Sustainability report

AAK Sustainability Report 2020 24 Collaboration enabling responsible sourcing of traditional shea AAK has been sourcing shea kernels fromWest Africa for more than 60 years. Since 2009, we have been working in close collaboration with shea traders as well as with women’s groups to help improve their lives and livelihoods, and to ensure good business practices throughout the supply chain. Deeply understanding our supply base Together with our partner Proforest, we conducted a risk assessment of the general shea supply chain in 2018. The assessment identified the following risks for responsible sourcing throughout our traditional supply chain and throughout Kolo Nafaso, our direct sourcing supply chain: • Traceability and transparency • Poverty among shea collectors • Health, safety and labor risks • Degradation of the shea belt Engaging with suppliers and farmers in the traditional supply chain AAK is sourcing shea kernels through suppliers in the traditional shea supply chain. We drive progress regarding the above identified risks through supplier engagement and training. Our Code of Conduct for Suppliers of Raw Materials is our steering document. In 2020, we took significant steps to help our tradi- tional shea suppliers improve the way they work with us through an increased transparency and a better understanding of the AAK Group Code of Conduct for Suppliers of Raw Materials. We understand that we are working in a supply chain that is more informal than others, and therefore suppliers need different types of support. As such, we have developed the following supplier engagement tools in 2020: • Supplier questionnaire and self-assessment • AAK Group Code of Conduct for Suppliers of Raw Materials training session • Anti-child labor campaign* We have also updated the scope of our traditional shea dashboard to better reflect our responsible sourcing ambitions. For more details, please see the 2020/2021 Shea mid-season progress report available on our website. Driving impact beyond our supply base In 2020, AAK entered into a partnership with the Global Shea Alliance to plant 10,000 seedlings in Ghana, under the Action for Shea Parkland initiative. The initiative is part of Global Shea Alliance’s sustain- ability program and aims to mobilize the industry to plant 10 million trees over the next ten years. We have already planted more than 30,000 trees in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin. AAK is committed to this partnership and plans to plant at least 150,000 trees in the shea belt before 2025. AAK and the Global Shea Alliance are proud of this partnership which is a response to the clarion call to stakeholders across the globe to ACT NOW and PRESERVE shea parklands. You can join us under www.actionforshea.com Traditional shea supply chain Individual women picking shea Suppliers providing logistical services connecting the women to AAK AAK * The sourcing regions in West Africa come with an underlying potential risk of children under the legal working age being engaged in work activities. We are currently not aware of any child labor directly related to shea activities. Our anti-child labor awareness campaign has the ambition to raise awareness of the topic across local sectors. Contributes to: