DS Smith has announced the firm has been awarded the ‘Platinum’ rating by EcoVadis for its performance as a responsible and sustainable business.
This is an upgrade on the ‘gold’ rating awarded to the packaging specialist last year and places DS Smith in the top 1% of the 75,000 best-rated companies assessed by EcoVadis globally.
The company scored 90% for its performance in sustainable procurement, earning praise for its supplier engagement programme and FSC chain of custody certification and 80% on environmental issues, with commendations for its ‘exceptional’ reporting.
DS Smith revealed the company was also praised for its work to close the loop through better design and to protect natural resources as part of its Now and Next sustainability strategy; as well as the firm’s commitment to sourcing 100% recycled or chain of custody certified papers.
Wouter van Tol, head of government, community affairs and sustainability at DS Smith, said, “We are delighted to have improved our EcoVadis score and achieved a platinum rating. EcoVadis is an important rating to our customers, who use the platform to assess our performance as their provider of sustainable packaging solutions.
“As a key part of their packaging supply chain, our customers want reassurance that we can support them in achieving their own sustainable packaging goals by reducing the impact of the products they buy from us and delivering strong ESG performance with our Now and Next sustainability strategy.”
Oliver Bradley, sustainability reporting manager at DS Smith, added, “EcoVadis sits alongside our other priority ESG ratings that we engage with to independently review our performance and reassure customers, investors and other partners that we are delivering strong ESG and sustainability performance throughout our business. There are always opportunities to improve and we value the chance to have our performance assessed.”
