Sappi Partners with EcoVadis to Reinforce a Sustainable Supply Chain

New Partnership Will Promote Responsible Business Practices Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Johannesburg – July 12th, 2021 – Sappi Limited., a leading global provider of powerful everyday materials made from woodfibre-based renewable resources today announces its partnership with EcoVadis, a global leader in third-party evaluations of business sustainability performance. The two companies will collaborate to assess the sustainability performance of Sappi’s suppliers through proactive ratings and evaluations using EcoVadis’ methodology.

As a global forest products leader, Sappi produces pulp, paper and biomaterials made from woodfibre sourced from well-managed forests and plantations. Sappi’s partnership with EcoVadis demonstrates its commitment to sustainability by empowering the company to gain a clearer view of its supply chain and suppliers, evaluate and promote responsible business practices, and scale its collective contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as outlined in its Thrive25 business strategy.

“Sappi’s purpose is to build a thriving world by unlocking the power of renewable resources to benefit people, communities and the planet,” said Tracy Wessels, General Manager, Group Head of Sustainability, Sappi Limited. “By working together in partnership with EcoVadis and our valued suppliers, we can better identify risk, assess social and environmental performance, and encourage commitment to sustainable choices and the SDGs throughout our value chain. It reinforces the expectations we set out in our Supplier Code of Conduct and provides a platform to build transparency and collaborate.”   

The EcoVadis methodology focuses on 21 sustainability criteria that are grouped into four themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. These criteria are aligned with international sustainability standards such as the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and the ISO 26000 standard.

"Having already rated nearly 3000 companies in Africa, EcoVadis sees strong potential to accelerate sustainable practices across the continent. We are extremely pleased to work with Sappi, an African multinational company demonstrating their leadership and expanding their sustainability commitments by engaging their value chain in the sustainability performance improvement journey," said Emily Rakowski, CMO of EcoVadis. "Having undergone the rating process themselves in all three of their regional entities, and achieving Platinum level performance, Sappi is setting a great example for their suppliers to follow."

To learn more about Sappi, please visit www.sappi.com.

About Sappi Limited

Sappi Limited (SAP: JSE) is a leading global provider of powerful everyday materials made from woodfibre-based renewable resources. Together with our partners, we are quickly moving toward a more circular economy. As a diversified, innovative and trusted leader focused on sustainable processes and solutions, Sappi is powered by the expertise of more than 12,000 people worldwide; with headquarters in four key regions: South Africa, Europe, North America and Asia. Our raw material offerings (such as dissolving pulp, wood pulp and biomaterials) and end-use products (packaging and specialities papers, graphic papers, casting and release papers and forestry products) are manufactured from woodfibre sourced from sustainably managed forests and plantations, in production facilities powered, in many cases, with bio-energy from steam and existing waste streams. Many of our operations are energy self-sufficient. Sappi works to build a thriving world by acting boldly to support the planet, people and prosperity. www.sappi.com

About EcoVadis

EcoVadis is the world's most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. Global supply chains, financial institutions and public organizations rely on EcoVadis to monitor and improve the sustainability performance of their business and trading partners. Backed by a powerful technology platform, EcoVadis’ evidence-based ratings are validated by a global team of experts, and are adapted to more than 200 industry categories, 160 countries, and companies of all sizes. Its actionable scorecards provide benchmarks, insights, and a guided improvement journey for environmental, social and ethical practices. Industry leaders such as Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Unilever, LVMH, Salesforce, Bridgestone, BASF, and ING Group are among the 85,000 businesses that collaborate with EcoVadis to drive resilience, sustainable growth and positive impact worldwide. Learn more on ecovadis.com, Twitter or LinkedIn.

About the Author

EcoVadis is a purpose-driven company whose mission is to provide the world's most trusted business sustainability ratings. Businesses of all sizes rely on EcoVadis’ expert intelligence and evidence-based ratings to manage risk and compliance, drive decarbonization, and improve the sustainability performance of their business and value chain. Its AI-powered risk mapping, actionable scorecards, benchmarks, carbon action tools, and insights guide a resilience and improvement journey for environmental, social and ethical practices across 200 industry categories and 175 countries.

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