Significance
Importance To Berry Global and our Stakeholders
Effective water management is important to limiting the impact of our operations on the environment as well as ensuring our operations in water scarce regions can continue to operate. This importance of water management is only increasing as the availability of fresh water decreases and global temperatures increase. While our primary use of water is for cooling, it is still important that we protect this critical natural resource.
Our Customers: Many of our customers depend on water to grow crops used in the production of their food products. Others use water as an ingredient in their products. Regardless, water is of critical importance to many of our customers. They expect us to manage water responsibly.
Our Investors: We are expected to effectively manage water in order to reduce operating costs and minimize water-related risks, including potential disruption to our operations.
Our Approach
Most of our water withdrawals are used for cooling in our converting operations. While cooling water is typically recycled, the majority of our water consumption is the result of evaporative losses from chillers. Our recycling operations also use water in their wash lines. Some of our nonwoven’s operations use water for hydroentanglement of the nonwoven fibers. A comparatively small volume of water is used for drinking and sanitation.
Outside of our direct operations, water is also utilized in our supply chain. For our key raw material, resin, water is also used for cooling. Further upstream, significant amounts of water are used in the process for drilling wells and fracking. Water use in our supply chain is more significant than in our direct operations.
We work to mitigate the local, water-related impact of our facilities in the communities in which we operate. In the majority of our communities, we are a minor user of water. In a few of our communities, we are a significant water user. In those communities, we coordinate closely with local authorities.
As outlined in our Environmental Management Policy, we are committed to minimizing our impact of our operations on the environment through continuous improvement. Our Impact 2025 strategy includes a goal to reduce water withdrawal intensity 1% year-over-year. This commitment is overseen by our Board of Directors, and improvements to our facilities are driven by the Executive VP of Operations. Through consistent monitoring and reporting of water withdrawals and consumption across our facilities, we can more easily locate and implement projects to reduce our water withdrawal intensity.
Highlights and Target Progress
| Target | 2023 Progress |
| Reduce Water Consumption Intensity 1% per year* |
Water withdrawal intensity increased by 8.9% in 2023, after four years of improvements, due to reduced production rates. |
*Normalized for production (M³ of water withdrawn per MT of production)
Key Metrics
The below metrics are based on Berry's Fiscal Years unless otherwise noted.
|
Water and Wastewater Management |
||||||
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||
| Absolute Water Withdrawals | Amount and Percentage of Total Withdrawals | |||||
| M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | |
| Total Withdrawals | 8,390,197 | 100% | 7,521,862 | 100% | 7,444,773 | 100% |
| Surface Water | - | 0% | - | 0% | - | 0% |
| Ground Water | 1,020,332 | 12% | 1,149,171 | 15% | 1,090,480 | 15% |
| Municipal Water | 7,369,865 | 88% | 6,372,691 | 85% | 6,354,293 | 85% |
| Withdrawals from areas with Water Stress¹ and Percentage of Total Withdrawals | ||||||
| M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | |
| Total Withdrawals | 1,707,543 | 20% | 1,575,088 | 21% | 1,810,170 | 24% |
| Surface Water | - | 0% | - | 0% | - | 0% |
| Ground Water | 350,229 | 4% | 361,652 | 5% | 383,432 | 5% |
| Municipal Water | 1,357,314 | 16% | 1,213,436 | 15% | 1,426,738 | 19% |
| Water Withdrawal Intensity | Withdrawals per MT of Production (M³/MT) | |||||
| All Withdrawals | 2.01 | 1.91 | 2.08 | |||
| Surface Water | n/a | n/a | n/a | |||
| Ground Water | 0.24 | 0.29 | 0.30 | |||
| Municipal Water | 1.77 | 1.62 | 1.78 | |||
| Withdrawals per MT of Production from areas with Water Stress¹ (M³/MT) | ||||||
| Total Withdrawals | 2.55 | 2.51 | 1.89 | |||
| Surface Water | n/a | n/a | n/a | |||
| Ground Water | 0.52 | 0.45 | 0.40 | |||
| Municipal Water | 2.03 | 1.93 | 1.49 | |||
| Absolute Water Consumption² | Amount and Percentage of Total Water Consumption | |||||
| M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | |
| Total Consumption | 1,889,963 | 100% | 2,350,359 | 100% | 1,139,645 | 100% |
| Consumption in areas with Water Stress¹ | 358,650 | 19% | 408,677 | 17% | 305,146 | 27% |
| Absolute Water Discharge² | Amount and Percentage of Total Discharge | |||||
| M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | |
| Total Discharge | 5,232,315 | 100% | 6,027,934 | 100% | 6,305,128 | 100% |
| Surface Water | 774,226 | 15% | 842,348 | 14% | 2,470 | 0% |
| Ground Water | 514,375 | 10% | 569,846 | 9% | 89,459 | 1% |
| Third Party (Sewer/Treatment) | 3,943,715 | 75% | 4,615,740 | 77% | 6,213,199 | 99% |
| Discharge in areas with Water Stress¹ and Percentage of Total Discharge | ||||||
| M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | M3 | Percentage | |
| Total Discharge | 889,035 | 17% | 1,166,412 | 19% | 1,505,023 | 24% |
| Surface Water | 0 | 0% | 4,019 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Ground Water | 0 | 0% | 370,331 | 6% | 886 | 0% |
| Third Party (Sewer/Treatment) | 889,035 | 17% | 792,062 | 13% | 1,504,137 | 24% |
| Water Risk | Number and Percentage of Facilities | |||||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Facilities identified as High-Risk³ | 46 | 16% | 47 | 18% | 66 | 28% |
| Facilities identified as Highest-Risk⁴ | 17 | 6% | 15 | 6% | 22 | 9% |
| Facilities identified in areas with Water Stress¹ | 42 | 15% | 42 | 16% | 62 | 26% |
| Facilities identified in areas with Water Stress¹ by 2030⁵ | 82 | 29% | 85 | 32% | 81 | 35% |
| Facilities identified in areas with Water Stress¹ by 2040⁵ | 84 | 30% | 86 | 32% | No Data | n/a |
| Facilities identified in areas with Water Stress¹ by 2050⁵ | No Data | n/a | No Data | n/a | 94 | 40% |
| Facilities identified in areas with Water Stress¹ by 2080⁵ |
No Data | n/a | No Data | n/a | 101 | 43% |
2. 2022 and 2023 Data includes facilities that were purchased as part of the acquisition of RPC Group in 2019. These facilities did not report water consumption and discharge metrics for previous years.
3. A high-risk facility is one that is located in an area considered high, or extremely high risk in any water risk category using the WRI Aqueduct tool.
4. Highest-risk facilities are facilities that have been identified as High Risk (see above) and their absolute water withdrawals or water withdrawal intensity are above the Berry Global average.
5. Areas defined as having a high risk or greater of baseline water stress by 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2080 using the WRI Aqueduct tool.
Key Strategies
Analyzing Water Risk
To identify, analyze, and manage those risks, we conduct an annual water risk identification and mitigation process alongside our annual enterprise-level risk assessment. We use the World Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct Tool to identify where basin conditions can cause water risk at our facilities. The tool utilizes opensource, peer-reviewed data to map associated water risks for all locations across the globe, such as risks related to baseline water stress, water quantity (water scarcity, drought, flooding), water quality (water pollution metrics), water regulations (erratic water governance), and water reputation (customer perception of water-related issues). We can also use the tool to identify potential locations that may experience baseline water stress in 2030 and 2040 under alternative scenarios.
When a facility is situated in a location identified by WRI as high or extremely high risk in any of the major risk categories, we classify this facility as high-risk. Facility managers and divisional leaders for high-risk facilities are informed of their high-risk status and required to develop individual action plans at the site level to mitigate their water risk. These plans are focused on implementing best-practice improvements for on-site water efficiency and working with the local communities on water-related issues.
In addition, high-risk facilities are cross-referenced with annual water intensity metrics. Facilities with above-average water intensity levels are classified as the highest risk. These facilities must undertake specialized action plans in conjunction with the corporate water risk team to investigate, in detail, the current water requirements of the facility and identify efforts to reduce water intensity. Additional water withdrawal and consumption reduction targets may be put in place for these facilities to further prioritize efficiency improvements and mitigate water risk. In 2023, 28% of our facilities were identified as high risk, with 9% (22 facilities) considered highest risk. Additionally, 26% of facilities were identified as being in an area with baseline water stress, which is projected to rise to 35% by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario.
We report annually on our water governance and risk identification processes to customers upon request through the CDP platform. Our latest disclosure can be found here.
Managing and Measuring Water Metrics
To fully assess the Impact of our water usage, we track the total water withdrawn, consumed, and discharged across the business. Water withdrawals reflect our total water usage, but only a small portion of this water is consumed through processes, mostly through evaporation. The majority of the water is withdrawn as processed water and discharged in the same condition from which it was withdrawn. However, several facilities draw from groundwater and surface water stores to supplement their water requirements.
Water Withdrawals
Water Consumption and Discharge
Compared to the amount of water we withdraw, we consume only a small amount, with most consumption resulting from evaporative losses. While our focus is on reducing overall withdrawal requirements, we continue to explore projects to create closed-loop processes where possible to reduce water consumption.
In 2022, we compiled data for water consumption at all facilities for the first time, with facilities acquired as part of the RPC acquisition not previously tracking consumption and discharge metrics. In 2023, consumption as a rate of total withdrawals fell from 31% to 15%, with improvements occurring as a result of projects implemented to minimize evaporative losses and execute closed-loop systems. 27% of water consumption occurs in areas with water stress.
Water is usually discharged from our operations through municipal systems, such as third-party sewage treatment, with a small portion discharged as surface water back into the environment. Before discharge, we monitor and treat wastewater to ensure the appropriate quality for release, in line with all regional or local regulations, with individual parameters set for each facility. As such, we do not report wastewater discharge quality annually at a group-wide level. Data relating to wastewater discharge breaches can be found in the Environmental Compliance section.
In 2023, just over 6.3 million m³ of water was discharged from across our operations, making up 85% of our total water withdrawals. 24% of our wastewater discharge occurred in areas of high, or very high, water stress as defined by WRI aqueduct.
Water Efficiency Projects
Many of our facilities operate similar manufacturing processes, making it possible to leverage best practices between sites. For example, installing equipment such as adiabatic coolers allow us to create cooling loops that recirculate water withdrawals around the facility before being withdrawn as wastewater. Water efficiency improvements are also implemented by engaging individually with each manufacturing facility, giving ownership to employees to understand water risks and discover innovative ways to reduce consumption
Disclosures
Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
We strive to conserve natural resources, which includes the water we withdraw, consume, & discharge, as part of our manufacturing process. Efficiently managing our water contributes to the provision & availability of clean water & sanitation, helping to ensure greater access to safe & affordable drinking water.
By optimizing water use and adopting innovative water management practices, we increase our industrial efficiency and reduce resource consumption, thus promoting further sustainable infrastructure development and industrialization.
Like all other resources, the responsible management of our water is vital for achieving sustainable production patterns. By focusing on efficient water use, we reduce the environmental footprint of our manufacturing operations and promote resource efficiency.
The prevention of water pollution safeguards marine ecosystems and helps reduce the negative impacts on oceans and marine life. By effectively managing the volume of water withdrawals across our business, we help ensure sufficient clean water is available to support aquatic ecology.
GRI and SASB Alignment
GRI 303(3-3) Water and EffluentsGRI 303-1 Interactions With Water as a Shared Resource
GRI 303-2 Management of Water Discharge-Related Impacts
GRI 303-3 Water Withdrawal
GRI 303-4 Water Discharge
GRI 303-5 Water Consumption
SASB RT-CP-140a.1 (1) Total Water Withdrawn (2) Total Water Consumed, Percentage of Each in Regions with High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress
SASB RT-CP-140a.2 Description of Water Management Risks and Discussion of Strategies and Practices to Mitigate Those Risks
Last Updated: April 9th 2024