EcoVadis is the world's largest provider of sustainability ratings for companies. Over 75,000 companies are regularly assessed by EcoVadis.
Gerhard Schüßler, head of quality & risk management at Walter, said: "The EcoVadis rating is an important benchmark for us and our customers that shows us where we as a company stand in terms of sustainability.
"The fact that, in just our second rating, we already progressed to the top ranks within our industry, but also among all companies that were assessed, is excellent motivation for us. We have been working on becoming more sustainable for many years now and managed to make significant improvements again last year."
For Walter, participating in the EcoVadis rating is an important factor in its sustainability strategy. By 2030, the company aims to halve its CO2 emissions across all areas; the target is for products and packaging to be made from up to 90% recycled materials.
In the rating, Walter achieved outstanding scores in the ‘Environmental’ and ‘Labor and human rights’ categories. In these categories, Walter is among the top 1% and 6%, respectively, in the sector ‘Manufacture of special-purpose machinery.’
In the ‘Sustainable procurement’ category, Walter managed to improve its previous rating by 20%. The rating method used by EcoVadis is based on international sustainability standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, the Global Compact of the United Nations and ISO 26000.
The Sustainability Scorecard created by the EcoVadis experts demonstrates to companies in specific terms where they currently stand and where there is potential to improve based on 21 indicators covering the four subject areas of ‘Environmental’, ‘Labor and human rights’, ‘Ethics’ and ‘Sustainable procurement’.