GLOBAL – 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.
“We are reducing waste, emissions and optimizing material and resource use at every opportunity across the company,” said Sappi Europe sustainability director Sarah Price.
“This rating recognizes the positive impact of all our actions in 2022 and motivates us all to keep going.”
Tracy Wessels, Sappi Group investor relations and sustainability head says that the company has no endgame to its sustainability journey, reiterating that Sappi can and must go further.
“Even with our high scores and platinum ratings, the value of the EcoVadis assessment is that it highlights areas for improvement,” explains Wessels.
“Enhancing trust is one of Sappi’s key strategic fundamentals. We work to make every day more sustainable for people, communities and the planet,” she adds.
“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.”
Since 2021, EcoVadis assessments of CSR performance have been 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 rating agency for business sustainability performance, EcoVadis’ assessments are thorough and respected.
Companies are evaluated for their performance in terms of a total of 21 criteria, which in turn are divided into four general areas: environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.
The rating comes shortly after the company announced that its planned sale of three European graphic paper mills to Aurelius Group fell through.
The agreement covered its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland.
The parties were unable to agree to satisfy the conditions precedent and therefore the agreement lapsed, Sappi said.
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