For companies, environmental, social and ethical performance, also called sustainability, is an indispensable factor for a smart sustainable business. This is because the business value of a company is increasingly determined by the supply chain.

The implementation of sustainable procurement thus also offers many advantages:

- Reduced risk for supply chain disruptions
- Image and reputation of the company
- lower costs (e.g. reduction of energy consumption)
- Competitive advantage when consumers ask for a green supply chain

Sustainability has been a big topic in our company for years. In addition to the large photovoltaic system on the roof of our warehouse with 180 solar panels, two Tesla batteries, e-cars in the fleet, LED lighting throughout the company and much more, we also make our contribution to environmental protection. It is also important to us that the raw materials we work with are mined responsibly and sustainably. You can read about what else we do and what opportunities environmental protection offers in our article "Environmental protection as an opportunity for companies": To the blog post

Silver for proroll

Also in 2022 we were again supported by EcoVadis and again achieved silver. Our strengths are the reduction of CO2 emissions caused by transport, the improvement of energy efficiency through technology and plant modernization, the important ISO 14001 certification, which defines the globally accepted and applied standard for environmental management systems and measures to reuse and recycle waste.

We are proud of our employees and here, too, we were able to achieve silver. This is because we were able to convince here through the provision of protective equipment, the detailed risk assessment of employee health and safety, the offer of training and further education measures and the training of all employees on health and safety risks.

Of course, the ethical aspect should not be ignored here either. Because here we were able to outperform EcoVadis with our measures to protect customer and client data from unauthorized access or disclosure.

The 5 important factors in implementing sustainable procurement are often challenging:

- Dissemination of sustainability standards and labels
- Internal change management
- Involvement of suppliers
- Lack of resources for improvements
- Supply chain complexity

Each region also has its own regulations, languages, industries, have their own labels and certifications. This does not make it easy to assess and evaluate our suppliers or customers in terms of sustainability.
- It is very difficult to follow and know the different sustainability regulations around the world.

- It is often quite unclear how to compare one's performance with other industry companies.

- It also raises the questions "How can I improve the business?", "How can I record progress?"

- The difficulty of proving the sustainability of the company. To make it as easy as possible for our customers and suppliers, we use EcoVadis. But what is EcoVadis actually?

What is EcoVadis?

2007 was EcoVadis founded in Paris and is the world's most trusted provider of Sustainability ratings for companies of all sizes and industries. EcoVadis takes on the enormously difficult task of evaluating hundreds of potential suppliers from different industries and regions. Because each region has its own regulations, languages, industries, have their own labels and certifications. Customers also have their own questionnaires and you often don't get feedback or have the opportunity to compare yourself with other competitors.

EcoVadis solves exactly this problem by means of its own web-based platform, a uniform scorecard, i.e. an evaluation overview with all results, and tools that serve to improve. For example, the scorecard can be shared with potential business partners and they can see what companies are doing for sustainability and how it compares to other companies. Thus, buyers have a tool for evaluating suppliers against 21 sustainability criteria.
This assessment is made possible by 7 management indicators in 21 sustainability criteria in 4 thematic areas.
Furthermore, EcoVadis always requires up-to-date and official documents that serve as reliable elements of the company's sustainability management system. For example, sustainability reports, policies, procedures, certificates, and practice materials can be submitted for evaluation. This always ensures that companies confirm what they have written.

These 7 EcoVadis principles must always be followed:

- Evidence based
- Industry, location and size matter
- Diversification of sources
- Technology is a must
- Evaluation by international sustainability experts
- Traceability and transparency
- Excellence through continuous improvement

These 4 topics are further subdivided into 21 sustainability criteria:

Environment

- Business activity
- Energy consumption & greenhouse gases
- Water
- Biodiversity
- Local & accidental pollution
- Raw materials, chemicals & waste

Products

- Product use
- Product end of life
- Customer Health & Safety
- Environmental services & advocacy
- Labor and human rights

Human Resources

- Employee Health & Safety
- Working conditions
- Social dialogue
- Career Management & Training

Human Rights

- Child, Forced Labor & Human Trafficking
- Diversity, Discrimination & Harassment
- Human rights of external stakeholders

Ethics

- Corruption
- Anti-competitive practices
- Responsible information management
- Sustainable procurement
- Environmental practices of suppliers
- Social practices of suppliers

Environmental protection is and remains one of our core issues.