2026-03-23 World Water Day reinforces the role of industry in responsible water resource management

São Paulo, Brazil, March 23, 2026. Celebrated on March 22, World Water Day was established by the United Nations in 1993 to draw society’s attention to the importance of water and to the challenges related to its management worldwide.

The date also reinforces the need to accelerate actions linked to the United Nations Development Programme and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 6, which addresses access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

According to the UN, around a quarter of the world’s population still lacks safe access to drinking water, while nearly half the population lives without adequate sanitation infrastructure. In this scenario, responsible water management has become a central issue not only for governments and communities, but also for industrial sectors that depend directly on this resource in their production processes.

In the pulp and paper sector, water plays an indispensable role in different stages of production. That is why initiatives focused on water efficiency and reducing environmental impacts have been gaining increasing relevance.

Water management within operations

At Voith’s operations in Brazil, water management is part of a broader strategy for sustainability and continuous improvement of industrial processes.

Initiatives adopted include industrial effluent treatment, rigorous monitoring of water quality, and control of the processes that involve its use. The company has its own effluent treatment plant and maintains ongoing monitoring of environmental indicators to ensure that operations meet established standards.

According to Beatriz Silva, sustainability engineer at Voith, water management must be viewed as an integral part of other industrial sustainability practices.

“Water is a fundamental resource for industrial processes and for society itself. That is why responsible management involves everything from proper effluent treatment to the constant search for solutions that make it possible to reduce consumption and increase efficiency in the use of this resource,” she says.

In addition to initiatives directly related to water, the company also develops projects linked to the circular economy and energy management, which help optimize resources and add value to waste throughout operations.

Solutions for the paper industry

In addition to internal practices, the company also works with customers in the pulp and paper industry to develop solutions aimed at reducing water consumption in production processes.

One of the approaches used is water audits, which analyze mills’ water circuits in detail. During this process, specialists assess operating conditions, performance indicators, and opportunities for improvement, identifying points of loss or inefficiency.

Based on this assessment, engineering concepts and technologies are applied to optimize water use in paper production. Among the initiatives is the AquaLine concept, which seeks to progressively reduce fresh water consumption by optimizing and closing water circuits.

With the implementation of these solutions, it is already possible to achieve average reductions of up to 60% in fresh water consumption in the production process, with the potential to reach around 1.5 liters of water per kilogram of paper produced in certain applications.

For the coming years, the company projects even more significant advances. By 2030, the goal is to expand the use of technologies, digitalization, and recirculation of treated water to reduce fresh water consumption by up to 90% across different types of paper production.

An ongoing commitment

While World Water Day is a time for global reflection, responsible management of this resource requires continuous action throughout the year. Progress toward a more sustainable industry depends on the combination of technical expertise, technological innovation, and cooperation among companies, society, and governments.

In this context, initiatives focused on water efficiency and the circular economy are becoming increasingly important to ensure that water remains available for future generations.