CHENG LOONG

Water Resource Management

● Strategy：Enhance wastewater treatment and process water efficiency.
● Goals of 2030：
◆ The Containerboard Division targets a 10% reduction in unit product water consumption (Base year: 2019)
◆ Enhance water conservation potential and recycled water volume

Value Water Resources

Water resources are critical to the papermaking industry. When selecting production sites, CLC evaluates water sources based on regulatory requirements, long-term business needs, and local community water demand to ensure a balance between operations and regional water sustainability. CLC conducts risk assessments in accordance with ISO 14001, sets internal water control standards exceeding legal requirements, and ensures compliant water discharge.

2025 Achievements: 15.3% reduction in water consumption, record-high recycled water usage

CLC improves water efficiency through diversified sources, stronger prevention and control, and innovative conservation measures. Its in-house digital water resource PDCA system supports precise management through:

• Real-time monitoring: Tracks well and unit-level water consumption hourly
• Water rights alert: Issues notifications when well usage reaches 90% of the permitted quota
• Abnormal Usage Monitoring: Automatically notifies the unit to address abnormal water usage

Unit product water consumption for industrial paper was 8.99 kL/ tonne of paper, a 15.3% reduction from the 2019 baseline that surpassed the 5% reduction goal. Concurrently, recycled water usage rose to account for 18% of total water withdrawal in 2025 (+ 0.31 percentage points YoY), reaching a new high.

Committed to maximizing water efficiency, CLC recirculates each drop of process water up to 26 times, achieving a 96.3% recovery rate. Further optimization projects and facility upgrades initiated in 2025 are expected to improve treatment performance upon completion.

Internal water conservation measures are implemented and wastewater classification and discharge management are strengthened, focusing on process water conservation and recycling. All mills/plants are equipped with wastewater treatment systems and 24-hour water quality monitoring to ensure regulatory compliance. CLC manages water usage processes to optimize wastewater treatment efficiency and support ecological balance and biodiversity.

Process water sources at CLC include groundwater, river water, and municipal water, mainly utilized for pulping, wire and felt washing in the paper machine, boiler feed water, cooling water, and other utility systems. Plants manage water resources through rainwater recycling systems, white water recycling, ultrafiltration, and effluent water recycling to enable tiered management, recycling, and reuse, reducing consumption and maximizing water use efficiency. Annual water balance data are completed in accordance with Water Resources Agency regulations, and some paper mills have implemented smart water meters for real-time monitoring and control of water usage.
 

In 2025, the Taiwan Parent Company's total water withdrawal was 15,052 million liters, down 359 million liters from 2024. Surface water and groundwater accounted for 98.3% of the total, while municipalwater comprised 1.7%. Total water consumption was 975 million liters. Water source management followed Water Resources Agency indicators, and water use was reduced in accordance with government regulations during supply restrictions. CLC's sites in Taiwan, Mainland China, and Vietnam were not located in areas of significant water stress.

In response to reduced municipal water supply or zoned outages, CLC implements several measures, including: (1) Adjusts municipal water usage and increases effluent recycling and reuse in production, (2) Substitutes fresh water with recovered effluent, (3) Optimizes process management—including papermaking and printing schedules and water conservation models—to reduce water dependency and enhance operational resilience.









 

Water Resource Conservation

Contributing to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), CLC adopted 80 public restrooms in Taiwan and implemented water conservation initiatives. The Tayuan Paper Mill and Hsinchu Paper Mill adopted nearby river basins, conducting monthly inspections and regular water quality monitoring, alongside semi-annual employee river cleanups. Notably, Hsinchu Paper Mill partnered with local residents to established a Water Environment Patrol Team for the Keya Creek basin. CLC also joined the "Tamsui River Pact—Do One Thing for the Tamsui River" promoting green procurement, park adoption for biodiversity, and water conservation. Aligning with the "Green Lifestyle" strategy under Taiwan's 2050 Net Zero Transition, CLC engaged employees in daily habit-changing initiatives to mitigate climate change.


*the Ministry of Environment (MOE) Facebook information