Water as a shared resource
Water is drawn from the main business location via drinking water supply lines from Stadtwerke Neumarkt (SWN – Neumarkt Public Works). No water is taken from other sources. A total of 80% of the water consumed is used for the production of pharmaceuticals, with the rest divided between the administration buildings and the cafeteria.
Bionorica SE treats process water (water required in industrial plants or for production) by means of its in-house neutralisation plant before discharging it into the municipal waste water system. This involves the continuous monitoring and control of the quality of the waste water in accordance with legal requirements for indirect discharge, which includes the temperature, quantity and pH value. In general, it should be noted that the production of herbal medicinal products at the main business location in Neumarkt neither pollutes water bodies nor causes extremely high water consumption or negative environmental impacts. Environmental protection and the careful use of resources are a top priority for Bionorica, because an intact natural environment is the basis for the cultivation of medicinal plants.
Dealing with the effects of water recycling
The waste water generated in the manufacturing of our products, which takes place exclusively at the Neumarkt site, is permanently monitored for pH value and temperature and treated in our in-house neutralisation plant in accordance with strict legal requirements. The minimum standards for this are the specifications from the drainage statute of the city of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. The waste water is not discharged into a body of water; after treatment on the company premises, the waste water enters the public sewer system.
Water withdrawal
At the main business location in Neumarkt, water is exclusively withdrawn via “water from third parties”, i.e. from Stadtwerke Neumarkt (SWN). In the 2021 reporting year, this amounted to 57,452 megalitres of water. A breakdown of the total volume by source type, such as surface water or groundwater, is not necessary, as we only obtain water from third parties (SWN) and do not have a well or similar facility at the Neumarkt site. The data compilation results from the billing of our annual consumption with SWN and, on the company side, from the documentation prepared by our Environmental Protection staff unit at our main business location in Neumarkt.
Water recycling
In the 2021 reporting year, a total of 40,250 megalitres of waste water were recycled at the main business location in Neumarkt. A total of 40,250 megalitres of waste water from production was treated in the company’s own waste water treatment plant and then discharged into the public sewer system. Since this is water from third parties (SWN), this can be considered to be a cycle. According to the definition of GRI reporting, “other water” is discharged in this case, as we do not use “fresh water” due to the lack of a well on the Neumarkt company premises.
Bionorica SE does not cause any water stress, as we recycle almost all the water we obtain from third parties – in this case SWN. This applies not only to the water needed for the production of our preparations, but also to the water for the office buildings at the Neumarkt site, for example. In our waste water treatment plant, the pH value of the waste water is regulated in accordance with the municipal drainage statute before it is discharged into the municipal sewage system.
Water consumption
Water consumption in the 2021 reporting year totalled 57,452 megalitres. The water was purchased entirely from Stadtwerke Neumarkt (SWN), which obtains most of its water locally from groundwater. Further information can be found on the SWN website, see: https://www.swneumarkt.de/netze/wasser/netzgebiet
At the Neumarkt site, Bionorica SE uses its own plant to produce standard-compliant “purified water” required for pharmaceutical production from this SWN drinking water. The corresponding values are recorded in SAP. In the 2021 reporting year, a total of 17,221 megalitres of purified water were produced, of which 3,780 cubic metres were used for products and 13,441 cubic metres for cleaning, e.g. the plants.
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© Bionorica SE - Stefan Hanke