EcoVadis Ratings Create Roadmaps to a More Sustainable Plastics Industry
Establishing corporate sustainability goals and using reporting platforms are quickly becoming an expectation from every stakeholder in the plastics industry. At M. Holland, we are working with more and more of our customers every year to incorporate sustainable materials into their plastic products and further environmentally friendly practices.
To report on the effectiveness of these new practices, companies must have a measured way to determine the impact of their programs on people and the planet. One solution is to involve third-party corporate responsibility assessment companies like EcoVadis to audit sustainability practices and determine where a company is successful and where it can improve.
What Is the EcoVadis Sustainability Assessment?
To further our commitment to encouraging a more sustainable plastics industry, M. Holland has received evaluations conducted by the EcoVadis team of international sustainability experts. These ratings are tailored to each company’s size, industry sector and country.
The assessments quantify an organization’s sustainability efforts with evidence-based benchmarks and comparisons to industry averages. The result is a score out of 100 that measures sustainable aspects of business operations. Companies may also earn a medal for scores in the top percentage of the EcoVadis global network of more than 100,000 rated businesses. The medals include Bronze for the top 50%, Silver for the top 25%, Gold for the top 5% and Platinum for the top 1%.
What Do EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings Measure?
The EcoVadis index measures a company’s environmental and social impact based on international sustainability criteria like the Global Reporting Initiative standards, the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard. From these benchmarks, EcoVadis creates a rating addressing 21 priority issues grouped within four themes:
- Environment: The effect of a company’s operations and products on the planet, including an assessment of pollution and product use, along with materials, chemicals and waste.
- Labor and Human Rights: The treatment of employees and external stakeholders, including an assessment of employee health and safety, working conditions, diversity, and discrimination.
- Ethics: The morality of a company’s operations, including an assessment of corruption, anti-competitive practices and cybersecurity.
- Sustainable Procurement: The responsibility of suppliers a company works with, including an assessment of the environmental and social practices of suppliers.
Based on these categories, EcoVadis can holistically evaluate a company’s sustainability practices and determine how well they are integrated into business operations.
Why Are Sustainability Ratings Important for the Plastics Industry?
Global legislation continues to drive infrastructure advancements in recycling, sustainable product design and material usage. Policies such as Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in the EU place the responsibility on plastics manufacturers to create sustainable solutions that are designed to protect human health and the environment.
Third-party evaluation services help to increase transparency as companies work to improve the sustainability of products, processes and even culture. Ratings build credibility for plastics companies by demonstrating that sustainability is a central measure driving business operations up and down the supply chain. Results of sustainability assessments act as a proof point for how companies are improving based on shortcomings and can help plastics manufacturers develop a roadmap to a more sustainable future.
How Do Sustainability Ratings Improve Practices?
Beyond providing a comparison to industry peers, third-party sustainability ratings are a powerful tool in tracking progress toward environmental goals and creating strategic plans for year-over-year improvement. For example, if EcoVadis scores a company as “insufficient,” or a score below 24, in the Sustainable Procurement category, the enterprise can consider adding social and environmental clauses to contracts or creating a supplier corporate social responsibility code of conduct to improve its score in the next evaluation.
In an assessment, EcoVadis specifically highlights priority areas of opportunity to help guide companies toward action that will make a measurable difference. Improving practices based on the feedback from EcoVadis not only increases future assessment scores but, more importantly, moves organizations closer to achieving their short- and long-term sustainability goals.
How Can Third-Party Ratings Inform Best Practices in Plastics?
The plastics industry has a responsibility to promote sustainability in its products and operations. Pursuing an external sustainability rating provides an outside perspective on operations and generates an actionable assessment.
In late 2022, EcoVadis ranked M. Holland at the Bronze level, with a score higher than 53% of all companies evaluated. M. Holland ranked in the top 21% of plastics industry companies rated by EcoVadis based on our overall score. At least 85 of M. Holland’s suppliers and customers are also ranked by EcoVadis in the platform, demonstrating our alignment with business partners on sustainability.
Debbie Prenatt, M. Holland’s Market Manager, Sustainability, calls EcoVadis a “crucial tool in our toolbox to inform and measure our sustainability efforts at M. Holland.” M. Holland’s partnership with EcoVadis enables the organization to make positive, informed changes and offers a platform to celebrate success alongside business partners and customers.
Read more about M. Holland’s past results or visit the EcoVadis website for more information on its sustainability rating services. Or visit M. Holland’s Sustainability market page for more information.
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