That is due in part to the fact that Krones has learned how to use the EcoVadis scorecard as an effective tool for development, as Peter Steger, Head of Corporate Sustainability, explains: “The annual scorecard gives us – and of course our stakeholders – a highly transparent view of which measures have yielded improvements in our ESG performance and where we still have work to do. We can then use this knowledge to initiate targeted optimisation measures and fine-tune our processes.”
Points gained despite tighter rules
As an example, the company has since the 2023 rating adopted a group-wide climate and environmental policy and optimised its procurement processes. In addition, by appointing local sustainability coordinators in the various Krones regions, the company has lent additional support to the implementation of the group-wide ESG strategy. These actions are reflected in the current rating’s higher score – and that despite the fact that EcoVadis once again tightened its assessment criteria considerably this year. Krones’ biggest progress came in the “sustainable procurement” category. The company’s “environment” score also improved further.
The team expects the group-wide commitment to achieving net zero emissions to yield further scorecard gains. Under this commitment, the group intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along its entire value chain by 90 per cent by 2040 and to offset the remaining ten per cent. This reduction target has been submitted to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and validation is expected to be completed in October 2024.
Background
EcoVadis is a globally recognised rating agency that assesses companies’ sustainability performance, focusing on 21 sustainability criteria across four themes: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. The Krones Group has been listed with EcoVadis since 2017. It shares its scorecard with over 125 customers, from small and mid-sized enterprises right through to multinational conglomerates. In its own sustainability strategy, Krones has committed to twelve Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) goals.
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Header photo caption: Krones CEO Christoph Klenk with Peter Steger, Head of Corporate Sustainability (from right) (Photo credit: Krones)
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