Johannesburg, 21 April 2023--Trust, but verify. This is the value of third-party assessments including the annual review undertaken by EcoVadis. All three of Sappi’s manufacturing regions – Europe, North America and South Africa – once again achieved the highest possible rating, platinum, in the annual EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ratings. This achievement places the regions individually and Sappi collectively in the top 1% of over 90,000 companies assessed by EcoVadis.
Enhancing trust is one of Sappi’s key strategic fundamentals. We work to make every day more sustainable for people, communities and the planet. We demonstrate this through our tangible actions, our partnerships, through public reporting, by the group’s alignment with the United Nations Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and importantly also through various assessments and verifications.
"There is no endgame to our sustainability journey, and we can and must go further," says Tracy Wessels, Sappi Group Head Investor Relations and Sustainability. "Even with our high scores and platinum ratings, the value of the EcoVadis assessment is that it highlights areas for improvement."
“We’re reducing waste, emissions and optimising material and resource use at every opportunity across the company”, explains Sarah Price, Director of Sustainability in Europe. “This rating recognises the positive impact of all our actions in 2022 and motivates us all to keep going.”
As of 2021, EcoVadis assessments of CSR performance are extending through Sappi’s value chain. Sappi is using the EcoVadis platform to assess the sustainability practices of its suppliers. "Having undergone the rating process in all three of their regional entities and achieving platinum-level performance, Sappi is setting a great example for their suppliers to follow", says Emily Rakowski, CMO of EcoVadis.
As a ratings agency for business sustainability performance, EcoVadis’ assessments are thorough and respected. Over 90,000 companies from more than 160 countries across more than 200 purchasing categories have been assessed. Companies are evaluated for their performance in terms of a total of 21 criteria, which in turn are divided into four general areas: environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.
