Responsibility for management, control and implementation of the Group’s CSR is divided between the CEO, the senior management team, the CSR steering group, the Group’s CSR manager and local CSR groups operating in individual business locations in accordance with decisions taken by the senior management team. AAK’s aim is to generate the greatest possible CSR value for the company’s various stakeholder groups, particularly for customers, suppliers, shareholders and employees.
CSR-policy>>
Our responsibility for nature
AAK manufactures products based on vegetable oil and it is, therefore, very much in AAK’s interest to develop financially sustainable production methods, with the company accepting responsibility for the environment throughout the chain, all the way to the customer.
AAK was one of the first to accept responsibility for safeguarding sustainable production methods. The company was one of the founders of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which was established in 2002 in response to an initiative by WWF – the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Another important area is the work carried out at the various operational sites to protect the external environment. Local programmes aimed at managing and reducing the environmental impact of the production units have been drawn up for each plant.
Our social responsibility
Social responsibility must go hand-in-hand with environmental responsibility and economic progress, but must also take the company’s competitiveness into consideration. If this is not the case, the company will lose credibility.
AAK actively encourages its customers to obtain certified oil or, alternatively, GreenPalm Certificates. It is, however, up to the customers to choose their own raw materials and end products. This is a necessary consideration, and it is deeply embedded in the Group’s operations.
Another example is AAK’s collaboration agreement with the UN development programme (UNDP). The objective is to install multi-functional platforms in Burkina Faso, partly with the aim of alleviating poverty, and partly to support AAK’s strategy of sourcing more shea raw material.
Awareness of the positive effects on both the local population and AAK’s raw materials supply has resulted in AAK and UNDP preparing the ground for expanded collaboration, with the aim of putting in place additional multi-functional platforms in the area around Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso.
Our financial responsibility
For a long time, AAK has taken a number of CSR-related initiatives. These CSR issues are the subject of a rolling target. Progress is being made and technologies with greater environmental sustainability are being developed continuously. AAK adopts policies which are used to determine the Group’s attitude to sustainable, financially strong development. These policies are an important part of the Group management’s agenda, and are embedded through regular meetings and communication with employees, supplies and customers.