Aquona calls for efficiency and sustainability in the management of resources and points out the continuous improvements that the urban water cycle sector carries out to minimize its environmental footprint and be a leader in the circular economy.

This July 29, 2021 has been defined as Earth Overshoot Day or Earth Overcapacity Day. It marks the date when humanity has exhausted all the natural resources that the planet is capable of producing in one year. From now until the end of 2021, we are in an ecological deficit, that is, we consume more than the planet can generate.

If the whole of humanity were a family economy, we would say that until the end of the year we are going to live on credit. Only that credit is resources such as raw materials or clean air that the planet cannot give us.

Today, humanity uses 74% more than the planet's ecosystems can regenerate annually, or “1.7 Earths”. It is a figure that has not stopped growing in the last 20 years due to the increase in the exploitation of resources, the increase in the world population and the effects of climate change.

This year, the date is the same as 2019, after being pushed back to 2020 (it was August 22) by global lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic that reduced global economic activity. The 6.6% increase in the carbon footprint in 2021 and the 0.5% decrease in global forest biocapacity are the main drivers of this year's decline.

Water, key to the circular economy

On the occasion of Earth Overshoot Day, Aquona calls for efficiency and sustainability in the management of resources and highlights the urgency of promoting a green reconstruction with the participation of all actors -governments, administrations, companies and citizens-, considering the limits of the Earth.

Aquona, as a company committed to sustainability and aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda, offers innovative solutions in efficient water management and extends its commitment and knowledge to other essential areas such as energy, climate change, the use of resources or caring for the soil.

The first field of activity is the management of the urban water cycle. Aquona works to reduce the loss of water resources, achieving figures 12% better than the sector average. This difference applied to the 5,500 kilometers of managed network leads to an estimate that this management avoids 2.8 hm3 of losses in the networks, which would also be equivalent to ceasing to emit 317 tons of CO2. In addition, the water reused by Aquona in the last three years would be equivalent to supplying service to more than 43,000 people over the course of one year.

In relation to climate change, the company works to mitigate it through energy efficiency solutions, the purchase of green energy with a guarantee of origin (GdO), the generation of renewable energy or the promotion of sustainable mobility.

Currently, 100% of the company's electricity consumption is of renewable origin. In addition, it generates its own energy, mainly by using biogas as fuel in cogeneration engines, which allow the generation of electrical and thermal energy.

Aquona also has a mobility strategy whose objective is the transition towards a sustainable fleet. Since 2016, all passenger cars that have been incorporated into the fleet are hybrids and more than half of the passenger car fleet is already green.

The CO2 emissions avoided by the purchase of green energy, production through self-consumption facilities, the energy efficiency and sustainable mobility measures implemented are equivalent to those emitted by 46,500 cars circulating 10 kilometers a day for a whole year.

The commitment to the circular economy, with zero waste solutions, is key in the company's sustainable development strategy. Within the purification process that Aquona carries out in the 70 treatment plants it manages, in addition to water, dehydrated sludge is obtained, whose main use is agriculture, converting waste into renewable fertilizer.

In addition, Aquona promotes the development of models that respect the environment, with the implementation of green infrastructures and the care of biodiversity. The naturalization of the facilities is one of those lines of action. It has eliminated the use of phytosanitary products in all its facilities and has established protocols for the identification and control of invasive species.

Humanity may be living beyond the planet's capacity right now, but it also has the tools to lessen that impact, and that is something that Aquona does every day, for the benefit of the planet and people.