Reduce Water Use and Improve Water Reuse
In May 2008, we announced our goal to reduce our freshwater consumption by 20 percent from a baseline of 2006 to 2012. During the year, we established a plan to identify and assess our sites for water reduction.
| 2006 | Total: 12.29 | NCCW subset: 5.88 |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Total: 12.32 | NCCW subset: 6.6 |
Since 2006, we have collected water consumption data for those sites across our businesses meeting a criterion of more than 15 million gallons annually of water consumed. Water consumption data includes water used for potable, process and sanitary purposes as well as non-contact cooling waters (NCCWs) from freshwater sources. We adjust the data each year to reflect acquisitions and divestments.
In 2008, water use from these sources was 0.2 percent higher than our 2006 baseline. An increase in non-contact cooling water offset a 10.8 percent reduction in water use for potable, process and sanitary purposes. This increase was due to a project at one of our largest water using sites to better quantify water use. The project, utilizing GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies Ultrasonic Flow Meters, identified that water use at the site was substantially higher than originally estimated and had increased 11 percent since 2006.
We held our first water reduction “kaizen” blitz event, which was conducted at our Global Research Facility in Niskayuna, New York, with very favorable water reduction and cost benefits identified. We plan on using this approach at other targeted locations during the remainder of 2009 to identify more opportunities.
