Water Stewardship

Avient’s commitment to responsible water stewardship is exemplified by our conscientious approach to water management across our operations. Unlike other industrial sectors, our processes are inherently less water-intensive, with normal manufacturing procedures being predominantly “dry.” Water usage is primarily confined to essential sanitary applications and process cooling, with a notable emphasis on closed-loop recycling to minimize consumption. Despite the modest water requirements of our operations, Avient recognizes the importance of water as a finite and precious resource.

Clean and accessible water is vital for healthy and thriving communities around the world. Avient recognizes the indispensable role water plays in sustaining life and promoting well-being. Our commitment to sustainable water management extends beyond compliance with regulatory requirements—we proactively seek opportunities to enhance water efficiency and maximize the reuse of wastewater across our facilities. Through diligent monitoring and tracking of water usage and wastewater discharges, we identify areas for improvement and implement targeted initiatives to reduce consumption and mitigate risks. Our global approach to water management integrates strategies for tracking legal obligations, assessing management costs, and prioritizing efficiency projects to optimize resource utilization and minimize environmental impact.

Building upon our commitment to sustainable water management, Avient has standardized our water stream definitions and reporting frequency, our Position on Water Stewardship and our water stress evaluation framework. While we have collected water data from our manufacturing facilities since 2012, increased water data accuracy allows us to better understand our water sources, withdrawal rates, and discharges. Our Position on Water Stewardship reinforces our commitment to minimize water consumption, maximize reuse opportunities, and mitigate risks employed with water scarcity and pollution. We leverage the World Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas to develop our water stress evaluation framework, which identified that 61% of our facilities are located outside of extremely high or high water stress areas. This enables us to identify priority areas for intervention and resource allocation.

For 2025, we are introducing a new sustainability goal to implement water stewardship plans for all facilities in extremely high-risk sites as assessed by the WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas by 2030. These plans will provide a roadmap for identifying sources, recycling, alternative uses, and tracking for sites where we can have the biggest impact.

Additionally, Avient introduced Water Project Awards for projects completed in 2024 in categories such as: Most Creative Solution, Best Low- or No-Cost, People’s Choice, and Best Overall.