Belgian Aurubis sites win as “Most Sustainable Company 2024” the Trends Impact Award – Circular Economy

Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen have been named “Most Sustainable Company 2024” as winner of the Trends Impact Award in the Circular Economy category (for large companies). At a gala evening in Brussels Expo on Wednesday, October 23, Trends, in collaboration with PwC Belgium and Antwerp Management School, awarded twelve companies for their leadership in sustainability. They recognize Belgian companies that implement strategies generating positive impact and creating sustainable value.

"This is a particularly beautiful milestone for our strategic projects ASPA and BOB. I want to warmly congratulate all involved teams 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.

Other nominees in the Circular Economy category include Aqualex, Circl, Coliseum Construction, Comanso, deSter, Hasa Optix, Hublet, Out of Use, Reazn Belgium, Relieve Group, Reloved, Veolia Group, and Yuman Village.

Valorizing as many metals as possible from raw materials in a sustainable way

Karel Docker, HSE & Sustainability Director at Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen, received the award: “Within Aurubis, we aim to valorize as many metals as possible from raw materials in a sustainable way. With ASPA and BOB, we add two important departments to our sites in Beerse and Olen to elevate 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 win 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 are both internally and specifically tailored to 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. Moreover, both projects reduce freight traffic due to in-house processing.

Due to the energy transition and digitalization, there is a great need for critical raw materials such as copper, tin, and nickel for, for example, (home) batteries, wind turbines, electronics, etc. These valuable metals can be optimally recycled and processed in the strategic projects ASPA and BOB.

Prior to ASPA and BOB, certain streams were not recycled within Aurubis. Both projects allow these streams to be recycled internally and in an extremely sustainable manner, valorizing the metals from them. Furthermore, the projects allow more complex raw materials to be used in the production processes at Aurubis Beerse and Olen, enabling more of these metals to be valorized.

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 because they utilize and upgrade internal streams. Aurubis sees these projects as a lever to further stimulate growth and be a pioneer in a progressive and sustainable multi-metal recycling and producing company in an increasingly complex raw materials and scrap market.

The metals recycled and produced by Aurubis, such as copper, tin, or nickel, are essential for a sustainable future. This importance is further emphasized by the European Critical Raw Materials Act. Aurubis can play a significant role in this: our society is essentially 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, making it a key figure within the European circular economy.

About the Trends Impact Awards

In the spring of 2024, companies – from start-ups to multinationals – could submit a project for the third edition of the Trends Impact Awards. These are the sustainability awards organized by Trends in collaboration with two partners: the consultancy firm PwC and the business school Antwerp Management School. The awards are divided into eight categories: ecology, circular economy, diversity & inclusion, technology, well-being, climate & energy, mobility, and resilient economy. The selected projects could then defend themselves before the jury. The winners were announced during an event at Brussels Expo on Wednesday, October 23.