Schneider Electric, W.R. Grace, John Deere, Auchan Retail, Unilever and Klabin Recognized for Excellence in Sustainable Procurement Performance

EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, today announces the winners of its sixth annual Sustainable Procurement Leadership Awards program. Winners were announced at the EcoVadis Sustain 2022 virtual conference.

The EcoVadis Sustainable Procurement Leadership Awards recognize companies who are leading the charge in engaging and integrating sustainability into their relationships with trading partners around the globe.

“Each year our nominees exemplify what it means to drive positive environmental and social change through their sustainable procurement initiatives,” said Pierre-François Thaler, Co-CEO, EcoVadis. “While every nominee is making great strides within their sustainability journeys, this year’s program winners stand out for the exceptional progress they are making to create a more sustainable future for our planet and its people.”

Winners were selected based on their EcoVadis scorecards published in 2021. This year’s nominees were evaluated on strategy and approach, procurement integration, scale and coverage, and program results across three main categories:

Best Value Chain Engagement

Winners: Schneider Electric, and W.R. Grace

This award was given to two companies. It acknowledges excellence in engaging trading partners in sustainability initiatives and honors best-in-class examples of driving internal engagement to roll out global sustainable procurement programs.

The award was selected by an independent jury panel comprised of industry experts: Brigitte Monsou Tantawi, Former Director of Sustainable Value Chain of WBCSD; Divya Demato, CEO of GoodOps; and Sarah O'Brien, CEO of Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council.

The jury panel noted key attributes leading to Schneider Electric’s winning selection, including an integrated Supplier Sustainability Program (SSP) strategy and engagement, contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a focus on working conditions and human rights, strong and sustainable supplier relationships, and more.

Dan Bartel, Chief Procurement Officer, Schneider Electric

“Sustainability is at the core of our mission and purpose, and our global supply chain plays a central role in Schneider Electric’s decarbonization strategy. The Zero Carbon Project is how we are engaging our top 1,000 suppliers to enable climate action. By creating this community of suppliers, they can benefit from best practice sharing as well as get access to our energy management and sustainability expertise. Our suppliers are able to reduce their carbon emissions and we in turn reduce our Tier 3 emissions — it’s a win-win. We are delighted and humbled with this recognition from EcoVadis.”

The jury panel also recognized W.R. Grace for its ambitious goals aligned with the United Nations’ SDGs, top management support and program leadership to cascade sustainability criteria into functions, processes and performance, creation of a Global Responsible Sourcing Committee, alignment with the Grace Responsible Mineral Approach with OECD Due Diligence standards, and more.

Chris Schult, VP of Strategic Sourcing, W.R. Grace

“Responsible Sourcing is a key pillar advancing Grace’s global sustainability objectives. Working with EcoVadis enables us to engage with our global value chain in ways that were simply not possible before. This engagement allows Grace to ensure that our raw materials are sourced responsibly and that our suppliers meet the highest standards of transparency thereby building both a responsible and resilient supply chain.”

Read the full profiles of the expert jury members and details on the key attributes of these winning programs here.

Outstanding Program Leadership

Winners: Brad Adams (John Deere), and Yannick Haven (Auchan Retail)

This award recognizes individuals with outstanding contribution to driving a sustainable procurement initiative forward within their company. The award is nominated and selected by the EcoVadis team based on sustainable procurement program results and demonstrated excellence in program strategy and execution.

Regarding Brad Adams, Compliance and Sustainability Manager, John Deere

“We are honored to accept the Outstanding Program Leadership award from EcoVadis, recognizing the outstanding efforts of Brad Adams and our Supply Chain Sustainability team. John Deere is committed to delivering outcomes to all stakeholders that are both more economic and more sustainable through our Smart Industrial strategy and recently launched business and sustainability goals. Our suppliers are a critical part of our journey to unlocking the innovation necessary to provide more sustainable solutions and technologies to our customers.” Jill Sanchez, Director of Sustainability, Deere & Company. Learn more about their goals and program here.

Yannick Haven, Indirect Purchasing Director, Auchan Retail

“On behalf of the whole Indirect Purchasing team of Auchan Retail, it’s a great honor to receive this award from Ecovadis. This award is a recognition for all the hard work that has been done already, and clearly demonstrates the positive impact of our Global sustainable procurement program. A warm thank you to all our purchasing and CSR teams worldwide, which all contributed to that success. Also, thank you to EcoVadis for your dedication in improving sustainability in our supply chain, and beyond, to our wide community of trusted suppliers and partners.”

Best Portfolio Performance Improvement

Winners: Unilever, and Klabin

This award is granted to companies who demonstrate the highest percentage of rated companies improving their sustainability performance. This category was not open for submissions and was instead granted based on the EcoVadis data.

Dave Ingram, Chief Procurement Officer, Unilever

“Unilever is pleased to share this award and achievement with both EcoVadis and our suppliers, in recognition of the partnership and collaboration required to make improvements to our supply chain. Our Responsible Sourcing Policy is the fundamental starting point for Unilever’s ambition to make sustainable living commonplace, and Ecovadis supports this journey by helping to identify where our partners can improve and progress on environmental and social commitments. Ultimately this award is the result of the hard work of our partners, so a big thank you, and congratulations to all our suppliers for your efforts.”

Sandro Avila, Operational Planning, Logistics and Supply Chain Director, Klabin

"It is an honor to be granted the Best Portfolio Performance Improvement award by EcoVadis, which has become a key partner in advancing the sustainability agenda. This award demonstrates the Company's investments for a renewable future, such as the implementation of the Sustainable Supply Chain Management Program, which helps and fosters our suppliers in advancing with responsible socio-environmental practices. To EcoVadis, thank you very much for your support in improving sustainability in our supply chain."

In addition to these awards, EcoVadis also recognizes a selection of small- and medium-sized rated companies (i.e., suppliers and trading partners) across the globe who achieved exceptionally high performance in their EcoVadis rating in the past year. Learn more on the EcoVadis 2022 Sustainability Leadership Awards page.

About EcoVadis

EcoVadis is the world's most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. Global supply chains, financial institutions and public organizations rely on EcoVadis to monitor and improve the sustainability performance of their business and trading partners. Backed by a powerful technology platform, EcoVadis’ evidence-based ratings are validated by a global team of experts, and are adapted to more than 200 industry categories, 160 countries, and companies of all sizes. Its actionable scorecards provide benchmarks, insights, and a guided improvement journey for environmental, social and ethical practices. Industry leaders such as Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Unilever, LVMH, Salesforce, Bridgestone, BASF, and ING Group are among the 90,000 businesses that collaborate with EcoVadis to drive resilience, sustainable growth and positive impact worldwide. Learn more on ecovadis.com, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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Congratulations to all those honored in @ecovadis' 2022 Sustainable Procurement Leadership Awards! Check out the full list in the press release.