Water management

• Responsible management of water withdrawal, use and discharge, in accordance with Metlen’ s Environmental Policy.
• METLENS’ voluntary participation in the Global Sustainable Development initiative CDP – Water Security, through which it expresses its commitment to responsibly manage the potential risks associated with water resources management from its activity, by receiving an annual assessment, which is available in the “ESG Ratings” section of the Company’s website, which is constantly updated, presenting the most up-to-date results of all sustainability criteria assessments received by the Company.

• Regulatory compliance regarding water management is ensured by strictly following the Environmental Terms Approval Decisions and Water Use Licenses in all industrial plants of the Company.
• The Company communicates regularly with competent authorities and regulatory bodies to identify and assess the future potential of regulatory changes to sustainability issues, including water.
• Internal targets are set annually for water consumption.
• Care is assigned for the monitoring of targets and the responsible management of water resources from the activity of all industrial units to those responsible for the environment, in each Branch of the Company.
• Environmental Management System certified according to ISO 14001 is implemented, through which possible incidents are managed and dealt with, by drawing up plans to minimize leakage risks, by implementing predictive, preventive, and corrective measures that ensure the good condition of water.
• Every Business Sector of the company monitors the objectives and the responsible management of water resources through the environmental managers of all industrial units.
• Continuous improvement and enrichment of the Company’s practices in this field is pursued, through voluntary participation in the global Sustainable Development initiative CDP – Water Security.

Impacts

• Potential impact on marine organisms from the discharge of seawater used to cool the Company's thermal power plant towers, at a temperature higher than the withdrawal temperature.
• Access for employees and citizens of local communities to safe and potable water and sanitation facilities to meet their needs.
• Change in the ratio of potable to saline water in the aquifer (groundwater) utilized by the Company for both its production activities and to meet the needs of local community settlements, due to salinization.

Major risks

Possible future changes in the withdrawal limits and discharge parameters in the Environmental Terms Approval Decisions of the Company’s industrial plants, particularly in the Metallurgy and Energy Sectors. It refers to a potential risk that may result in increased capital and operational maintenance costs associated with the development of alternative water supplies

• -8% reduction of water withdrawal for use
• -12,5% reduction of total water consumption
• -31,1% decrease in the megalitres (ML) of withdrawn water per million Euro of revenue
• retention of the B rating (on a D-/A scale) from the international Sustainable Development organization CDP, in the Water Security category, which ranks it in the top performance of the 2nd category "Management level" of the index