07 Reducing water consumption

No water, no life. No blue, no green.
--- Sylvia Earle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every drop counts

Water is an essential raw material at AW, particularly for carpet printing. The company makes targeted investments and optimises production processes to reduce its water consumption sustainably. Raising awareness among AW’s teams also contributes greatly to reducing the amount of water used. These efforts have been successful: in 2020, the amount of water needed per square metre of carpet was already 21% lower than in 2015.

AW’s own biological water purification installation purifies the company’s waste water. As a result, 95% of the contaminants in the water are removed. Furthermore, 25% of this purified waste water is not discharged but is reused for processing after undergoing additional physicochemical purification. This rates as top performance in the sector. With pilot testing of additional innovative technologies ongoing, AW aims to increase water reuse by another 30% within 5 years.