Water & Effluents

Water consumption is a priority factor for the environmental management of all CSN Group businesses. Water resources are essential for steelmaking, mining, cement, and energy production operations. Therefore, the Company’s focus is to increase actions and projects aimed at increasing water recirculation and reuse in all its businesses, reducing the demand for new intakes.

Water consumption control is carried out through water balance sheets of operational units in accordance with ISO 14,046, which guides the implementation of water footprint studies. This study has already been conducted at the Arcos, Casa de Pedra and UPV units.

We also operate in line with the Company’s water resources policy, which covers the steelmaking, mining, cement, logistics, and energy businesses, aiming to promote and strengthen best practices for the rational use of inherent and associated resources, in accordance with the Company’s Sustainability Policy.

In the steel segment, Presidente Vargas Steelworks (UPV) withdraws water from the Paraíba do Sul River and invests heavily in water recirculation, achieving a reuse rate of more than 94%. UPV monitors water withdrawal and discharge in real time and has voluntarily reduced its water withdrawal permit by 30%, benefiting local communities.

In mining, the Casa de Pedra and Pires complexes operate with 63 control systems and 35 monitoring points. CSN seeks to maintain water intensity below 0.45 m³ per tonne of iron ore produced and has already achieved a 92.8% water recirculation rate at Casa de Pedra, primarily through the reuse of water recovered from filtered tailings used in dry stacking.

In the cement segment, CSN has invested in expanding water recirculation systems, optimizing closed-loop circuits, and improving effluent management. In 2025, the business achieved a 43% reduction in water withdrawal.

Water consumption reduction at CSN Group In 2025, we reduced water withdrawal by 6% compared to 2024.

Water reuse and recycling: Supported by the high water recirculation rates across CSN Group operations, the total volume of water recirculated in 2025 reached 1,335.37 thousand ML.

Reduction in water intake intensity In 2025, we reduced water withdrawal intensity per tonne of cementitious product produced by 9% compared to 2024.

Water Management and Transparency

Reinforcing our commitment to the responsible management of water resources and the transparent disclosure of environmental indicators, we established a target to systematically compile and clearly present the volumes of water permitted, withdrawn, and discharged across our operational units, correlating them with the water scarcity risks of the watersheds in which we operate.

The outcome of this initiative is available through an interactive Water Balance Dashboard, which consolidates information on water withdrawal, consumption, discharge, permitted volumes, and water-risk indicators, strengthening the integration between environmental management and sustainability.

Click here to learn more about the target and access the monitoring dashboard.