Hand touching water surface

Resources

Water

Conservation of Water Resources

For us water is one of our most manifold resources. It plays an essential role in the natural cycle of wood growth and is used as a production resource and coolant in our fiber production. On the basis of our innovative solutions, we strive to optimize the water use in the entire value chain.

Natural water cycle

Sustainably managed forests – the source of raw materials for our fibers – have a positive influence on the water supply of their regions. As they are part of the natural water cycle, they do not need any artificial irrigation to grow. On the contrary, sustainably managed forests play an important role in stabilizing the water supply and providing protection against flooding as well as water shortages in case of little precipitation. We make sure that our suppliers of dissolving wood pulp implement efficient water management schemes for their natural resource wood.

Our contribution to the conservation of water resources

Lenzing attaches great importance to the conservation of our planet’s water resources. For this reason, we try to reuse as much water as possible in our production, while reducing our water consumption by developing new technologies and innovative products.

We use water as process- and cooling water for our pulp and fiber production. It is our goal to close the water loops at all our sites as much as possible to reuse as much water as possible. In the period between 2014 and 2023, the Lenzing Group reduced its overall specific water use by more than twenty percent.

While the used process water is purified in our efficient wastewater treatment plants, our cooling water is not chemically changed and released back into the environment in accordance with environmental regulations. The plant in Paskov (Czech Republic) for dissolving wood pulp has already been equipped with a closed-loop cooling water system and therefore requires only little extra water to compensate for losses.

Lyocell technology only requires about one third of the process water needed in the viscose technology (this comparison is based on the technologies used in the Lenzing Group). For this reason, the continuous expansion of our lyocell production also results in a reduction of the Lenzing Group’s specific water consumption.

In the textile industry, water is an integral element of various stages of the value chain, such as in dyeing. Our dope-dyed fibers enable us to contribute to the reduction of water consumption, as these fibers products do not require the water-consuming processing stage of dyeing.  

In many regions of the world, naturally growing cellulose fibers, such as cotton, typically need huge amounts of water for irrigation as well as chemicals. Using Lenzing fibers instead of cotton or adding them to cotton products is an efficient contribution for reducing water impacts along the textile value chain.

Resources at a glance

Explore further resources