The Sustainable Value Chains podcast series features senior sustainability experts and executives who explore a wide range of environmental, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement issues and look at how companies can develop more sustainable value chains.
In this episode of the Sustainable Value Chains Podcast with EcoVadis, host Fergal Byrne speaks with Richard Verhagen, Global Procurement Director at Venator—a leading global chemical company specializing in titanium dioxide pigments and performance additives. Richard recounts how Venator’s sustainable procurement journey began around 2018–2019, prompted by increasing customer inquiries about sustainability and consistent references to EcoVadis as a leading assessment standard. Their initial EcoVadis assessment in 2019 earned a Bronze rating, primarily serving to answer customer questions. However, the follow-up assessment in 2021 resulted in a Silver rating, which awakened Venator to the assessment’s depth and spurred the formation of internal “subject matter experts.” This shift led to more robust training and an embrace of the EcoVadis feedback report as a guide for addressing shortfalls.
Leadership support was vital. An executive board member with prior experience in sustainability underscored the commercial importance of meeting customer expectations. Venator created a multidisciplinary Sustainability Council, bringing together directors and executives from various divisions. This council aligned organizational efforts with the EcoVadis assessments and authorized the adoption of additional EcoVadis tools, such as the Sustainable Supplier Platform and IQ Plus Vitals. These tools enabled better segmentation of Venator’s roughly 4,500 vendors—focusing especially on around 200 critical suppliers that account for the majority of spend and up to 80 vendors heavily influencing Venator’s Scope 3 carbon footprint.
By integrating EcoVadis scorecards into supplier selection, Venator engages in deeper dialogues with top-tier vendors, helping them improve their practices. In turn, Venator sets clear policies on how to handle suppliers unwilling to adapt, reflecting both commercial needs and sustainability imperatives. A formal Supplier Sustainability Committee, including senior commercial and sustainability executives, meets quarterly to resolve potential conflicts between cost, supply continuity, and environmental targets.
Richard highlights the significance of embedding sustainability into everyday procurement processes rather than relegating it to a siloed department. The journey has yielded tangible results—like negotiating for carbon-free hydrogen to replace natural gas, cutting a site’s carbon footprint by 25%. For organizations initiating similar efforts, Richard advises taking time to plan, selecting the right assessment partner, and nurturing in-house expertise rather than fully outsourcing. Overall, Venator’s experience illustrates the value of patient, steady progress, strong leadership support, and robust data management in building a sustainable procurement framework that aligns business strategy with environmental and social objectives.
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