We have been awarded a Gold rating by the globally-recognised independent sustainability assessor, EcoVadis, for the significant progress we’ve made towards our sustainability goals this year, placing us in the top 5% of all 130,000 organisations that took part.
The assessment rates businesses on four key categories – Environment, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement – based on international sustainability standards, such as the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.
In just two years, we have moved from a Bronze rating in 2022, to a Silver rating in 2023, and now a Gold in 2024. This improved rating reflects the actions we’ve taken towards our targets in 2024, including:
- Committing to renewable electricity with the signing of our first Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Recurrent Energy
- Strengthening sustainable procurement practices with the introduction of our Supplier Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) platform
- Enhancing our reporting processes through our annual sustainability report
The category showing the most improvement was our environmental impact score, a 20% overall increase, attributed in part to the 10.5% reduction in our total direct CO2e emissions (scope 1 and 2), announced earlier this year.
Together, these actions led to an overall score increase of 6% since 2023. This overall score increase is a clear indication of the positive change we are enacting across the business, as we continue on our journey to reaching net zero by 2045.
Dr. Clare Wyatt, Chief People, Communications & Sustainability Officer, comments: “This recognition is a great validation of all the work we are doing across our sustainability strategy and the collective effort from colleagues across our organisation to ensure sustainability is embedded throughout the business.
“Being a sustainable business is critical to our long-term future, and this improved rating reflects our work to position our business – as well as our customers’ – for this future. Importantly, this assessment further enables us to identify areas for improvement and ensure we’re clear on the steps in reaching our long- term goals.”
For more information on our sustainability strategy and how we are reporting against our targets and goals, please visit our Sustainability Hub.