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 2023, the Company continued its actions and projects to increase water eco-efficiency at the Presidente Vargas Plant (UPV), the first steel mill in Brazil to conduct its water footprint balance back in 2017. In 2023, the unit achieved a water recirculation rate of 94.1%, a benchmark for the national sector.

At CSN Mineração, the commitment to responsible water resource management includes over forty control systems for effluents and drainage, as well as more than thirty monitoring points in watercourses located within the project’s influence area. The company continually invests in new technologies and projects to increase water efficiency and effluent treatment. As a result of these investments in new technologies, the water recirculation rate increased from 77.6% in 2018 to 88.2% in 2023.

8.8% reduction in water consumption by the CSN Group: In 2023, there was an 8.8% reduction in water consumption compared to 2022.

Water reuse and recycling: 94.1% water reuse and recycling at UPV and 88.1% at CSN Mineração in 2023.

New water target for the CSN Group: By 2025, systematize and transparently present the permitted, captured, and discharged water volumes in CSN Group units, relating them to the water scarcity risks of the basins in which they are located.

The CSN Group also enhances its water resource management through participation in committees and forums dedicated to assessing the shared use of water. In these instances, in partnership with representatives of civil society, the Company seeks to identify opportunities to contribute to the improvement of impact assessment and opportunities to enhance its performance.

In Minas Gerais, we are part of the Paraopeba River Basin Committee and the CTIOAR (Technical Chamber for Integration of Procedures, Outflow Actions, and Regulatory Actions), facilitating open dialogue with members of civil society and government authorities to support the management of the Paraopeba river waters and its tributaries. Additionally, eight other operations of greater water impact and representativeness within the CSN Group participate in watershed committees.