Sustainability report

Building a circular economy through partnerships AAK China Since production started in Zhangjiagang, China in 2017, the site has carried out several environmental protection activities, including initiatives to reduce waste. Through local partnerships, we have been able to improve recycling significantly and today, the site has achieved zero landfill. The Zhangjiagang plant is constantly looking for better ways to optimize resource consumption, from recy- cling of material waste to regeneration of spent raw materials. One of these involves “bleaching earth”, a natural adsorbent clay. Bleaching earth AAK has used bleaching earth as an essential process- ing aid for high-quality oil production for many years. Bleaching earth removes coloring and other impurities during the refining of plant-based oils. Finding the best bleaching earth partner A lot of time and effort has been devoted to explor- ing the most feasible approach for recycling spent bleaching earth (SBE). AAK China began searching for a suitable partner to recycle SBE during commissioning of the site, and eventually found a local company who could help. AAK’s technical engineers worked closely with the company by providing technical support. Today, hydraulic pressure is used to recover the residual oil from the SBE, which is used to create biodiesel. Special bacteria are added to the remaining SBE, which turns it into organic fertilizer for farmers – and subsequently the bleaching earth is then successfully returned to nature. “We are very happy with the new partnership, which is not only helping us to achieve our ambition of zero landfill, but it is also a cheaper solution, making it a win-win situation.” Alex Wang, HSE Manager, AAK China Looking ahead From an environmental and economic standpoint, there are significant advantages to recycling bleaching earth, one of which is to solve AAK’s landfill challenges. As we look to the future, we will continue to develop further partnerships with companies that can help us build a circular and sustainable economy. AAK Sustainability Report 2020 Better Operations | 47 Contributes to: