When ESG is a BFD.
Manufacturers are in a catch-22: produce more goods at lower cost, but with less energy, chemicals, and resources. Water treatment is under particular scrutiny as water becomes more expensive and regulated and companies seek novel techniques to reduce, recycle, or reclaim their wastewater.
- Why it matters: Water treatment is build on assumptions from the 1960s, when there was more water and less regulations. Equipment design, chemical packages, and emissions standards are now being re-evaluated to deal with the inverse scenario: less water, more rules.
CarboNet’s adaptive chemistry was built out of this movement, creating an opportunity for manufacturers to improve key ESG levers while still delivering on market commitments:
- Toxicity: CarboNet’s NanoNet platform reduces PAM by up to 90%, helping hit increasingly stringent regulatory targets.
- Emissions: CarboNet’s chemistry reduces Scope 3 Emissions up to 70%. To date, the commodity chemicals we’ve displaced has cut 300 million tonnes of C02 production.
- Health & safety: CarboNet products arrive pre-activated in plug-and-play totes, removing the need for makedown and crew exposure to toxic inhalants, spills, slips, and other machine interactions.
- Regulatory exposure: Broadly, CarboNet chemistry slashes emissions and improves performance KPIs related to zero discharge or permit targets.
But: ESG wins don’t come with P&L losses. CarboNet chemistry decreases CAPEX and OPEX:
- Chemical spend: CarboNet flocculants alter the throughput of water treatment, reducing cost-to-treat by up to 50%.
- OPEX: CarboNet chemistry requires no make-down and dramatically reduces time spent on dosing calibration and monitoring—or NPT when calibration or monitoring snafus lead to shredded belts, cemented polishers, or other equipment malfunctions.
- CAPEX: CarboNet products don’t require make-down equipment and often improve the performance of other tools in the pipeline, helping maintain existing CAPEX or avoid new investments entirely.
Behind-the-scenes: CarboNet scientists and field technicians are focused on products for a new reality: a world with less water and more regulations—but persistent demands of customers and shareholders.
- This has led to the NanoNet platform and new chemistry, one which eliminates chemicals from water treatment entirely, another that isolates valuable particles for extraction.
The bottom line: Water treatment has moved from a line item in the P&L to a key strategic advantage for companies looking to boost ESG commitments as they navigate regulatory hazards and the increasing costs of freshwater. Smart chemistry can reduce drawdown, recycle wastewater—even reclaim waterborne materials—while cutting costs and improving unit performance.
