Contactum is demonstrating its sustainability credentials with the award of an EcoVadis Silver Medal.
Ecovadis is an independent sustainability assessment platform, helping companies to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of their ethical and green practices across business operations and their supply chain. The EcoVadis methodology is based on international sustainability standards; Global Reporting Initiative, United Nations Global Compact, and ISO 26000, and is supervised by a scientific committee of sustainability and supply chain experts, to ensure reliable third-party sustainability assessments.
Only 15% of businesses reach the Silver Medal award level, putting Contactum among the top performers for sustainable business. With over 150,000 companies having been assessed via the EcoVadis platform, this is a significant achievement.
Achieving the Silver Medal was even more impressive considering that it was the first time that Contactum had undergone the assessment. This was therefore based upon longstanding business practices and highlighted that without any prior guidance on areas for improvement from EcoVadis, Contactum were already operating at an admirable level.
EcoVadis measures four different pillars for sustainability – Environmental, Ethical, Labour & Human Rights and Sustainable Procurement. Under each of these areas, there are seven pillars and twenty-one evidence-based principles that every company undertaking the process is assessed on.
Through this robust and comprehensive evaluation, EcoVadis allows for a more in-depth assessment than alternative schemes, which often focus on policies rather than practices. EcoVadis places 25% emphasis on policies, with the remaining split between 40% actions and 35% results, ensuring a real testament to award organisations who are putting into action what they state in their CSR commitments.
A large part (60%) of the results is based on a 360° search on the company. These 360° Watch Findings analyses thousands of external compliance databases to identify pending fines, breaches of regulations, or pending sanctions. This includes, but not explicit to the European Economic and Social Committee, European Agency, Greenpeace, WWF, European Court of Human Rights, CSR Europe, Business in the Community and trade unions. Furthermore, once initially assessed, the 360° Watch Findings continues to live monitor the organisation in anticipation of their next audit. Meaning no stone is left unturned, or left to chance, which further solidifies Contactum’s long-term commitment to continuous improvement and transparency.
When compared to similar companies, Contactum outperformed the typical scoring. The average score for manufacturing companies is 50%, and Contactum scored 85%; putting them ahead of many competitors and comparable businesses. When compared to all companies assessed, the average score is 45.1 – further demonstrating how Contactum is outpacing many other businesses and leading the way in their processes and commitment. Of the overall assessment, Contactum is in the top 8% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the manufacturing of other electronic equipment industry.
For Contactum’s existing and future clients, choosing an EcoVadis accredited manufacturer allows them to make better decisions about the companies they work with, with a focus on environmental impact. Additionally, undertaking the assessment enables Contactum to be completely transparent with clients, demonstrating how they are currently performing and how they have committed to continual improvement.
Contactum has set a target of completing an annual assessment; and is aiming to secure platinum level in the forthcoming years. This is the highest level achievable for an EcoVadis award and is only awarded to 1% of assessed organisations.
Daniel Hewson, CEO at Contactum said: “We were thrilled to achieve an EcoVadis Silver Medal on our first assessment. This is normally an aspirational level once you understand your business and can implement the changes recommended by EcoVadis.
“This has given us real impetus to continue driving better sustainability across our processes and practices. We’re motivated to keep improving and pushing for even greater environmentally-sound ways of evolving and operating at Contactum.”
Baiju Rajguru, Quality Manager at Contactum and lead for the EcoVadis assessment added: “This unbiased third-party assessment gives organisations and end-users peace of mind that Contactum seeks to go over and above regulations. Not only have we demonstrated our values and commitment, but we want to continually improve, as we will see in our next annual assessment.
“We firmly believe that if businesses are not sustainable now and making strides to improve their efforts and practices, they will not exist in the future.”
For more information on Contactum, visit https://www.contactum.co.uk/
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