Promoting Sustainable Business, Phapros Implements Water Efficiency Efforts in the Company's Environment

Water is a critical resource relied upon by many industries for various purposes. Water scarcity caused by climate change, resource depletion, and pollutant contamination has an impact on environmental and socio-economic issues. This indicates that every stakeholder in water utilization, including industry, needs to make conservation efforts, both in the process of activities that require water and in the management of wastewater resulting from activities that can affect water quality in the environment. As an effort to maintain water quality and quantity, the government has issued a water conservation policy, where this program has a legal basis, namely Law No. 37 of 2014 concerning Soil and Water Conservation.

As one of the water-using industries, PT Phapros Tbk always strives to conserve water. PT Phapros Tbk has a commitment to implementing water conservation programs through water efficiency policies and commitments, the formation of a water conservation team, water efficiency planning and budgeting, water efficiency reporting, and the development of innovative programs. The established water conservation policy is a 3% reduction in water consumption per year, with a realization of 27.99% in 2023. This achievement has become a driving force for Phapros to continue to improve water efficiency with even higher target achievements.

In terms of planning and budgeting, documentation of strategic plans, work plans, and monitoring of the realization of work plans is carried out annually to ensure that water efficiency programs can be implemented according to the established plans and budgets. Some of the water efficiency programs that Phapros has implemented include the reuse of distiller wash hot water, reuse of ampoule water, faucet flow restrictions, utilization of ampoule process water, reuse of condensate water, recycling of concentrate water, infiltration wells, and recycling of reverse osmosis concentrate water.

Among these programs, Phapros' flagship program is the recycling of reverse osmosis concentrate water. This program involves modifying the system in the reverse osmosis unit by adding a filter treatment to ensure that the recycled water meets the requirements for reuse. The filtered water is then directed to a storage tank for temporary storage, and then discharged as fresh water input and lavatory in the production building. The environmental impact of this program is water efficiency of 15,511.7 m3, obtained from measurements of recycled water.

The water conservation programs carried out by Phapros, in addition to reducing environmental impact in the company's area, also support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been proclaimed by the government. The objectives supported are related to water efficiency, which is goal number 6, with the target of ensuring the Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All. The indicator in this target is that by 2030, significantly increase water-use efficiency across all sectors, ensure sustainable freshwater supplies and address water scarcity, and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity. Based on the calculations made from the water consumption savings by Phapros, it supports a 0.001% contribution to the achievement of SDG goal 6.

The structured efforts in water efficiency and Phapros' role in promoting government policies are a good starting point for running a sustainable business.

*References from various sources