Evonik - your expert for sustainable products
We take sustainability seriously. It is a core element of our strategy and guides our actions. We strive to improve our customers' products in all markets while also making them more sustainable.
Therefore, we are committed to constantly improving the sustainability of not only our own production processes but also those throughout the entire value chain. Additionally, we prioritize the topics of safety and health protection, ensuring they remain at the forefront of our agenda.
Smart Effects News
Pioneering Sustainable Packaging
In a world striving for sustainability, Evonik‘s business line Smart Effects is leading the way with new eco-friendly packaging for their silica AEROSIL® and AEROXIDE®.
By eliminating the PE-coating and reducing from 3 to 2 ply, we’re not just saving resources, we’re also making recycling easier as the new bag can be recycled as a pure paper bag (PAP 22) according to the EU recycling classification. This change is already in line with the new EU guideline “Packaging & Packaging waste Regulation” (PPWR) which requires easier recycling and higher recycling rates for packaging, thus making your life, and those of our most valued customer, easier!
Packaging of AEROSIL® and AEROXIDE® powder requires complete air release and product protection. Our new innovative design ensures quick air release without compromising on moisture protection, thanks to our completely shrink-wrapped pallets which are also made from recyclable material.
Our hydrophilic grades now boast a 25% CO2 reduction per pallet, and our hydrophobic grades have achieved a 13% CO2 reduction per pallet. Considering the single bags, the savings are 40% for hydrophilic grades and 25% for hydrophobic grades.
We are delighted to pass over this tremendous CO2 savings onto you, by offering all our AEROSIL® and AEROXIDE® products from our EMEA-Region production plants starting 1st January 2025 in the new packaging, followed by Americas and Asia in the second half of 2025.
Our new bags provide the same level of protection against moisture and other environmental factors as the ones you have been safely using for the last years.
Our passion for sustainability is driven by our belief that we can make a positive impact to the world by creating products that are not only high-quality and innovative, but also environmentally responsible. We are committed to doing our part to create a more sustainable future for all, and we invite our customers and partners to join us on this journey. The sustainability approach focusses on three major pillars.
Next Generation Culture (heartprint)
We integrate sustainability into our human resources processes at all levels, from recruitment through vocational training and continuing professional development, to engagement programs and remuneration. We inspire our global silica team by the vision of a more sustainable world and act responsibly at our customers, stakeholders, and locally at our different production sites.
Next Generation Technologies (footprint)
Our Next Generation Technologies are designed to protect the resources of our planet by supporting the objectives of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We are committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and aim to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25 percent between 2021 and 2030. For the reduction in our scope 3 emissions, we are committed to a target of 11 percent. Our targets are aligned to the SBTi target level of “well below 2 °C”. Furthermore we strive for climate neutrality for all scopes latest 2050.
Next Generation Solutions (handprint)
We are proud to already have generated more than 50 percent of our sales with silica products and solutions that have a strongly positive sustainability profile. Our goal is to increase the proportion of sales generated with these Next Generation Solutions further, this goal drives our strategic portfolio decisions, and directs the innovation in silica solutions.
Emmanuel Auer - Head of Evonik Smart Effects business line
“Sustainability is at the core of all our activities. We are dedicated to improving the sustainability of the entire value chain, from sourcing circular raw materials to delivering our products. Together with our customers and partners, we strive for creating a more sustainable future for all.”
Silica powerful enables sustainability
At Evonik, we use precipitation methods or flame processes to manufacture tailor-made, amorphous silica of high and constant quality for a broad range of applications and it all starts with the natural source sand. In simple terms, sand is turned into a valuable high-purity material. Only in this pure form is synthetic amorphous silica an essential additive for countless industrial applications.
Silica is the common name for silicon dioxide (SiO2), which is very common in nature, for example, as crystalline silica in quartz or grains of sand. Silica from Evonik is a natural derived mineral ingredient according to ISO 16128.
When silica is released from consumer products used in industries like Personal Care, Oral Care, Food etc. into the environment, it is not distinguishable from naturally occurring silica in minerals or plants. Our silica products go back into the natural cycle of silica.
Our sustainable silica solutions
Evonik is one of the world’s leading silica producers. We are the only company to provide both precipitated and fumed silica and metal oxides from a single source – and in consistently high quality. With more than 80 years of process expertise for synthetic amorphous silica, we have developed a broad product portfolio of sustainable solutions, such as
- Silica for environmentally friendly tires
- Silica for modern and sustainable agriculture
- Powering a greener future: AEROXIDE® fumed metal oxides for electromobility
- Extremely powerful and innovative to optimizing the performance and safety of climate-friendly batteries
- Highly efficient and thin insulation systems for refrigerators in highest energy classes
Our ambitious targets
At Evonik, we are committed to sustainability and making a positive impact on the world. Our contributions to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are focused on four key areas: fighting climate change, driving circularity, safeguarding ecosystems, and ensuring health and wellbeing.
In the fight against climate change, we are developing innovative technologies and solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency. We are also committed to driving circularity by promoting the use of renewable, circular resources and minimizing production waste by following the guiding principle of three “R” - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Safeguarding ecosystems is another important focus area for us. We are working to minimize the impact of our operations to the environment. Additionally, we are committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of our employees, customers, and communities.