EcoVadis, an organization which assesses the social responsibility and sustainability of supply chains internationally, has granted Chemigate the EcoVadis Sustainability Rating of Gold. Chemigate’s corporate responsibility was rated as excellent and reached the top 5% among the chemical companies analysed.
EcoVadis assesses suppliers’ environmental responsibility, work-life practices, ethical practices, and sustainable sourcing. The independent rating was completed in November.
Chemigate received a silver rating last year, but this year their fortunes turned to gold. CEO Tom Schauman is pleased with the ranking.
“Corporate responsibility is mentioned in our renewed strategy, and it’s great to see that it hasn’t been all talk. We knew we were doing good work in the past, but documenting our procedures has clearly paid off,” he stated.
Last year, Chemigate held a series of discussions to establish their shared values. During these discussions, the company went through their previous EcoVadis assessment results, in addition to corporate responsibility questionnaires completed by their customers.
“These value discussions have been a big help in understanding the various aspects relating to corporate responsibility and in developing our own processes, such as our quality system,” said Raija Savolainen, Chemigate’s Safety and Quality Manager.
Sustainability isn’t a challenge, rather an opportunity.
In the chemical industry, corporate responsibility is connected to raw material knowledge. The company needs to be familiar with its own processes and know what kind of waste and emissions they generate.
“For Chemigate, corporate responsibility means being able to look in the mirror without shame, every morning. Sustainability isn’t a challenge, rather an opportunity to confirm that we’re one of the good ones,” Schauman said.
“It’s important to be able to look at our own activities from the outside. What effects will this have, now and in the future? The evaluation must be made from the perspective of partners, personnel, the environment and, for example, health,” Savolainen continued.
Employee engagement is also key when it comes to maintaining responsible business practices.
Schauman praised the oversight of the Chemigate staff.
“They know how to demand accountability from their employer.”
How will they keep their gold rating moving forward?
Chemigate believes that long-term accountability projects create sustainable competitiveness, both for them and their customers. One example is the Mietoinen factory’s energy renovation. This will provide the factory with a process heat recovery system that uses heat pump technology. The change will reduce the Mietoinen factory’s carbon footprint by one third and its heating bill by half.
For Chemigate, carbon neutrality is a goal worth pursuing.
“The gold rating requires more and more each year. But today we can be proud of our accomplishment, so good on us!”
EcoVadis was founded in 2007, and since then has evaluated companies from 190 different industries and 150 different countries. Its methods are based on international corporate responsibility standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, the UN Global Compact initiative, and the ISO 26000 standard.