CSR audit confirms Gerresheimer’s strong success in its sustainability strategy

Numerous international pharma and cosmetics customers regularly evaluate measures and results with regard to responsible business practices of their suppliers. They either assess these individually in terms of sustainability through questionnaires and audits or handle this through recognized external sustainability rating agencies such as EcoVadis. EcoVadis scorecards make it easier for customers, but also investors and other stakeholders, to assess the performance and continuous improvements of their suppliers across different dimensions of responsible business practices.

Silver status with 64 Points – Progress towards gold

In 2018 Gerresheimer succeeded in making the leap from bronze to silver rating with 46 out of 100 possible points and has further improved the Ecovadis score to 58 points in 2019. As part of implementing the Gerresheimer sustainability strategy, which was published end of 2020, the company now received once again a better evaluation. With 64-point Gerresheimer now belongs to the top 3% of companies assessed by EcoVadis in the comparative sector of pharmaceutical suppliers and medical technology. At the same time, the company is only 2 points below the next level, the gold score, which is awarded from 66 points onward as per the current scoring methodology.

Sustainability is a strategic Gerresheimer goal

At Gerresheimer sustainability is one of the five strategic pillars. As a global production company, the company bears a great responsibility for its products and customers as well as patients, employees, partners, suppliers, neighborhoods and the environment. Gerresheimer set the goal to be a strong partner and solution provider integrating sustainability into core processes, its decision making and its products. The company is convinced that these ambitions are also reflected in its scores in rating and ranking. Gerresheimer aims to achieve the gold medal in the EcoVadis evaluation short-term.

The EcoVadis rating process

EcoVadis is a sustainability assessment platform. The methodology is based on international CSR standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact and ISO 26000 and considers 198 purchasing categories and 155 countries. The EcoVadis scoring model contains 21 criteria from the four subject areas of environment, social affairs, ethics and sustainable procurement. Suppliers demonstrate the extent to which they meet these criteria in whole or in part and are eval-updated on this basis. Once a year EcoVadis then creates a company-specific sustainability ranking, which is accompanied by a scorecard. Currently, the scorecard consists of four evaluation categories, and the scores are grouped into bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.