Silver sustainability success: CHASE scores EcoVadis silver again

CHASE has retained Silver Medal status from the global business sustainability index, EcoVadis. This places us in the top 25% of companies worldwide for sustainability and we’re delighted to have improved our score from last time.

At CHASE, we have made a commitment to minimise our footprint by examining and improving four key areas set out by EcoVadis; environmental impact, labour and human rights standards, ethics, and sustainable procurement practices.

On the award, CHASE CEO, Graham Hawthorn said, “We are thrilled to have been recognised by EcoVadis for our continued drive towards being a more sustainable business. Our core value of treating everyone with respect and integrity extends beyond our interactions with clients to our impact on the world around us.”

We take our impact on the environment and people around us seriously, and EcoVadis was a natural step to help us meet our sustainability goals.

Who is EcoVadis?

EcoVadis is the world’s most trusted sustainability ratings organisation. It helps businesses create visibility on ESG risk and compliance allowing companies to meet sustainability goals and drive impact at scale.

Since its inception in 2007, EcoVadis has grown to become the most recognisable provider of business sustainability audits. EcoVadis helped almost 100,000 companies across 160 countries, and 200 industries improve their global footprints, including; L’Oreal, LVMH, Salesforce and BASF.

Commitment to the future

At CHASE, we believe we have an obligation to improve the environmental and social impacts of our business.

“The EcoVadis process has really helped us focus on what’s important. We’re making good progress, but we’re committed to continuous improvement across our Group companies.” said Graham Hawthorn.

How we achieved Silver Medal status

To achieve a silver medal status, CHASE was evaluated on 21 sustainability criteria across the four key areas of Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.

Each of the 21 criteria is scored on seven key principles, split between the company being assessed and commitments by EcoVadis to ensure the validity of their process:

1. Evidence-Based: Policies, certificates, reporting and supporting documentation must be provided as evidence of implementation.
2. Industry, Location and Size: Context is considered for material industry issues, presence in risk countries, and the size and geographical span of the company.
3. Diversification of Sources: Is the evidence supported by 3rd parties such as trade unions, NGOs or other audits
4. Technology Is a Must: Technology enables fast learning and scalability.
5. Assessment by International CSR Experts: Evidence is assessed by appointed CSR representatives familiar with best-practice and regulations within that country.
6. Traceability and Transparency: Every document used in the rating process is stored securely and can be traced back. Visibility and awareness of any current environmental risks is the first step to making improvements.
7. Continued Improvements: Measure implemented policies and processes and continue to make iterative improvements based on the evidence from the data gathered.

This post was first published in 2023.