Intel achieves “full water efficiency” in three countries

Intel achieves sustainable development results, achieving full water utilization in three countries

Intel has now achieved “full effective use of water resources” in the United States, Costa Rica and India, meaning that the amount of fresh water restored and returned by Intel in these three countries exceeds the amount consumed.

Although it sounds incredible, in fact, Intel has long made a commitment to conserving water resources and minimizing the impact on the earth. This commitment is not limited to Intel, and its purpose is not just to save water costs.

“More than a decade ago, we began exploring how to better understand our water use and reduce our water footprint,” explained Todd Brady, Intel’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of global public affairs. “Five years ago, we announced our goal to restore 100% of the water we consume, becoming the first technology company to set a corporate-level water restoration goal. Two years ago, we announced our commitment to achieve 100% water resiliency by 2030, driven by our commitment to reduce our overall impact on local watersheds and safeguard water for local communities.

“It’s exciting that through strong partnerships with environmental nonprofits, local governments, and increased investments in water management, Intel has already achieved 100% water efficiency in three countries. But we won’t stop here. Next, we will continue to advance related work in other countries and regions.”

Last year, Intel consumed 16 billion gallons of fresh, recycled and desalinated water , and returned more than 13 billion gallons of water to surrounding communities through internal water management. Combined with other water restoration projects, Intel is on track to achieve its global goal of returning and restoring more water to communities and the environment than it uses. Intel's new factories will also be built under the guidance of its 2030 goal of fully utilizing water resources.

Factory operations require the coordination of multiple resources, and water is undoubtedly one of the most important resources. The production process (including the production tools that leading technology relies on), data centers, and evaporative cooling towers all require water resources.

Intel currently uses fresh water , recycled water purchased from utilities, and other sources. Intel uses desalinated seawater in Israel. Some factories use well water, rainwater, and other supplementary sources in addition to municipal water. Intel's Corporate Social Responsibility Report includes a list of water sources and uses for each factory.

To achieve a balance between water use and output, efforts must be made to conserve and reuse water. Some of the water Intel purchases is lost to irrigation and evaporation, but Intel has conducted many water conservation efforts internally to ensure that the company is as water-conscious as possible.

Do your best to save water

Last year, Intel saved 9.3 billion gallons of water through internal water conservation efforts, an increase of 114% over the past two years . Improved production processes have made them more efficient, allowing Intel to accomplish more with fewer resources. On-site wastewater treatment facilities have also achieved maximum reuse of water resources, reducing the consumption of fresh water resources.

Intel achieved significant improvements in the operation of its on-site wastewater treatment facilities in 2021. Through these innovative facilities, Intel has achieved water treatment and reuse during the operation of its facilities (such as cooling towers and scrubbers), greatly increasing water conservation and reducing fresh water consumption.

More Action: Beer, Wildlife and Rivers

Faced with water loss caused by non-human factors such as evaporation, how can Intel achieve effective utilization of all water resources in global operations?

Intel balances water consumption and production through various water restoration projects to ensure that it not only "offsets" consumption but also brings more positive impacts to the earth. Intel pays attention to the restoration of water bodies affected by factory operations. For example, in 2021, Intel's water project in Arizona restored 890 million gallons of water to the water bodies in the region. Intel has a variety of water projects, some of which are traditional water conservation projects, while others focus on helping local economic transformation and achieving longer-term positive impacts.

Arizona's Verde River is home to migratory birds, nesting bald eagles, river otters, fish, and the city of Phoenix, which is vital to the region's agricultural economy. During the hot summer months, people pump water from the Verde River to irrigate crops and keep them healthy.

The Intel-funded water project encouraged local farmers to stop growing crops that require heavy irrigation in the summer and switch to growing barley that is harvested early in the year and requires less water. The project also reduced the transaction costs of brewing barley by investing in local malt plants, so that the harvested barley can be sold directly to local breweries, and breweries do not need to look for suppliers across state lines as before.

Bangalore, India, was once known as the "City of Lakes," but high-intensity urban development has led to an extreme shortage of water resources and depletion of groundwater. To this end, Intel has invested in two water resource restoration projects, which will restore more than 100 million gallons of water each year to the area between the two major lakes of Diavasundara Lake and Nanjapura Lake.

Fawn Bergen, Intel Corporate Sustainability Manager, stressed that while the impact of Intel’s water conservation efforts cannot be quantified, it has a positive ripple effect.

“Intel is one of the first technology companies to publicly commit to water restoration, but we are not alone,” said Fawn Bergen. “Since announcing this goal, we have been in dialogue with other companies to help and advise them on setting water stewardship goals. Water issues are different in every region, but the collaboration, collective action and investment required to address them requires a global effort.”

Integrating smart water use into new projects

Since 2021, Intel has announced ambitious plans to build new factories and expand production capacity in Arizona, Ohio, and Europe. The company will develop plans based on its experience in water resource management over the past 20 years to minimize the impact of new factories on the surrounding environment and achieve the goal of fully utilizing water resources.

“Growing up in the rainy Pacific Northwest, people in my hometown always thought it was impossible to have a lack of water,” said Fawn Bergen. “But water stress is a function of supply and demand, and it’s happening in different ways around the world, in dry climates and in wet climates. That’s why it’s so important to manage your water footprint and find solutions based on the local watershed.”

For Intel, while new factories will increase its water footprint, the goal of achieving 100% efficient use of water in global operations by 2030 will not change. This means saving an additional 60 billion gallons of water and restoring more than 100% of its global freshwater consumption. How close is Intel to achieving this goal?

As of 2021, Intel has completed 99% of this.