Marubeni official website. This page offers you information about our Water Management.
The earth’s water resources are said to be about 97.5% seawater, with only 2.5% fresh water. And about 99% of that fresh water is contained in ice in places like the Antarctic, so there is very little fresh water available for direct use.Through its businesses across the world, Marubeni recognizes that developed countries are able to fully enjoy these finite water resources, while other countries do not even have adequate wells, and this regional imbalance is a major problem. Future water shortages are also anticipated, accompanying increases in world population and economic growth in the developing countries. The effective use of water resources is a global issue, and the international society is starting to take actions.
Click here to view the Water Action Decade
Based on the Marubeni Group Environmental Policy, the Marubeni Group recognizes that energy and resources, including water, are finite, and take measures to ensure their effective and efficient use.In the Marubeni Group Environmental Policy, we clearly state our commitment to using energy and resources, including water, efficiently. By reducing water usage through promotion of efficient use and recycling of water, and by providing stable supplies of water resources through effective water and sewerage operation and power and desalination projects, we will continue to contribute to the environment and communities and to resolving water-related social issues.
Click here to view Marubeni Group Environmental Policy
As of March 31, 2025, 33 (15%) of the 221 Marubeni Group companies had established water management plans. (Of the 2,774 operation sites covered by the Sustainability Survey, 297 operation sites that account for 11%, 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.
Since large quantities of water are needed in papermaking operations, Koa Kogyo secures the necessary water from both industrial and well water sources and recycles water in the manufacturing process. In wastewater, strict water quality standards are met by using activated sludge tanks to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and by purifying water.
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
