2024 Sustainability Report: Smart Investments and a Commitment to Innovation

At Aquafil, we believe transparency and accountability are mission-critical. Without these core tenets, society will struggle to make significant strides toward achieving the sustainability goals that will ensure our future.

Of course, sustainability can and should be more than a goal; for Aquafil, it’s a commitment to act with intention and lead with innovation. We’re committed to weaving responsible practices throughout operations as a core component of our business model. We encourage other organizations to join us in sticking to environmental, social, and governance initiatives even in such tumultuous and uncertain times.

For years, our annual sustainability report has provided a transparent view into our environmental, social, and governance performance, inviting accountability as we work toward a circular economy. This year, Aquafil reshaped the report to align with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), adopting the “double materiality” approach to assess both the impact we have on the world and the risks and opportunities the ESG factors have on the company’s financial results.

The result is a deep dive into how we intensified our sustainability transformation in 2024—pushing the boundaries of circular design, investing in conscious innovation, and advancing inclusion and integrity across every part of our business.

Environmental

In 2024, we made encouraging strides in pursuit of environmental goals. This year, 92.3% of the electricity we purchased came from renewable sources, while 19,000 tonnes of post-consumer waste were collected and reprocessed into new materials (expecting to collect more than 35,000 tonnes by 2025). Additionally, ECONYL® nylon—our signature regenerated yarn—now accounts for 55% of total fiber sales, putting us within reach of our 60% target in 2025 and speaking to our deep commitment to strategic investments that move us closer to a truly circular economy.

We also continued to invest in climate and biodiversity risk assessments with a goal to reinforce resilience in the midst of a changing environment. Our Biodiversity Impact and Risk Assessment looks both at our own activities on biodiversity and how risks associated with ecosystem degradation could impact businesses, while our Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment estimates our company resilience amid various physical risks. We also adopted our first-ever Water Policy, supported by the creation of the Aquafil Global Water Team (A.G.W.T.), which leads water management efforts and ensures our water withdrawals and discharges happen mostly in areas of medium to low risk of water stress.
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Meanwhile, we continue to invest in driving new sustainable innovations. This year, we developed the first fully circular fishing net made from ECONYL® nylon, in partnership with Diopas and Philosofish. We created a stronger and more durable form of ECONYL® for the project. The result was a net that performed the same as any other but came with the benefit of being fully recyclable—a sign that our innovations can and should extend outside of traditional sectors.

Social

In 2024, we strengthened our efforts to ensure that all employees feel empowered to grow and thrive at Aquafil. Over the past year, we delivered more than 33,000 hours of training across six subjects—technical, human rights, health and human safety, languages, environment, and business conduct. As part of this work, we trained 300 employees on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics and achieved gender equality certification (UNI/PdR 125) at all of our Italian plants. These efforts are born from our belief that our best interests financially indeed can align with our best interests socially, and that true sustainability involves social progress alongside environmental and economic advancement.

We also deepened our commitment to community engagement and education by hosting 24 meetings with students, including plant tours for local schools and guest lectures at nearby colleges and universities. These interactions offered students a firsthand look at sustainable manufacturing and circular design in action. We plan to continue this momentum in 2025, aiming for at least 25 educational engagements throughout the year. We also welcomed more than 650 employees, family members, and friends to our Italian production sites during “Family Day.” The event featured guided tours, creative workshops, and hands-on activities that introduced guests—including young children—to our circular production process and core values in an engaging, meaningful way.

Business Conduct

At Aquafil, responsible business conduct is fundamental to how we operate. We view it as more than an obligation, but as a true contributor to our long-term success. After all, our organizations must be built on strong business conduct to be truly sustainable—and sustainable businesses are the path to a circular economy.

In 2024, we strengthened our commitment to ethics and transparency by providing more than 670 hours of business conduct training. We’re proud to report that Aquafil was not subject to fines, penalties, or legal actions related to corruption or violations of the code of conduct. Our multilingual whistleblowing system remains active and accessible to all stakeholders, ensuring a confidential and trusted channel for reporting concerns. Finally, we’re under the guidance of an experienced, talented, and diverse board of directors that is made up of 44% women. That’s compared to Deloitte’s finding that women hold just 23.3% of board positions globally, a lack of diversity that holds companies back from achieving their business goals.

Creating a Better Future Together

We made great progress toward our sustainability goals in 2024—but we know there’s still work to be done, and we can’t do it alone. Our commitments stretch outside our own facilities and into our collaborations with suppliers, customers, and universities.

We invite you to download our 2024 Sustainability Report and explore how Aquafil is galvanizing our workforce and using innovation to design a better future.

Author: Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil Group CEO