Sustainability report

Customer insight dialogues Co-developing with customers to do good for people and planet, and accelerate demand for sustainable solutions, starts with a better under- standing of sustainability needs. With the launch of AAK’s new strategy in early 2020, sustainability has become an even more prominent cornerstone of our business. We embedded a sustainability mindset into every area of our business, and introduced a workstream called “Sustainability as a true differentiator”, aimed at offering even better services and solutions. In order to set our priorities and invest in the most relevant projects, we calibrated our insights with our customers. Sustainability dialogues During June and July 2020, the sustainability team invited several key customers from different business segments to participate in sustainability dialogues. In total, we interviewed 17 customers from eight different countries and seven different markets/roles in the supply chain, including one retailer. Our goal was to set ambitious targets for AAK’s future sustainable solutions, while anticipating customer needs and identifying joint sweet spots. Our main learnings are as follows: Overall risk management • Sustainability is to a large extent seen as risk management; the space to differentiate is to a large extent depending on ability to demonstrate solid risk management. Access to data and communication • Traceability and transparency remain high on the agenda, and easy and fast access to data is crucial • Support for communicating complex or sensitive sustainability progress is a plus Certification and platforms • Navigating in the certification jungle and providing the right certifications are high on the agenda • Delivering data to sustainability platforms such as CDP is becoming more important Social issues • Human and labor rights due diligence is gaining momentum • Smallholder impact projects are very interesting for smaller customers with limited access Environment • Science-based target commitments are a key topic • Deforestation-free requirements across relevant supply chains is a key priority AAK appreciates these learnings and has already taken some of the insights into account. For example, we have committed to the science-based target 1.5°C scenario and we are investing in our verified deforestation-free monitoring in palm, which we have extended to include our soy supply chain. We are also working with customers and suppliers on several other important supply chain projects. We are thankful to have had this opportunity to engage with our customers around their sustainability needs, and we will continue to provide ever-better services and solutions in the future. AAK Sustainability Report 2020 52