By: Ahmed Ibrahim, Director, Global Business Development – Service Providers
Severe weather events, droughts and flooding. Climate change is already impacting our world in profound ways that will affect our lives forever. As such, tackling the multiple causes, and results, of climate change has become a major priority for Intel, governments and businesses alike. For example, without action, climate change will continue to cause severe weather disruptions and eventually trigger an irreversible shift in our long-term water security — increasing water demand while simultaneously shrinking water supplies.
Currently, 69% of companies report exposure to water-related risks that could impact their business — a result of current operational processes and water supply chain disruptions. As our population grows, so too does the manufacturing demand to meet the needs of a growing population; as a result, overall manufacturing-related water use increases too. Food and beverage manufacturers use water as an ingredient in products, but also to irrigate, rinse and clean crops, and to feed livestock. In the semiconductor industry, ultrapure water is required for manufacturing. Data centers require water for cooling. The list goes on. If left unchecked, water resources will become even more constrained.
Finding ways to reduce our impact on our water resources has been a goal at Intel for decades. One of the key elements of our water management strategy is to reach net positive water by 2030. Put simply, it means to reduce incoming freshwater usage and return and restore more freshwater than we bring in by investing in water conservation and efficient management practices, and working with environmental nonprofits and our local communities Intel’s quest for net-positive water is particularly crucial within an industry that requires significant amounts of water in its manufacturing process. In fact, Intel was the first technology company to set a companywide water restoration goal. Water stewardship is one of the primary pillars of Intel’s sustainability strategy. We’re continually improving our operations to increase water efficiency that will help protect local water resources.
Investing in local water resources provides a wide range of benefits such as improving conditions for wildlife and supporting the natural resilience of the watershed, but we also recognize that (like any area of sustainable practices) no single company can do this on its own. As an industry, it’s vital that our efforts are underpinned by collaboration and that we share learnings at every opportunity. With that in mind, these are the three key objectives that guide our water stewardship strategy:
- Conserve the amount of water used in our operations.
- Collaborate on water restoration projects with local communities.
- Adopt technology solutions to help reinvent the way we use and conserve water.
- Conserve
Although we have invested in water conservation for decades, several years ago we took a step back to assess how we could be clear leaders in minimizing our total water footprint. As a result, in 2017 we became the first technology company to set a public goal to restore 100% of our freshwater consumption. In 2020, we increased our commitment by announcing our goal to achieve net-positive water by 2030, driven by our commitment to reduce our overall impact on local watersheds and support water resources that serve our communities.
Conservation firstly means reducing usage, especially freshwater resources. We need to use water efficiently, either by implementing water-saving measures or systems (such as water-efficient equipment), or actively limiting its usage. Setting achievable, yet ambitious, reduction goals is a crucial step in efficient water use across all business areas — from manufacturing plants to office spaces.
Next up, we aim to reuse as much water as possible. Recycling (reuse without treatment) or reclaiming (reuse with treatment) reduces the overall amount of freshwater to be drawn from the environment and is an essential building block on the path to net positive. Countries like Israel and Singapore are role models for investing in water infrastructure and widespread adoption of water reuse — up to 90% of their regional water is reused by both countries, avoiding a significant amount of freshwater usage.
Already at Intel we are making significant progress towards net-positive water. Last July we announced that we restore and return more freshwater than we take in across the United States, Costa Rica and India. Just last year we used 16 billion gallons of freshwater, reclaimed water and desalinated water. Internal water management practices resulted in more than 13 billion gallons of water flowing out of Intel, back to surrounding communities.
- Collaborate
Since outlining our 2030 goal, our efforts underpinned by strong collaboration with environmental nonprofits and local governments have helped Intel achieve net-positive water in three countries in 2021: the United States, India and Costa Rica.
The projects are implemented by nonprofit such as Colorado Water Trust or CLEAN International, and include crop conversion, invasive species removal, irrigation improvements, stream and lake restoration and much more.
In Arizona, 17 Intel-funded projects restored 890 million gallons to the watershed in 2021. One of these projects incentivized farmers near the Verde River to switch out crops that require heavy irrigation in the summer months for an early spring barley, which uses less water overall and uses water earlier in the year, before the hottest months when the river has lower flows.
- Adopt
Finally, we can adopt technology solutions to help reinvent the way they use, manage and conserve water.
Water management provides a great example of how artificial intelligence (AI) technology can enable a more sustainable world — because not only does water supply need to be protected, but it also needs to be safe. Traditionally, water quality is gauged using chemical test strips. However, these are often single use and involve manual collection methods. One of Intel’s engineers uncovered the powerful combination of AI and high-definition cameras to classify bacteria and ensure the safety of water sources, while being far more economical and offering constant, real-time monitoring. Clean water AI uses a deep learning network to detect dangerous bacteria and harmful particles in water and could be scaled to detect and stop water contamination around the world.
The road ahead
The time is now for companies to start building out their water stewardship strategies. Because every individual, and every company, has a part to play — whether that’s by conserving water, collaborating with people or developing new technology (or a combination of all three!) — for our collective future.
