To counteract the increase in water consumption inherent in the expansion of our business, we have implemented good practices in our own operations to reduce the impact of our activity on the use of water resources, just as with energy consumption. These measures allow us to mitigate the risk of water scarcity in the places where we have operations, especially those with the highest water stress. To this end, we have incorporated several measures into our plan for refurbishing and opening new stores and other infrastructures, such as central kitchens, distribution centres and production units, including:
- installation of flow regulators;
- use of taps with timers;
- harvesting rainwater for use in irrigation or washing equipment;
- treating wastewater to prevent deterioration in water quality;
- investment on smart irrigation technologies that use weather and soil moisture data to determine irrigation needs on farms;
- using nighttime or drip irrigation systems to minimise evaporation losses;
- incorporating wet feed, ungraded products and by-products from the food industry into animal feed as they contain high moisture content, thereby reducing the need for water.
These technologies are complemented by awareness-raising activities targeting our employees, such as the “Water and Energy Consumption Management Teams” at Pingo Doce and Recheio, “Everyone for the Environment” at Pingo Doce, “Dobra energia” (Good energy) at Biedronka, and “Let’s Go Green” in office buildings in Portugal, Poland and Colombia. These projects are described in more detail in “Support for biodiversity protection and ecosystem regeneration projects”.
We also implement measures to optimise water consumption and improve water quality in our supply chains. The sustainable agriculture project, which we promote among our fruit and vegetable suppliers, and environmental audits, which assess both water consumption and how our suppliers and service providers reduce water pollution impacts, are two examples. More information about these initiatives is provided in “Supplier awareness and training”. Our actions associated with water and marine resources, particularly fish, are described in “Sustainable Fishing Strategy”.