Roca has launched a water efficiency plan as part of its sustainability roadmap. Together with Veolia Water Technologies Ibérica, Roca has established two production processes, one for vitreous china and another for faucets, located in Settat (Morocco) and Eskisehir (Turkey), where two pilot schemes will be carried out as part of a global plan to audit the integrated water cycle in the Group’s factories.
This project has been put in place with two goals in mind: reduce water stress in the areas where Roca Group operates; and preserve this resource by optimising its circular use. Vitreous China and faucet production processes are the ones that require a greater amount of water. It is for this reason that the company will start its pilot project in these areas.
The circular water strategy
To achieve these objectives, and advised by Veolia Water Technologies Ibérica, Roca Group has implemented a circular water strategy. It consists of reducing its use in all phases of the manufacturing process: avoiding the use of fresh water sources when it is not strictly necessary; recycling it; digitalising and controlling its use; segregating it; quantifying it and giving it a value; reusing it and adapting its quality to each particular use in order to start the cycle again.
In other words, the project is based on the 6 Rs system: Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Regenerate, Replenish and, as a consequence, Reduce fresh water consumption.
A phased plan
In the first phase, Roca Group plans to carry out an audit of the two main factories in the vitreous china and faucet production processes using these as pilots: Settat (Morocco) and Eskisehir (Turkey), also located in two of the most water-stressed areas of the planet. This stage will be carried out during 2022, with two physical audits and subsequent recommendations.
In a second phase, the recommendations and improvements in processes and equipment obtained from the pilot carried out in Settat and Eskisehir will be scaled up to the rest of the factories. There will then be a subsequent draw-up of the final roadmap and its implementation, with the aim of moving towards water neutrality within five years.
A company with a sustainable tradition
The Roca Group says it is a company that is aware of the environment and its resources. For this reason, it develops sustainable technologies and products that make it possible to save water and energy, reducing the environmental footprint that its products and their use may generate.
In addition, Roca Group says it promotes solidarity initiatives through the We Are Water Foundation with the aim of contributing to solve problems arising from the lack of water and sanitation in the world.