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As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of collagen proteins and a globally active company, we believe that it’s our responsibility to review and continuously improve the impact of our actions on the environment, our employees, customers and suppliers. Our goal, therefore, is to work tirelessly to reduce our energy and water consumption, cut emissions and avoid waste. So what did we achieve in 2020 on our way to becoming a more sustainable company? Here are some key facts from our latest sustainability report:

Energy consumption:

• • Between 2017 and 2020, GELITA reduced its energy consumption by 4% in relation to production volume.

Water management:

• • GELITA has greatly improved its water balance in recent years and significantly increased the volume of treated wastewater.

Waste management:

• • Between 2017 and 2020, the volume of waste decreased by 29% in relation to production volume

CO₂ emissions:

• • GELITA reduced CO₂ emissions by 7% based on production volume between 2017 and 2020.

Air emissions:

• • Between 2017 and 2020, we reduced carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 29% and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 22% based on production volume.

As a responsible company, we totally support sustainable supply chains too. We process natural raw materials of animal origin and are committed to animal welfare. We have been a supporting member of the Animal Welfare Initiative since 2018 and, as a member of the Gelatine Manufacturers of Europe (GME), are dedicated to livestock-friendly meat production at European level.

Furthermore, we are currently looking to complete four major projects within the next two years. They include a solar park at our Chicago plant in the USA, and a boiler house that will generate steam based on biomass at our Mococa site in Brazil. At our Pingyang plant in China, meanwhile, we are converting the boiler house to steam sourced from renewable resources, and at our boiler house at our Australian site, we are switching from coal to gas-fired operations.

Another huge task is the creation of working conditions that meet present-day needs. Like lots of other companies, we have seen a massive push towards digital working, with many things that were unthinkable just a year ago now becoming a reality. Coronavirus changed people’s lives massively and presented companies with immense challenges. The same was true for GELITA and our employees. Our primary objective in the year of the pandemic was to protect the health of our employees as best as possible, while safeguarding supply to customers. Thankfully, we succeeded in both.

A global central crisis team has been coordinating and managing all Corona-related activities, 24/7, since the beginning of 2020. The experience gained from our plants in China – the country in which the virus originated – helped us develop infection control measures from an early stage and communicate them immediately at an international level. Among other things, uninterrupted production was assured with standardized rules of conduct, a contact management system, reduced contacts on site and administrative staff working from home.

To find out more about our recent activities, including updates on our CSR strategy, please download our latest sustainability report.