Water
Water is an essential resource for Suominen, as it is used in our nonwovens production processes to bind fibers together into nonwoven fabrics. Approximately 90% of the water taken into our processes is returned to water bodies or sanitary sewer systems, which means that only 10% of our water intake is consumed in our production processes, mainly through evaporation.
Our water use and discharges are regulated by national or regional authorities, and we constantly monitor the quality of discharged water. All water is treated in either our own or municipal water treatment sites before being discharged.
The wetlaid production technology that is used at two Suominen production sites requires significantly more water than other production technologies. Wetlaid production accounts for 82% of Suominen’s total water intake.
Suominen has evaluated the scarcity of water at our sites by using the World Resources Institute’s Water Risk Atlas. One of our production sites is located in a “high risk area” where water can be considered a scarce resource. The water intake of this site accounts for approximately 1.2% of Suominen’s total water intake.
Our target is 20% reduction in water consumption per ton of production by 2025, the baseline being 2019. In 2023, Suominen reduced its water consumption by 0.7% per ton of product compared to the baseline.