Berlin / Paris – (May 3, 2018) —EcoVadis, the leader in supply chain sustainability ratings, and the German Council for Sustainable Development, developer of the Sustainability Code, an international standard for reporting sustainability performance, announce the publication of a jointly developed guide, “The Sustainability Code and EcoVadis – A Practical Guide”. This cooperation is a further step in the alignment of assessment and reporting of corporate sustainability performance.
Added value for companies using the Sustainability Code and EcoVadis ratings
The demands for transparency regarding CSR and sustainability performance can be best achieved when there is alignment across sustainability management, reporting and external assessments. For this reason, the German Council for Sustainable Development and EcoVadis have collaborated on a practical guide that offers companies a concise comparison of the EcoVadis methodology and the Sustainability Code.
“The Sustainability Code is a dynamic standard connected to current discussions about sustainable economic systems, the importance of human rights, environmental issues in supply chains, and sustainable finance. The Code provides companies and policy makers on national and international level with a framework for sustainability discourse. By demonstrating the alignment with EcoVadis’ Sustainability Ratings, companies can enhance their reporting and improve processes that leverage sustainability performance.”
Marlehn Thieme, Chairwoman German Council for Sustainable Development
Companies who select either the Sustainability Code or EcoVadis to engage in corporate social responsibility have the advantage of positioning and demonstrating their commitment better on a national and international level.
Two different objectives with strong synergy in criteria
The Sustainability Code provides companies, regardless of their size or corporate form, with a CSR framework for reporting on non-financial topics. As a ratings provider, EcoVadis on the other hand rates the quality and performance of CSR management systems, covering within its methodology 90% of the topics in the Sustainability Code. The Sustainability Code contains 15 of the 21 criteria that are part of the EcoVadis assessment methodology.
“Sustainability is being incorporated into the legal framework as well as becoming a key driver of growth, so it is important for businesses to be able to align their efforts,”observed Pierre-Francois Thaler, Co-CEO of EcoVadis. “Our collaboration with The German Sustainability Council helps companies to reap the synergies of using two international standards for assessing sustainability performance and public reporting, so they can drive their businesses forward faster, and more efficiently.”
The jointly developed guide provides companies that report to the Sustainability Code or are rated by EcoVadis an understandable and concise overview of the criteria and topics of both methods. It explains the added value by mutual expansion of existing corporate social responsibility and sustainability for EcoVadis and Sustainability Code users. The Sustainability Code , initiated by the German Council for Sustainable Development, is applicable not only nationally in Germany but internationally because of its accordance to European and international standards and laws.
The practical guide includes the following topics:
- Objectives of the Sustainability Code and the EcoVadis ratings
- Overlapping of topics and criteria with the Sustainability Code and EcoVadis
- Added value for the Sustainability Code users through EcoVadis
- Added value for EcoVadis users through the Sustainability Code
The guide is available for download here in two languages: The English version and the German version.
About the German Council for Sustainable Development and the Sustainability Code:
The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) pursues the goal of promoting the concept of sustainability in the economy. Companies have a great responsibility for the impact created by their supply and production chains. The Sustainability Code is an internationally applicable reporting standard for sustainability aspects. The RNE decided on the Code 2011 after an upstream, comprehensive stakeholder process.
About EcoVadis:
EcoVadis is the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, intelligence and performance improvement tools for global supply chains. Backed by a powerful technology platform and a global team of experts, EcoVadis’ easy-to-use and actionable scorecards provide detailed insight into environmental, social and ethical risks across 188 purchasing categories and 150 countries. More than 45,000 businesses on the EcoVadis network collaborate to improve sustainability performance in order to protect their brands, foster transparency and innovation, and accelerate growth. Learn more at ecovadis.com, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Media Contacts:
German Council for Sustainable Development
c/o imug Beratungsgesellschaft
Tel. 0049 30 338424-888
E-Mail: team@sustainabilitycode.org
Internet: www.sustainabilitycode.org
EcoVadis:
US: Kate Bachman
+1 617-969-9192
UK/EU: David McClintock
+33 1 82 83 86 09
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