Raw Materials

We have established special procurement strategies and risk management systems for our critical raw materials. These raw materials include palm oil, conflict minerals, and renewable raw materials.

All nine sites operated by our Personal Care business that use palm oil derivatives have now been certified by an external auditor. This shows that our organizational structure at these sites meets the RSPO requirements, which is a basic precondition for the continuous transition to certified raw materials. More than 50 percent of products offered by the Personal Care and Household Care Business Lines are based on certified raw materials. Since 2017, this has also applied to the Interface & Performance Business Line. In 2017, more than 40 percent of volume sales by our Personal Care business had Mass Balance Supply Chain Certification. In collaboration with our customers and suppliers, we aim to extend our portfolio of certified products further in 2

The Dodd-Frank Act requires companies listed on the US stock market to disclose whether their products contain potential conflict minerals. These are mineral raw materials from the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighboring countries that are used to finance armed conflicts. Evonik is not listed on US stock exchanges and therefore has no legal obligation to comply with the reporting requirements of the US stock market regulator. At the same time, as a responsible company, Evonik meets its duty of care with regard to conflict minerals in the supply chain and checks the origin of such substances. Moreover, Evonik requires new suppliers to provide evidence of origin in the pre-validation process. In our checks in 2017 we did not identify any use of conflict materials in Evonik products.