Three years after signing the charter formalizing its membership of the act4nature international program, Arkema has set itself new ambitions in its commitment to biodiversity. A responsible manufacturer since its creation, Arkema reports that the company acts daily to reduce its energy and water consumption, promote renewable resources and the circular economy, preserve non-renewable natural resources, and protect biodiversity by limiting its discharges into the air, water, and soil.

"By renewing our act4nature international commitments, we are reaffirming our determination to reduce the impact of our activities on biodiversity and act across our entire value chain," said Thierry Le Hénaff, chairman and CEO of Arkema. 

New Commitments

Arkema has renewed its commitments made in 2021 and has set new targets, in particular to reduce its water consumption by 25% by 2030 compared to 2019, and to assess the impact of its raw materials and products on biodiversity.

As part of its Common Ground® program, Arkema will continue to develop actions to preserve the environment at local level. In addition, the mapping of industrial sites in relation to key biodiversity zones and protected areas, as well as the development of methods to measure its "biodiversity footprint," will enable the company to systematically examine biodiversity issues in the vicinity of its industrial sites. 

Positive Progress

The 2023 progress report, published on the act4nature international website, confirmed positive progress on all the criteria concerning Arkema's commitments made in 2021, such as the reduction of VOC emissions into the air by 65% by 2030 compared with 2012, or the increase from 4,600 to 7,000 farmers trained in sustainable castor-oil farming in India aimed at reducing fertilizer use and water requirements, as part of the Pragati initiative.

In addition, a materiality assessment carried out with BL Evolution, characterizing the group's impact and dependence on living organisms, has enabled Arkema to establish its new commitments, validated by the act4nature international jury.

Water: A Major Issue

As part of its Optim'O program, winner of France Chimie's Responsible Care Trophy in 2024, Arkema is acting on all levers to reduce the water withdrawals required in its processes at its sites and improve the quality of its discharges. Launched in 2016, Optim'O includes a set of actions to optimize water consumption, notably by setting up effluent reuse loops and water stress scenarios in areas most impacted by drought.

For example, in Changshu, China, 330,000 m3 of water are saved each year — a reduction in water consumption of one third compared with 2019 — thanks to the systematic implementation of loops for reusing certain flows, up to seven times, before discharge into the industrial zone's effluent treatment plant. Optim'O also aims to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the group's effluent by 65% by 2030, compared with 2012.

Raising Employee Awareness of Biodiversity 

Arkema encourages its facilities around the world to implement a variety of concrete biodiversity initiatives with neighboring communities and to raise employee awareness of biodiversity issues.

For example, at CERDATO in Serquigny, France, a research center dedicated to high-performance polymers nestled in the heart of Normandy, a group of volunteer employees has set up concrete actions: sales of organic products with a local market gardener, a waste sorting day, garbage collection around the site, highlighting the wild orchids and birds present on the site.

Another example, at the Genay site, is the creation of the "Employee Environmental Footprint Commission," a group of volunteers who, throughout the year, develop actions to encourage eco-actions (setting up car-sharing schemes and recovering organic waste from the company restaurant for compost) and preserve biodiversity around the site (installing beehives and planting trees).

At the same time, employee awareness of biodiversity will also be improved with the inclusion of a dedicated biodiversity training course as part of the internal worldwide "Go for the Planet" program, which aims to train employees in climate and environmental issues.

Launched in 2018 by the French association Entreprises pour l'Environnement, act4nature international is a voluntary commitment scheme that enables economic players to formalize and make visible their efforts in favor of biodiversity by adopting precise and regularly measured corporate objectives.

Learn more about Arkema at www.arkema.com.