EcoVadis has awarded Sumitomo (SHI) Demag its bronze medal in recognition of its sustainability achievements. Achieving a score of 54 points, the company narrowly missed out on the silver medal, which required 56 points. Providing CEO Gerd Liebig with both confirmation that its sustainability strategy is robust, but equally giving future motivation. Mr Liebig comments: “Sustainability in our mind is a corporate strategy and lived practice - for our products, for our production, but also with regard to being a responsible employer. Achieving the EcoVadis bronze medal shows that we are on the right track, but at the same time provides an incentive to become even better in the coming year.“
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EcoVadis is a software platform renowned for assessing the sustainability of companies, which includes examining the entire supply chain. Major competitors of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag are active in this ranking too. Based on questionnaires and corresponding reports, points are awarded in the categories of labour and human rights, environment, sustainable procurement, carbon management and ethics. This wider view of sustainability topics from every angle determines the overall result.
“Our customers were approached and asked to rate us. We completed this assessment for the first time in 2021, and this year improved our performance,” reports Carsten Friedemann, Compliance Officer at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. “The bronze medal is awarded to a company receiving a rating that is better than half of the participating organisations. By reaching 64 percent, this placed us in the top 40 percent for our industry," he explains.
In order to strengthen and further expand this high accomplishment, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is already working on identifying and implementing further activities that will lead to achieving an even better score in 2023. Most new improvement measures will be in the areas of labour and human rights. There is also an increased need for action in carbon management, explains Friedemann. “In addition to these specific targets, we especially want to focus on environmental performance. We can gain more points here by further documenting our actions.
“The topic of sustainability is socially driven and is incorporated into companies through appropriate legislation. We expressly welcome this, as only sparing use of the planet’s limited resources will preserve it for future generations," says Friedemann. In addition, an increasing number of customers are now demanding evidence of the efforts being taken. Last, but by no means least, young employees now call for appropriate efforts. "During these times of worker shortages, discovering if the company people are considering joining supports sustainability is an important aspect of their selection criterion," he explains.
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag remains fully committed to sustainability, underpinned by its slogan "Act! Sustainably". As part of this commitment, all future innovations must fit within this company framework and corporate social responsibility mission statement. Accordingly, this includes only manufacturing machines and equipment mindful of these ecological aspects.
