assurance provider, water withdrawal and discharge monitoring are subject to inspections by local authorities at the sites.

Water recycling and reuse

Water recycling and reuse is practiced at all Lenzing sites. Therefore, water entering the production sites is typically used multiple times before being discharged back into the environment. Process water, cooling water and steam condensate are generally recycled at the sites and are included in the “Water consumption” table. Factors influencing water recycling include local climate conditions, access to cooling water as well as technological and operational aspects.

This report comprises the recycling flows for specific pulp and lyocell process water streams. However, many complex recycling systems, such as the reuse of water in different fiber washing steps, are not yet represented and need further assessment. As the technical specifications are still under evaluation, there is currently no established foundation or sufficient data to provide a reasonable estimate of missing water recycling and reuse flows.

The reported total also includes water recycled in cooling towers and non-contact heat exchange operations. The Lenzing Group operates recirculating cooling systems with cooling towers. These systems enable the recycling of very large volumes of water compared to once-through cooling systems. The recycled water in the recirculating cooling systems is calculated using cooling tower parameters and direct measurements (flow meter readings).