12th May 2020
On April 15, 2020, AAK released its Sustainability Report for 2019. The report outlines ambitions, activities and achievements within the five focus areas of the company’s model for sustainable growth – Our Customers, Our Suppliers, Our Planet, Our People, and Our Neighbours.
“We continue to see strong progress within our sustainability activities and in our contributions towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals”, says Johan Westman, President and CEO. “Significant improvements have been made within our raw material supply chains and with regards to resource efficiency in our operations. Additionally, we have continued to create solutions that are good for both people and our environment, for example AkoPlanet™, our portfolio with solutions for plant-based foods.”
A key AAK achievement during 2019 has been the significant increase of women involved in the company’s direct shea sourcing program in West Africa. The program now involves more than 230,000 women, a 72 percent increase compared to 2018. AAK has also increased the impact on smallholder livelihoods in its palm supply chains by significantly strengthening collaborations with important partners in Malaysia and Mexico.
Furthermore, AAK has reduced its environmental impact by decreasing the company’s energy consumption, water consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per processed unit raw material.
“Another key achievement has been to initiate climate change risk assessments at all production sites, and during 2020 we will do the same for our raw materials in order to identify the overall climate roadmap for the future”, says Anne Mette Olesen, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer. “This and all other achievements that we share in our report are results of a tremendous amount of dedication from AAK colleagues and collaboration partners around the globe.”
Read the entire Sustainability Report here.