Water consumption

[GRI 303-3, 303-4, 303-5; ESRS E3-4]

All Lenzing production units are located in regions with high water availability, and are therefore not operated in water stress areas. Nevertheless, the objective of water management at Lenzing is to recycle and reuse as much water as possible. For example, the pulp mill at Paskov (Czech Republic) has a closed-loop cooling water system and therefore requires little make-up water to compensate for losses. Furthermore, integrated pulp and fiber production saves water by skipping the process of drying and re-moistening market pulp. Pulp and fiber production facilities obtain water from adjacent water bodies (mainly rivers and groundwater) and municipal local suppliers. During manufacturing, water serves as a cooling and process agent.

The effects of disrupted supply chains in 2022, especially in the textile industry, were similar to the pandemic year of 2020, e.g. unstable productions and idled lines. This is reflected in the sustained lower absolute water use and water consumption, but consequently also in a higher value (runaway) of specific water use (see tables below).

Substantial amounts of water are consumed by the inherent moisture uptake of cellulosic fibers and evaporization in the cooling process. The lyocell production process applied by Lenzing requires less water than its viscose fiber production. Lenzing’s expansion plans in lyocell fibers will further reduce the Lenzing Group’s specific water consumption in the medium term.