The water treatment plant at Sadesa’s Esperanza tannery in Santa Fe Province has recently achieved certification to ISO 14001. The certification guarantees that the plant has an Environmental Management System assuring the correct handling of industrial effluent treatment and final disposal of solid waste, complying with current environmental legislation. The Esperanza plant employs 800 people and processes 100,000 hides a month for both the domestic and export markets.

As part of the effort towards ISO 14001 certification, the plant carried out joint studies with the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL) and the National Livestock Breeding Technoloy Institute (INTA) on the potential use of solid waste generated by industrial effluent treatment as fertilising material for agricultural use. Sadesa is also building the first safety landfill site in the Santa Fe Province.