In recent years, industrialization, urbanization and increasing population growth have put pressure on the availability and quality of freshwater supplies.

We recognize that the availability of sufficient quantities of clean water is critical to sustaining both human health and the environment and that there are regional differences in water quality, availability, vulnerability and demand that must be considered. Therefore, Merck is taking certain actions to preserve and manage water as a critical natural resource for the health of people, the planet and our business.

We have adopted a public policy statement for water that commits Merck to attaining sustainable water use throughout our business and supply chain and to working with partners around the world to reduce the impact of waterborne illness. In addition, our chief executive officer (CEO) recently endorsed the CEO Water Mandate and committed Merck to adopting and implementing a comprehensive approach to water management. Merck has also established a goal to reduce demand for water by 15 percent between 2009 and 2015 and by 25 percent between 2009 and 2020.

Our strategy for improving our water use efficiency includes reducing our overall demand for water, controlling our water discharges and understanding the water-related challenges in the regions where we operate. An element of Merck's environmental management system addresses water and integrates our corporate goals and values on water resources into specific performance expectations for all operating facilities.

Because of the strong interdependency between our water and energy use, Merck's global energy team is also responsible for implementing water use reductions, so our efforts to reduce demand for water parallels our energy reduction program. The energy team is continuously evaluating how the company uses water, specifically in utilities, and has developed and is continuously implementing water conservation best practices.

During 2010, Merck used 9 billion gallons of water versus 8.1 in 2009. The change in demand for water is related to the addition of a new operating facility that uses 1.9 billion gallons of surface water. Facilities that were operating in 2009 and continue to operate in 2010 achieved an 11 percent decrease in water demand during 2010. Approximately 69 percent of the total water we use is supplied from surfacewater and groundwater.

Much of the water use at Merck is for utility systems in our manufacturing plants that produce active pharmaceutical ingredients, which require large volumes of cooling water. In 2010, approximately 53 percent of the water we used globally was for once-through non-contact cooling, where water is pumped into the plant, circulated through heat exchange piping to cool processes and then discharged.

Many Merck facilities employ water reuse and recovery strategies. During 2010, 277 million gallons of water were recycled or reused by Merck facilities.

Related Topics:

• For details on the treatment of our wastewater, see the Emissions, Effluents and Waste section.
• For details on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PIE), see the Product Stewardship section.