Environment Responsible water usage As a responsible business, we appreciate our natural world and strive to use our natural resources as efficiently as possible in order to minimise our environment impact. Alongside steel and aluminium, water is another important element of our production process. It is also one of our planet’s most precious resources and access to clean water is a basic human right. The world’s water reserves have already been depleted by the impacts of climate change, meaning it is more important than ever that we handle this resource with utmost care – and businesses are no exception. At Blum, we consider it our responsibility to keep our water consumption to a minimum. We reuse water wherever possible using closed-loop cycles and only release non-hazardous wastewater back into the sewerage system. All our production sites in Austria are located in regions with high water availability. Nonetheless, we are committed to using our water resources carefully. Our sites primarily use water for basic infrastructure, such as sanitary facilities and drinking water, and for industrial processes, including as a coolant. We maintain documented records for all these water systems and take regular samples for monitoring purposes in line with our ISO 14001 and ISO 50001-certified environmental and energy management systems. Water usage in Austria is highly regulated and subject to strict standards. At all our sites where our industrial processes alter the quality of the water used – e.g. surface treatment plants (epoxy coating) and component cleaning systems – we therefore operate internal wastewater treatment plants, which clean up and remove any toxins from the wastewater before it is released into the municipal sewerage system and/or sewage treatment plants. In doing so, we ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of the Austrian Indirect Discharge Ordinance (IEV) and General Wastewater Emission Ordinance (AAEV), including the threshold values that must be met before industrial wastewater can be discharged. To verify that our wastewater discharge falls within these thresholds, we conduct internal and external analyses at the required intervals to test for parameters such as pH value, COD value, phosphorus and zinc. We also have company-wide alert systems in place so that we can take immediate, clear and systematic action in the event of an environmental incident involving wastewater and the release of hazardous substances. ➔ GRI 303-1, GRI 303-2, GRI 303-4 Total water consumption and wastewater At Blum, the vast majority of our water consumption results from our basic infrastructure. In contrast, the manufacturing and production of our furniture fittings accounts for only a very small proportion. Our total water consumption for the reporting period was 149,768 m³, which is 6.89% (11,081 m³) lower than the previous year. 47.6% (71,268 m³) of this water was processed by our wastewater treatment plants and released back into the municipal sewerage system as non-hazardous wastewater. The remaining 52.41% (78,500 m³) was coolant water that evaporated into the atmosphere during the cooling process. ➔ GRI 303-3, GRI 303-5 Wherever possible, we allow rainwater to drain away immediately. Where this is not possible, e.g. in the case of extreme weather events, we store the water and then release it into the drainage system at a later date in order to help prevent flooding at our sites. 53
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