Water

Fermentation is our most water-intensive manufacturing operation. A significant portion of the water used in this operation is recovered in the later purification stage, then reused or discharged for wastewater treatment. Our net water consumption, therefore, only includes water evaporation in cooling towers and remaining water in products and byproducts.

For the upstream value chain, farmers use water for the irrigation of agricultural crops, such as sugar cane and corn. These crops are converted into carbohydrates by our suppliers and subsequently used as feedstocks for our fermentation processes.

Within the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) corporate engagement program, we work with other stakeholders to create methods and tools for integrated target setting, amongst others for water, in line with the best available science. In 2023, Corbion was selected, together with 16 other companies, to pilot the target-setting process, which continued in 2024.

How we manage our impact: strategy and governance

Impacts, risks, and opportunities

We used the insights obtained through our participation in the SBTN pilot to identify material impacts for Water.

In our direct operations, the highest-risk Corbion locations are Montmeló (Spain), Rayong (Thailand), Orindiúva (Brazil), and Campos (Brazil), which are all locations whose main activities involve fermentation and therefore withdraw significant amounts of water.  Montmeló, Rayong, and Orindiúva are located in areas of high or extremely high-water stress. At the Campos site, we have experienced issues with water availability in the past years, therefore this is considered a high-risk site as well. These four sites represent 75% of total water withdrawal for Corbion.

Across our value chain, the highest risks relate to the sourcing of cane sugar and lime in Thailand, where we source high volumes of these materials from areas under water stress.

Policies

In 2023, Corbion introduced our Global Water Policy (new window), which applies to our manufacturing sites in all areas where Corbion operates and to our supply chain.

To preserve water resources, and to mitigate water-related risks for our own operations and in our supply chain, Corbion is committed to:

• Assessing our impact on water and marine resources by identifying and mitigating risks and opportunities.

• Implementing water management practices, striving to minimize water consumption, reduce effluents, and prevent pollution.

• Conducting incident investigations followed by corrective actions to address any water-related deviations.

• Reducing water consumption in our own operations at high-risk locations by decreasing water withdrawals, minimizing water discharge, and increasing water recycling.

• Working with our suppliers and other stakeholders to manage water resources throughout the value chain, with focus on high-risk raw materials sourced in large volumes from areas under water stress.

• Including sustainability assessments in our innovation process, to further minimize water use and pollution when developing new processes and products.

• Providing transparency in our water performance by measuring, monitoring, and reporting relevant performance indicators for water and by disclosing the progress of our water stewardship program via the CDP water questionnaire.

• Using water responsibly and adhering to all legally applicable environmental requirements.

To evaluate the policy's effectiveness, monitoring and review mechanisms are in place, including reporting and validation processes for all water KPIs.

Our water policy addresses both Corbion's impact and risks related to water. In addition, Corbion’s Sustainable Agriculture Policy (new window) outlines Corbion’s standards in relation to water use in its agricultural supply chain in more detail, to address the water risks in our agricultural supply chain.

The Chief Technology Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice President Sustainability hold joint accountability for the implementation of these policies.

Corbion has not adopted policies related to sustainable oceans and seas, as it is not a material topic.

Performance

Actions and progress

Our water action plan includes the following actions:

By 2025:

• Corbion sites classified as high risk regarding water will include relevant mitigation actions for their location in their business continuity plan. This will reduce the risk of issues related to water availability.

• We will assess the level of maturity in water management practices for each Corbon site, and define mitigation actions if a site does not meet the minimal requirements. Our ambition is that all sites meet these minimal requirements by 2025.

• In our upstream value chain, we will achieve >98% compliance with the Cane Sugar Code, which includes indicators on water. This will help mitigate the risk of water availability and quality issues, and their impact on crop yields and raw material pricing and availability.

• We will include water as a topic in the innovation and CAPEX stage gate assessment process, to ensure that our new processes and equipment improve water efficiency where possible.

Between 2025-2030:

• We will launch water-reduction initiatives at remaining high-risk locations and continue existing water reduction initiatives.

• We will develop and implement programs to manage water risks in our upstream value chain beyond sugar.

In 2024, we defined minimum water management practice requirements for all Corbion manufacturing sites. These include compliance with local water permits, water pollution control and monitoring protocols, reporting and investigation of water-related risks, and preventive maintenance programs. We confirmed that eight out of 11 sites meet these requirements. For the remaining three sites, mitigation plans will be implemented in 2025. These sites account for less than 1% of Corbion’s total water withdrawal.

In addition, we implemented several improvements to reduce material consumption of water in high-risk locations. At our site in Montmeló (Spain), we implemented several improvements to reduce water losses in our ultrafiltration systems and other water purification processes. We also raised awareness of personnel around water scarcity by monitoring consumption on a daily basis. In Orindiúva (Brazil), ongoing actions include the enhancement of cleaning processes, optimization of the cooling towers to reduce the water evaporation rate, and increased recycling of water. In 2024, our combined actions contributed to a 17% decrease in water consumption compared to the previous year. In 2025/2026, we will kick-off water reduction and awareness initiatives at Campos and Rayong, and continue with the implementation of improvement projects in Montmeló and Orindiúva.

In our value chain, we continued the implementation of our cane sugar policy, which includes water-related requirements. For more information on these actions, see Biodiversity (new window).

The implementation of our water action plan involves colleagues from Procurement, Manufacturing, Engineering, Finance, and Sustainability.

Metrics