Trends Impact Awards: Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen win, REAZN nominated!
FMV-members Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen have been named “Most Sustainable Company 2024” and winner of the Trends Impact Award in the Circular Economy category (among large companies). At a gala evening at Brussels Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 23, Trends, in collaboration with PwC Belgium and Antwerp Management School, awarded twelve companies for their pioneering role in sustainability. They are awarding sustainability prizes to Belgian companies that implement strategies that generate a positive impact and create sustainable value.
REAZN Belgium, another valued member from the Flanders Metals Valley-community was nominated in the same category, underlining the efforts that our members make and highlighting the values that connect us.
Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen
“This is a particularly great milestone for our strategic projects ASPA and BOB. I would like to warmly congratulate all teams involved and by extension all colleagues in Olen and Beerse. This Trends Impact Award is a crowning achievement for all your work!” said Hans Van de Water, Managing Director Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen.
Value as many metals from raw materials as possible in a sustainable way
Karel Docker, HSE & Sustainability Director at Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen, accepted the award: “Within Aurubis we want to valorize as many metals from raw materials as possible in a sustainable way. With ASPA and BOB, we are adding two important departments to our sites in Beerse and Olen to take metal recycling and the circular economy in Flanders to an even higher level. A few weeks ago, we opened the ASPA facility in Beerse; now we are winning this wonderful award and in a few weeks we will open BOB in Olen. This is the icing on the cake!”
The processes of BOB and ASPA were both developed internally and specifically tailored for Aurubis. The design of the investments is based on Aurubis’ future sustainability goals and goes beyond current requirements. They have virtually no emissions and achieve high energy efficiency. In addition, both projects realize a reduction in freight traffic due to in-house processing.
Due to energy transition and digitalization, there is a great need for critical raw materials such as copper, tin and nickel for e.g. (home) batteries, windmills, electronics, … These valuable metals can be optimally recycled and processed in the strategic projects ASPA and BOB.
Prior to ASPA and BOB, certain flows were not recycled within Aurubis. From now on, both projects will allow those streams to be recycled internally and in a highly sustainable manner and the metals from them to be valorized. Moreover, the projects allow the use of more complex raw materials in the production processes at Aurubis Beerse and Olen in order to valorize more of those metals.
Aurubis as a pioneer in the circular economy
ASPA and BOB are two strategic projects within the Aurubis Group. They are fully integrated into the Aurubis flowsheet and strategy as they deploy and upgrade internal flows. Aurubis sees those projects as leveraging further growth and pioneering a progressive and sustainable multi-metal recycling and manufacturing company in an increasingly complex raw materials and scrap market.
ASPA and BOB are two strategic projects within the Aurubis Group. They are fully integrated into the Aurubis flowsheet and strategy as they deploy and upgrade internal flows. Aurubis sees those projects as leveraging further growth and pioneering a progressive and sustainable multi-metal recycling and manufacturing company in an increasingly complex raw materials and scrap market.
The metals recycled and produced by Aurubis, such as copper, tin or nickel, among others, are essential for a sustainable future. This importance is once again underlined by the European Critical Raw Materials Act. Aurubis can play an important role in this: our society is, as it were, an “urban mine,” from which Aurubis produces critical raw materials. The two Flemish Aurubis sites are therefore strategically important for Flanders and Europe: Aurubis creates impact by recovering more metals from waste streams such as scrap and residues/waste and is thus a key figure within the European circular economy.
REAZN Belgium: continuous investments and adapting cutting-edge technologies
REAZN Belgium were nominated as well for the Trends Impact Award in the category circular economy, as recycling lies at the heart of the company’s operations. They continuously invest in enhancing processes and adapting cutting-edge technologies to find new and more effective ways for minimizing our environmental impact and preserving valuable raw materials from ending up in landfills.
The jury recognised the company’s efforts to establish a sustainable and long-term supply of zinc alloys through new sourcing methods that currently remain untapped. Given zinc’s infinite recyclability, REAZN Belgium aim to fully harness this potential. Through recycling they reduce the demand for new primary raw materials and significantly decrease the amount of zinc scrap destined for landfills. Moreover, this approach necessitates less water and energy consumption, crucial factors in reducing their environmental impact.
REAZN’s commitment goes beyond recycling and focuses on a comprehensive strategy to promote circular economy in the zinc industry.
Please join us in congratulating Aurubis Beerse, Aurubis Olen and REAZN for their efforts and for impressing the jury!
