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Water

Water is a valuable natural resource that needs to be conserved and protected from pollution. Water conservation is particularly important in areas where water shortages are common.

GSK uses water in manufacturing (e.g. for processes, products, cooling and cleaning) and for general site uses including food services and sanitation. We operate in several areas of the world that are classified as water-stressed. We have 47 sites in water stressed areas, of which 31 are in areas classified as highly stressed by the World Resources Institute.

In 2004, we used 20.5 million cubic metres of water - a decrease of 10.9% since 2003 (23.8% since 2001). Water consumption per unit sales decreased by 6.3% since 2003 (23.3% since 2001) - meaning we have exceeded our 2005 target of a 10% reduction per unit sales since 2001.

In 2004, we generated 13.9 million cubic metres of wastewater. 15% of this was reused, recovered or recycled.

We assess the quality of our wastewater by measuring the chemical oxygen demand (COD) - the oxygen required to chemically oxidise organic and inorganic compounds present in the water. Total COD decreased by 15.0% since 2003 (24.5% since 2001). COD per unit sales decreased by 10.8% since 2003 (24.2% since 2001) - meaning we are on track to meet our 2005 target of a 30% reduction per unit sales since 2001.

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