Water Efficiency Improvement

According to the "World Resources Institute", 17 countries are facing the water resources crisis. While Taiwan is not a region facing water stress, its geographical conditions make retaining rainfall difficult. Furthermore, the booming industrial development has significantly increased water consumption. The sharing of water resources could pose a serious issue (the impact of supply-demand imbalance). Thus, it is essential to conserve water and improve water efficiency.

The primary water consumption in Formosa Laboratories' plants is for process water, with the remaining portion for service water, mainly sourced from tap water. Information on the company's water usage is gathered through a water usage survey, with flow meters installed to monitor and record water withdrawals. Regular maintenance of monitoring equipment is conducted to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of the information. The total water withdrawal per year during the period from 2020 to 2022 ranged from 431 to 465 million liters. Although water consumption was higher in 2021, conservation and recycling efforts led to a decrease in water consumption to 442 million liters in 2022.

Formosa Laboratories' Water Consumption Statistics for the Past 3 Years

We promote water conservation measures, such as controlling the amount of water used in public restroom sinks, replacing old equipment with the faucets and toilets with Water Efficiency Label. In addition, since 2015, we have implemented a water recycling system and established mechanisms for using recycled water in cooling towers, scrubbing towers, vacuum systems, etc. The amount of recycled water has increased annually from 82.543 million liters in 2020 to 115.014 million liters in 2022. The rate has increased from 19.15% to 26.01%, indicating a significant improvement in water efficiency as it has increased by 6.86% over the past three years. In the future, we will review and improve water conservation measures to enhance water efficiency annually. We will assess and introduce various water recycling systems and methods to enhance efficiency.

Formosa Laboratories is a biopharmaceutical company that operates a wastewater treatment unit. It monitors effluent quality and quantity in accordance with the "Effluent Standards" set by the Ministry of Environment (Table 4: Chemical Industry). If there is any abnormality in water quality, it is returned to the wastewater treatment unit for re-treatment and discharge; if there is any abnormality in water quantity, an investigation is conducted to identify the problem. The treated effluents are all freshwater and are discharged into the sea or lake ditch (surface water). The total discharge in 2022 is 331.540 million liters.

To improve operational processing capabilities and ensure the correct and effective use of information, regular reviews of the performance of the wastewater treatment plant and maintenance of monitoring equipment are conducted. In the following years, we will implement filter material replacements and aeration system updates, while continuously promoting education and training to enhance the operational, maintenance, and response capabilities of our employees. From 2020 to 2022, the effluent quantity decreased annually, primarily because of the increased recycled water. We outsource water quality testing for effluents biannually and consistently meet all legal requirements, and the test results in 2022 were all in compliance with regulations.