Management of water resources

Rationalise the use of water supplies used in the supply chain.

Worldwide demand for water has increased in the last century at more than double the
population’s growth rate. Agriculture and breeding account for 70% of this demand.
The cultivation of durum wheat, which has taken place for centuries in the Mediterranean
basin, is one of the least demanding in terms of water consumption explaining why it is
widespread in areas where this resource is less abundant and therefore more precious.
Barilla is currently the major consumer of durum wheat worldwide.

We are committed to reducing water consumption in the production process and
throughout the strategic supply chain while employing traditional cultivation methods
and satisfying current market demand.

REDUCTION IN WATER CONSUMPTION IN ITALY
In the past we focused on projects to rationalise the use of water in our pasta factories
and bakeries. More specifically, the pasta factories and bakeries in Italy reduced total water
consumption by 30% in the period 2005-2008.

The key changes employed were:

• recovery of water from the depuration plant (Cremona);
• recovery of open circuit cooling water (Castiglione delle Stiviere and Parma);
• reduction of leaks in the water system (Novara).

REDUCTION IN WATER CONSUMPTION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

The first graph shows the trend in water consumption in Barilla’s factories in the period
2006-2008, which shows a 17% fall in water consumption. The second graph illustrates water consumption compared to finished products in Barilla’s factories throughout the world: an even greater decrease of 20% was recorded in 2006-2008 due to the fact that production volumes increased by 4%.

RATIONALISATION OF WATER CONSUMPTION ALONG THE PRODUCTION CHAIN
In 2008, Barilla began to assess the impact of the consumption of water resources across
the entire production chain: from the production of raw materials to product consumption.
This started from the key raw material, durum wheat, calculating the Water Footprint of
semolina pasta.

The graph compares the Water Footprint of a number of products: red meat, rice, pulses,
durum wheat semolina pasta and fruit.

In order to rationalise the use of water resources in the entire production chain, Barilla
intends to implement the following short/medium-term objectives:

• measure the impact of the business processes on water resources using the Water Footprint methodology;
• readdress genetic improvement based on conventional techniques taking into account the
resistance to water stress conditions;
• revisit the areas of raw material procurement taking into consideration the impact on
water resources;
• continue working to reduce the use of water in the industrial processes;
• consider using the Water Footprint concept in packaging development;
• optimise water used to cook pasta at end consumer level.