Water use: Good habits
Use water responsibly: don't waste it
Salt water makes up over 97% of the water on the planet. Two thirds of the fresh water is trapped in glaciers and the polar ice caps, and most of the remaining third is in the ground or in underground aquifers. Conclusion: there is very little water available for living things.
Water is a key natural resource for the prosperity of human, animal and plant life. Its consumption is essential to meet basic human needs. It supports health and economic development and is also a key factor in food and energy security, as well as environmental sustainability. Growing demand requires increasingly careful use to help mitigate shortages across all regions of the world, especially in those where drought strongly shapes daily life.
The rise in the use of industrial and domestic water
International organisations estimate that total demand for water will double by 2050 due to the growing demand for water in industry and agriculture, as well as the rise in domestic consumption caused by mass migration from rural areas to cities. Today 3.9 billion people live in cities; by 2030, this number will be 5 billion.
In the last two decades, the amount of fresh water available per person has been reduced by more than 20 %, with serious problems in North Africa and West and South Asia. The problem is growing in the most economically challenged countries where 74% of the rural population lacks access to safe drinking water according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. That is why all of us must use water responsibly and learn habits that reduce water consumption.
SEE INFOGRAPHIC: Five habits to save water [PDF]
Individual action is important when it comes to saving water. Here are some tips you can start applying today:
- Close the tap when washing your face, hands or teeth: this simple action can save around 12 litres of water per minute. Do the same when washing up. Instead, stack the dishes and rinse them all at once.
- Take a shower instead of a bath to use 70% less water.
- In the garden, use drip irrigation twice a week during the coolest parts of the day.
- Only run the washing machine and dishwasher when they are full and always use the ECO programme.
How to use water properly
Protecting our water resources is not only about changing small daily habits. When renovating a home, there are also measures that can significantly reduce water consumption:
-
Regularly check taps, pipes and internal and external plumbing to prevent leaks.
-
Use rainwater harvesting systems so that water can later be reused for household uses such as toilets or watering plants.
-
Collect the water that runs from the shower while waiting for it to heat up and reuse it for other purposes.
-
Install low-consumption sanitary systems. If the cistern is not eco-efficient, place a bottle filled with sand inside it. Also avoid using toilets as bins, as each flush wastes between six and 10 litres of water.
-
Installing aerators on taps, which mix air with the water flow, can reduce water use by more than 40%.
-
Cover swimming pools when not in use to reduce evaporation.
-
Wash vehicles at designated facilities.
For years now companies and institutions have been researching and implementing vital technological advances to achieve rational water consumption both industrially and domestically. But sustainable consumption is everyone's responsibility. As John Fitzgerald Kennedy said, "anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes — one for peace and one for science."
Circular economy model at the Iberdrola Group
At Iberdrola, we are working to be more respectful of nature through our three strategic sustainability priorities: climate action, biodiversity protection and the circular economy.
For this reason, our sustainable business model is based on circular economy principles, a resource-management system that prioritises reducing the use of new raw materials through process efficiency, extending product life cycles and promoting the reuse and recycling of materials.
We apply this approach throughout our value chain, building a decarbonised future alongside strategic partners who share our vision and values for environmental protection and preservation.
In 2025, we carried out circular economy initiatives related to wind turbine blade recycling, radioactive waste storage and reducing gas consumption.
Wind turbine blade recycling
The Group recycles or reuses a high percentage of retired wind turbine blades. The solutions currently employed are appropriate for the relatively low volume of blades being decommissioned and are aligned with industry practices, although not all of them are scalable.
To address future needs resulting from the growing number of blades coming from the decommissioning or repowering of wind farms in Spain, Iberdrola and other partners established EnergyLOOP in 2022, a company focused on recycling technologies with the aim of generating secondary raw materials for other industries.
The blade-recycling facility, which entered operation in 2025, is already processing blades from two wind farms undergoing repowering in Spain. During the year, the value chain continued to be analysed in different countries to identify recycling solutions suited to each geography.
Our circular economy targets
At Iberdrola, we have set a target of recycling more than 90% of wind turbine blades and solar panels by 2030. This goal is aligned with the new Nature Management and Protection Policy and its guiding principles..
| EFFICIENT USE OF RESOURCES | METRIC | 2025 | 2028e | 2030e |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blades and Solar Panels Recycling | Number (cumulative)1 | 947 | >3,000 | >5,000 (90%) |
(1) Estimate of recycled blades in 2030 according to the current operational plan and subject to revision depending on the evolution thereof. Target by 2030: 90% recycling of blades and panels.