Aksa Akrilik's 2025 Sustainability Performance: 52 Percent Savings in Water Use

Aksa Akrilik's 2025 TSRS-Compliant Sustainability Report has been published. While the company reduced its freshwater use by 52 percent compared to the 2021 base year, a total of 102.7 thousand MWh of waste heat was recovered into production processes at Aksa Akrilik and Akset Enerji. The company aims to reduce its Scope 1 absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2035.

Aksa Akrilik, one of the Akkök Holding companies, has shared its 2025 sustainability performance and long-term targets with the public through its 2025 TSRS-Compliant Sustainability Report. The report, which covers the activities of Aksa Akrilik, Akset Enerji, Aksa Carbon and Aksa İleri Kompozit, reveals the company's efforts in the areas of resource efficiency, energy and water management, climate risks, circular economy and sustainable product innovations.

As resource efficiency, energy transformation and low-carbon production gain increasing importance in the textile and materials sector, Aksa Akrilik continues to develop its production processes in line with this transformation. With approximately 1,500 employees, a 600 thousand square meter production area and an annual acrylic fiber production capacity of 355 thousand tons, the company supports its sustainability targets with measurable performance indicators and investments.

Tunçbilek: "We see efficiency as part of our production power"
Aksa Akrilik General Manager Didem Tunçbilek stated that the sustainability approach is an integral part of the company's production and growth strategy, saying:

"While addressing climate-related risks and opportunities as an integral part of our strategic decision-making processes, we are accelerating our operational transformation with practices that increase efficiency in water, energy and raw material use. We are implementing practices that reduce water consumption in our polymerization processes, recovering wastewater and raw materials to bring resources back into production, and contributing to the circular economy. While achieving water savings through technological improvements in our dyeing processes, we base our approach on continuous improvement in energy use and re-utilize the waste heat generated in our production processes."

52 percent reduction in freshwater use
One of the standout results in Aksa Akrilik's 2025 performance was water efficiency. The company reduced its freshwater use, which stood at 3 million 238 thousand 750 cubic meters in 2021, to 1 million 552 thousand 398 cubic meters by the end of 2025. While a 30 percent reduction was targeted by the end of 2025, a reduction of approximately 52 percent was achieved in use.

Evaluating water management as an important element of operational resilience as well as production efficiency, Aksa Akrilik addresses the effects of regional water stress and rising temperatures on water resources within the scope of climate risks. The company continues its technological improvements aimed at optimizing water use and reducing the dependence of production processes on water resources.

Annual target for waste heat use exceeded by nearly four times
In the field of energy efficiency, the reuse of waste heat generated in production processes stands out. While Aksa Akrilik targets an annual average of 20 thousand MWh of waste heat to be used in production, the company recovered 76,705.7 MWh of waste heat into production processes in 2025.

With the 26,044.2 MWh of waste heat utilized at Akset Enerji, the total waste heat use consolidated within the scope of the report reached 102,749.9 MWh. This ensured that the energy generated during production was reintegrated into the processes and that energy resources were used more efficiently.

2035 target: 40 percent reduction in Scope 1 emissions
In addition to its performance in resource efficiency, Aksa Akrilik is also carrying out efforts in line with its long-term climate targets. The company aims to reduce its Scope 1 absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2035 compared to the 2021 base year.

To this end, efforts are being carried out for energy efficiency projects, waste heat recovery, renewal of machinery and equipment with more efficient models, and the evaluation of alternative energy sources.

In the company's sustainability report, carbon pricing is also addressed as one of the significant transition risks. The potential effects of carbon costs on production, particularly the Emissions Trading System planned to be established in Türkiye, are evaluated through different scenarios.

R&D share of sustainable product innovations at 38 percent
R&D and product innovation also occupy an important place in Aksa Akrilik's sustainability approach. In 2025, the share of sustainable product innovations within total R&D projects reached 38 percent.

Among the solutions developed within the scope of efforts to reduce resource use and improve the environmental performance of products is acrylic fiber dyeable with reactive dyes. This product, which can be dyed in a single bath compared to traditional double-dyeing methods, offers savings potential of up to 35 percent in water consumption and processing time, and up to 30 percent in energy consumption.

Aksa Akrilik also continues its R&D efforts for biodegradable acrylic, antimony-free modacrylic and modified acrylic fibers. The company aims to develop its sustainable product portfolio, which has reduced environmental impact and responds to changing market needs.