Marubeni official website. This page offers you information about our Water Management.
Approximately 97.5% of the Earth’s water is seawater, freshwater accounts for only about 2.5%. Much of this freshwater exists in glaciers, ice sheets and other forms that are not readily accessible, meaning that the amount of water available for human life and industrial activities is limited.At the same time, there are still regions around the world where access to safe drinking water and sanitation is insufficient, and challenges such as the regional imbalance of water resources, flooding, drought, and water pollution are becoming more serious. With climate change, population growth, and economic development, water stress and water-related risks are becoming more apparent across the globe, and the value of water as the foundation for people’s lives and livelihoods, ecosystems, and industrial activities is increasing further.Through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development,” 2018–2028, the United Nations calls for accelerated international action on water-related issues. As a corporate group operating businesses worldwide, the Marubeni Group recognizes the finiteness and regional imbalance of water resources, disparities in water access, and impacts on the water environment as important global issues, and is committed to addressing these challenges through its business activities.
Click here to view the Water Action Decade
The Marubeni Group, in accordance with the Marubeni Group Environmental Policy, recognizes the finite nature of resources and energy, including water, and promotes their effective and efficient use. The Policy clearly states that resources and energy, including water, are to be used efficiently, and the Group strives to reduce impacts on water resources through the efficient use and reuse of water in its business activities.In addition, through its various water-related businesses, the Marubeni Group aims to contribute to the development and operation of safe and stable water supply infrastructure that supports the lives and industrial activities of local communities. Through these business activities, the Marubeni Group will continue to contribute to addressing water-related social issues and promoting sustainable water use.
Click here to view Marubeni Group Environmental Policy
As of March 31, 2025, 36 (about 15％) of the 239 Marubeni Group companies had established water management plans. (Of the 3,040 operation sites covered by the Sustainability Survey, 448 operation sites that account for about 15％, had established water management plans.) These companies monitor and manage the amount of water withdrawal, wastewater, and recycled water, as well as quality and temperature of wastewater, and take measures to use water resources effectively and reduce their environmental impact.Koa Kogyo Co., Ltd., for example, uses water efficiently in production processes, and sets and manages standards for the amount of fresh water used in each department, as part of its efforts to conserve resources.
With respect to wastewater, Koa Kogyo meets stringent water quality standards by treating final effluent through activated sludge tanks and other purification processes, thereby reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and other relevant indicators.
Click here to view Koa Kogyo’s initiatives (Japanese only)
The Marubeni Group owns and operates three IWPP*1 projects and one IWP*2 project in Middle East. In total, 489 million imperial gallons of desalination water per day are produced by those desalination plants, helping to reduce stress on the region’s water resources.For example, the Taweelah B power and desalination complex, located 80 kilometers northeast of Abu Dhabi, which we built and operate, has generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts of electricity and 160 million imperial gallons of water per day. To meet increased water demand resulting from economic development and population growth, the Marubeni Group is selling electricity and water for 20-25 years to the state-owned utility, Emirates Water & Electricity Company. Water from the plant is used for tap water (household and commercial), agriculture, industry and other applications, and helps to relieve stress on water resources. (To prevent exacerbation of the region’s water stress, machinery cooling water and other water used in the Marubeni Group’s business operations is produced at the desalination plant.)
(as of March 31, 2025)
Through a special purpose company established together with Transelec Holdings Rentas Limitada, a major power transmission company in the Republic of Chile, we are participating in a desalination and water transmission project for Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO) (the Project).
Click here to view Conclusion of a Loan Agreement and Start of Construction under a Long-Term Water Sale Agreement for a Desalination and Water Transmission Project for the National Copper Corporation of Chile
The Project is the first large-scale seawater desalination and water transmission project in Chile using reverse osmosis (RO) membranes*3. The Project will construct a desalination plant in western Chile to pump seawater from the Pacific Ocean and supply water needed for copper mining and other operations, thereby contributing to reducing water withdrawal from water-stressed areas where water shortages are a concern.
Although at present CODELCO is still reliant on groundwater and other inland water sources for the water used in its copper mining and refining processes, it has set a goal of reducing its consumption of inland water by 60% by 2030 in order to protect the environment, secure water resources for local residents, and ensure sustainable growth. This Project will contribute to this goal. Marubeni, by leveraging its past experience in construction, maintenance, and operation of seawater desalination plants, will contribute to reducing water consumption by working with CODELCO on this Project.
Through its concession businesses*4 and the BOO*5 project, the Marubeni Group contributes to the supply of safe drinking water and reduces burdens on the environment through effective wastewater treatment.
The concession businesses and BOO project we operate in Chile, Brazil, the Philippines, Portugal and Peru have a total water purification capacity of 4.2 million cubic meters per day and wastewater treatment capacity of 1.9 million cubic meters per day, and cover a service population totaling approximately 16.6 million people.
One example of the Marubeni Group’s concession businesses is our investment in and personnel dispatch to Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad), a water and sewerage company serving the West Zone of Metro Manila in the Philippines, which has a population of 10.5 million people.
Amid the region’s ongoing urban expansion and increased congestion, Maynilad is expanding its water distribution network to increase the coverage of water supply services. In addition, it continues to provide a stable water supply to some 1.5 million customers in the concession area by promoting more efficient use of water resources with measures to prevent water pipe leakage and improve water pressure. At the same time, as a medium-to-long-term goal, it is working to raise the currently low percentage of the population connected to the sewage system, to improve the sanitary environment both in normal times and during flooding, and to improve the water quality of the region’s water system and Manila Bay, through development of sewage treatment facilities and the sewerage network in its service area.
At Maynilad, the effects of operational shutdown caused by physical damage etc. to the facility due to disasters or extreme weather is quantified. Specifically, several of Maynilad’s important business locations such as the purification plant, pumping station, and water distribution network are chosen as samples, and the economic impact of operational shutdown is calculated by period, to be used for developing the business continuity plan.
Click here to view Maynilad’s initiatives
Marubeni has participated from the construction stage at the Doha West, Doha North, and Lusail Sewage Treatment Plants, which are the major sewage treatment plants in Doha, the capital of Qatar with approximately 3.0 million people. At the Doha West and Lusail Plants Marubeni had conducted the operation and maintenance for approx. 10 years after the construction. The greywater (treated water made by sterilizing sewage water, for industrial and consumer use) which is generated during the sewage treatment process is delivered daily to roadside vegetation, parks, and farms across Doha through the recycled water pipe network. It plays an important role by supporting the social infrastructure in Doha, the land of desert, and Marubeni engaged in a sustainable contribution activity in regions with insufficient water supplies through recycling of the valuable water resources.
Marubeni was selected by CDP*6, an international non-profit organization, as an A-list company in the areas of “Climate Change” and “Water Security,” and received an A - in the area of “Forests” (as of January 2026). Since we started to participate in the initiatives of CDP in 2007, the Company has been selected for the A-list in the area of “Water Security” five consecutive times since 2021, and has been recognized as a leading company in the disclosure of environmental information.
CDP A-List 2025 and other published scores can be found here
