Environment covers AAK’s impact on the environment in terms of consumption at and emissions from our production plants.
At AAK, we are very much aware of the footprint our production plants leave on the environment. This is why we constantly strive to reduce our consumption of energy and water and reduce waste and emissions. Our ongoing aim is to become more environmentally-friendly tomorrow than we are today.
To achieve this, we implement environmental projects, monitor consumption and emissions, and identify best practices by benchmarking our production plants against each other and other players in the industry.
Energy
Rising energy costs and the link between energy consumption and impact on the climate have sparked an increasing focus on energy issues. Responsible growth is only possible if energy consumption and costs are kept as low as possible.
Due to our relatively high energy consumption, efforts to increase energy efficiency and, where possible, move towards renewable energy sources are important.
Air
Rising average temperatures, more extreme weather and changes in rainfall patterns are all symptoms of the climate change we are experiencing. Today, legislation and markets aim to mitigate these changes by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions believed to be the driver of global climate change. At AAK we are ready to play our part, and we constantly monitor progress across our production plants.
Water
In addition to being energy intensive, vegetable oil processing requires large amounts of water, mainly for cooling and steam production. Ongoing projects are in place at our production plants to reduce water consumption and improve wastewater quality. All wastewater is treated at our own or municipal treatment plants.
Waste
During the last decade, the solid waste handling industry has increased dramatically, specialising in the recovery of material value by reuse, recovery of recyclable materials and establishment of waste-toenergy facilities. This has created more possibilities for disposing of our waste material responsibly and more cheaply by implementing widespread waste sorting systems.
