The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), in partnership with GIZ – a German government cooperation agency that offers sustainable solutions in processes of economic, social and political change – has just launched the study. Water Use Efficiency – Opportunities for Companies and Financial InstitutionsThe aim of the study is to highlight opportunities for both companies and banks to actively participate in the transition to a water-efficient economy — it is part of a capacity-building program on natural capital for financial institutions, which began in 2014 at the CEBDS's Thematic Chamber on Sustainable Finance.
“Conducting this mapping was not trivial, but we need concrete answers with real values to make these opportunities tangible. The study shows how banks can stimulate water-saving technologies, what the most evident opportunities are, and how sectors can benefit from the use of these technologies,” summarizes Marina Grossi, president of CEBDS.
According to the president of CEBDS, there was no report on the market with relevant information to help banks and companies make decisions about the use of these technologies, or even a way to systematize the cost of water, but this study should address this deficiency. "Being able to reconcile each technology, give it a financial parameter and an opinion on its effectiveness for investment purposes is fundamental to helping in decision-making," says Marina.
14 technologies for 9 sectors
Fourteen viable technologies were analyzed for nine sectors with high water consumption. The sectors were selected according to their water consumption coefficients and representativeness in the Brazilian GDP. “We sought to identify which sectors these technologies apply to, their history of use, how they effectively work and how they save water, whether they require process changes, what the biggest costs of these changes are, among other aspects,” explains Fernanda Gimenes, coordinator of the Sustainable Finance Thematic Chamber at CEBDS.
Mapped technologiesWater meter for consumption segmentation, drip irrigation, dust disperser, sewage for aquaculture, evaporation by vinasse concentration, water loss detector, chemical-free cooling towers, rainwater harvesting, ozone treatment, artificial wetlands, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, thermal distillation, and reforestation.
Sectors surveyedLivestock farming, Agriculture (Soybeans and Sugarcane), Food Processing, Automotive, Petrochemicals, Steel and Metallurgy, Mining, Beverages, and Pulp and Paper.
According to the study, the potential for annual water savings from the 14 technologies could reach 19% of water consumed by industry and 3% of water consumed by agriculture – these percentages could represent up to R$ 11.6 billion saved per year. In absolute numbers, we are talking about 4.4 billion cubic meters saved per year — 2.3 billion by technologies aimed at industry and 2.1 billion by technologies aimed at agriculture.
The market potential for these technologies is R$ 49 billion, of which 25 billion could be financed by financial institutions. In other words, if these technologies are implemented, they could generate business for suppliers and financial institutions of this magnitude. “Banks want to support and finance a technology that is viable and effective, but to represent an opportunity for banks, it also has to represent a good opportunity for the productive sector; water users will not make investments just because capital is available. That is precisely why the study addresses these two aspects of each technology,” said Gustavo Pimentel of SITAWI.
To access the complete study, companies and financial institutions can visit it. here.
