CLIENT MAN TRUCK & BUS
Water consumption and pollution – lighting the biggest lever in the area of water at the MAN Responsible Production Conference
CHALLENGE
Understand the importance of water as an essential resource
Water is becoming increasingly important issue for all companies. The background to this prioritization is the scarcity and decline in quality of this valuable resource. Various water-related challenges are increasing worldwide: water scarcity, flooding and poor water quality, which in turn manifest themselves in reduced ecosystem services and conflicts over water, and are further exacerbated by man-made climate change.
Water is also an essential resource in the automotive industry – not only in direct production, but also in upstream value and supply chains. High water consumption and a high level of pollution are particularly evident in value creation steps related to the extraction of raw materials.
It is therefore not surprising that many companies in the automotive industry have to report on the following water-related topics as part of the CSRD:
- Policies related to water and marine resources (ESRS E3-1)
- Actions and resources related to water and marine resources policies (ESRS E3-2)
- Targets related to water and marine resources (ESRS E3-3)
- Water consumption (ESRS E3-4)
- Anticipated financial effects from water and marine resources-related risks and opportunities (ESRS E3-5)
SOLUTION
Consumption and pollution – highlight the biggest levers in the water sector
As part of MAN's three-day Responsible Production Conference at the Polish production site in Niepołomice, a two-hour keynote on the topic of water was held for 30 experts from the areas of health, safety, environment and energy from the international production network.
In the first part of the keynote, the social and economic relevance of water in the automobile and commercial vehicle sector was examined, followed by a discussion of the status quo of these topics at MAN.
The final part was an interactive exercise in which the participants discussed the following questions:
1. In which areas – based on personal experiences – MAN sees potential for improvement in relation to water.
2. How water risks are already being reduced at locations and what locations can learn from each other.
3. What synergy effects between the production sites in the area of water protection would be welcome and how participants can contribute.
IMPACT
Giving water a strategic stage at C-level
Managing partner, qualified marine biologist and aquatic ecologist Dr. Alexis Katechakis moderated the two-hour keynote and acted as a sparring partner for the discussed results throughout the entire three-day conference.
While the key issues for MAN's production sites so far include: Land use changes, climate change and pollution of soil, water and air were previously addressed by MAN as part of legal compliance. These topics should now receive greater strategic attention. This was also shown by the participation of board members Alexander Vlaskamp and Michael Kobriger in the conference.
Greater strategic attention is particularly important in view of possible risks to production – such as bottlenecks in the availability of ecosystem services.
“Water is a resource that is essential for the survival of us and all life and that we cannot replace. However, we don't always handle it carefully. The ocean also provides us with irreplaceable services – not only as a source of food and a food source but also as the most important climate regulator and in the economy as an important source of raw materials or transport route. The fact that MAN has taken the time at the highest level to deal with the issues so intensively is a good sign.”
(Managing partner and qualified biologist Dr. Alexis Katechakis)
Your point of contact
Dr. Alexis Katechakis
Managing Partner
Phone: +49 151 19184526
Email: alexis.katechakis@fors.earth