InterLink: Stories from the AVK World

Since the 17 Goals of Sustainable Development (SDG) were defined at the UN General Assembly in 2015, sustainability, circular economy and the green transition have impacted the international agenda more every single day. Recently, the Danish parliament passed a law obligating the country to reduce CO₂ emission by 70% before the end of 2030. Some people will claim that such a small country cannot make a difference globally, given that they only represent 0,11% of the total emission of greenhouse gases. But that is not the point. The point is to create green solutions, facilities and systems that create jobs and can be exported, ideally including products from the AVK Group.

I recently read in a magazine that “electric vehicles (EVS) are taking the world by storm as an alternative to fossil fuel vehicles. Now, it’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles’ (HFCEV’s) turn to shake up the mobility sector, with many of the world’s leading automotive companies showing an interest in selling, leasing and developing fuel cell vehicles”. During Expo 2020 in Dubai, transfer busses using this technology will be used on a 50 km route to the Expo. What caught my attention was that now a Middle Eastern petroleum exporting country is looking into alternative fuelling methods.

Regarding water infrastructure, the IEA (International Energy Agency) calculated that 30-50% of an average city’s energy expenses are made up by water and wastewater treatment and 50% of such a city’s CO₂ emission derives from wastewater treatment. If the flow of water through society can be made energy neutral, the city can save 40% off its power bill. The good news is that this can be done using known and well-tested technologies. Today, only 20% of all human-induced wastewater is treated. 80% flows directly back into nature without any kind of treatment. If only half of this was collected and treated and the energy was extracted from the sludge of 60% of the wastewater, it would correspond to the entire energy production of all coal-powered power plants in Europe. This would be a massive CO₂ reduction!

At AVK we have a lot to say about current megatrends such as climate change, food supply, urbanisation, digitalisation and electrification. You can read much more about this in the magazine and about our other initiatives, including those that involve ourselves. On p. 4 you can read about our new Sustainability Report 2018/19 which describes how we work with CSR and sustainability and find out more about the way our products and processes contribute to a greener future.

Enjoy reading.

Michael Ramlau-Hansen, Global Brand Manager