Merck's strategy for improving our water use efficiency includes both reducing our overall demand for water, controlling our water discharges and understanding the water-related challenges in the regions where we operate.

Because of the strong interdependency between our water and energy use, Merck's efforts to reduce our demand for water parallel our energy reduction program and Merck's global energy team is also responsible for water use reductions. In 2005, the team evaluated how the Company was using water. It then identified opportunities for water use reduction and has begun to develop and implement water conservation best practices throughout the Company. These efforts are continuing.

Approximately 77 percent of the total water we use is supplied from surface and ground water. Much of the water use at Merck is for utility systems in our manufacturing plants. The vast majority is used at facilities that produce active pharmaceutical ingredients, which require large volumes of cooling water. In 2008, approximately 50 percent of the water we used globally was for once-through non-contact cooling, where water is pumped into the plant, circulated through heat exchange piping to cool processes and then discharged at a slightly higher temperature. Many Merck facilities employ water reuse and recovery strategies. During 2008, 1.8 billion gallons of water were recycled or reused by Merck facilities. The vast majority of the once-through cooling water (98 percent) was used at facilities where there are ample supplies of ground water.

Water Use Global Performance Data Summary 2004-2008

Performance Indicators	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004 (baseline)
Total Water usage, billion gallons (% reduction v. prior year)	5.6 (36%)	8.8 (8.3%)	9.6 (5%)	10.1 (13.6%)	11.7
Purchased Water, billion gallons	1.3	1.6	1.6	1.8	1.9
Pumped Water (surface and ground), billion gallons	4.3	7.2	8.0	9.3	9.7

Merck established a goal to reduce water use by 15 percent between 2004 and 2008. We used 5.6 billion gallons of water during 2008. This represents a 52 percent reduction in annual water use since 2004, or 6.1 billion gallons less water used. The closure and sale, respectively, of two water intensive facilities, accounts for 59 percent of our total water use reduction. Water use at existing facilities, including sites that have been added since 2004, have achieved a reduction of 21.4 percent over 2004.

The content on this page was last modified on September 15, 2009.

Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, and Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, are now one company. We have combined our global operations under the name Merck & Co., Inc. We are working to update our corporate responsibility Web site to reflect our new, combined, global organization.