Gold for STILL from EcoVadis

Once again this year, the renowned evaluation platform EcoVadis has awarded the Hamburg-based intralogistics company STILL its gold sustainability certificate. STILL stands out clearly from the average German company, particularly in the evaluation areas of ‘environmental management’ and ‘labour and human rights’.

STILL has been regularly assessed by the renowned rating agency EcoVadis for more than ten years. The result: as in previous years, STILL was awarded the gold sustainability certificate in 2022. The company has made particularly strong progress in the strategic implementation of environmental management and labour and human rights, scoring ten more points than in the previous year. This means that STILL achieved more than twice as many assessment points in these categories as the average for all companies assessed by EcoVadis.

Innovative management systems ensure ecological and social standards

The positive assessment focuses on the management systems introduced at STILL, which reliably and sustainably anchor the consistent implementation of corporate values and guidelines – by making them measurable and documenting them transparently. They are rated by EcoVadis as particularly innovative and mature. “In the past year, we have taken further important steps to sustainably develop ourselves and our corporate processes with regard to the important future issues of environmental management and working conditions,” explains Frank Müller, Senior Vice President STILL Brand Management. “The focus here is on the strategic approach and on evaluation and continuous process optimisation. The fact that we have succeeded and are appreciated in this way is a great confirmation of our work and a great motivation to continue along this path stringently and with a great deal of conviction.”

The cycle of theory, practice, evaluation and optimisation

STILL’s systematic approach can be clearly illustrated by the example of integrated environmental management: The Health, Safety and Environmental Standards policy provides for the company-wide reduction of emissions in accordance with national legislation. To achieve this, STILL implemented numerous measures last year, such as the ongoing switch to LED lighting in certain areas and optimising the control of the district heating network. The consistent implementation and the resulting results were continuously evaluated and officially documented, and further potential for optimisation was identified – for subsequent measures in the coming year. In this way, the company ensures on the one hand that guidelines are actually put into practice. On the other hand, the success of implemented measures can be checked in this way in order to make adjustments if necessary.

Responsible action as the basis for entrepreneurial success

Economic activity in harmony with ecological, ethical and social standards is increasingly the focus of corporate responsibility and is becoming a seal of quality for companies – and thus also a relevant differentiation argument in the global competition for customers, orders and employees. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) includes maximum transparency across the entire value chain, the responsible use of resources from production to disposal, and ensuring and promoting high social and safety standards among suppliers and partners. At STILL, these CSR standards are firmly anchored in the company’s mission statement and are continuously monitored and developed. “The careful use of resources and respectful interaction with one another are indispensable prerequisites for a successful and secure future. As a company, we like to set a good example by constantly questioning ourselves and our processes, developing them further and identifying new potential for optimisation,” explains Frank Müller. The regular review of CSR standards by the independent rating agency EcoVadis is an important component of this strategy.

About EcoVadis

The independent rating agency EcoVadis has set itself the goal of supporting the environmental and social practices of companies. In doing so, the agency follows the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. Since the company was founded in 2007, more than 20,000 well-known companies have already relied on EcoVadis’ expertise in reducing risks, promoting innovation and creating trust and transparency between business partners. Suppliers from 95 countries are now assessed according to over 150 purchasing categories and 21 CSR criteria. The assessment is carried out by EcoVadis’ CSR experts, who evaluate the companies’ answers in a survey according to international standards, e.g. the Global Reporting Index (GRI), ISO 26000 and the principles of the Global Compact. The survey is designed in each case for the countries in which the companies operate – taking into account the sector and size of the company. In addition, the assessment is based on accompanying documents and information from public bodies and shareholders (NGOs, trade unions, press).

For more information, please visit: https://www.still.de/en-DE/company/news-press/news.html