Pulp and paper manufacturer Sappi has, for the third consecutive year, achieved a platinum rating in the EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility assessment for its manufacturing operations in Europe, North America and Southern Africa.
This places Sappi in the top 1% of all 90 000 companies from 160 countries reviewed.
EcoVadis, a provider of business sustainability ratings, and intelligence and collaborative performance improvement tools for global supply chains, evaluates companies according to 21 criteria across environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement practices.
Sappi sustainability and investor relations head Tracy Wessels says the top rating award to its regions underpins the company’s deeply entrenched commitment to sustainability principles.
Particularly, Sappi North America and Sappi Southern Africa both scored 90% for environment, while Sappi Europe scored 100%.
She explains how Sappi leverages the EcoVadis assessment to benchmark itself and identify areas for improvement across all of its operations.
Wessels adds that, as increased supply chain transparency and engagement become substantially more important across the world, EcoVadis is a useful tool for companies looking to enhance corporate social responsibility performance through their value chains.
“Many of Sappi’s customers operate in international markets with different regulations and have extensive supply chains spanning the world. EcoVadis provides them with a consistent methodology for assessing environmental, social and governance performance,” she concludes.