Envases Öhringen receives EcoVadis Gold Medal
Customer: Envases Öhringen GmbH
Category: Packaging / Manufacturing
Date: April 2025
Sustainable procurement and responsible supply chains play a central role in the packaging industry. The increasing demands of customers, legislators and sustainability ratings such as EcoVadis make it essential for companies to continuously optimize their procurement strategies. Envases Öhringen GmbH, a leading manufacturer of metal packaging solutions, has recognized that a consistent focus on environmental and social standards in the supply chain not only meets regulatory requirements, but also provides a competitive advantage.
To improve its EcoVadis sustainability rating in the area of procurement, Envases Öhringen decided to collaborate with DFGE – Institute for Energy, Ecology and Economy.
Gerold Hoger
Strategic Purchaser – Envases Öhringen GmbH
“We decided to work with DFGE because we were convinced by their extensive expertise in the field of sustainability and their many years of experience with EcoVadis assessments. DFGE’s professional and structured approach gave us the confidence that we could significantly improve our sustainability performance in the area of procurement with their support.”
Challenges
Adjustment of the EcoVadis classification
Envases Öhringen, a traditional company that has been known for 150 years under the name HUBER Packaging Group, has been part of the global Envases Group since 2021. At the start of the project, DFGE discovered that the wrong company size had been entered in Envases Öhringen’s EcoVadis profile. As a result, the company was assigned to the L category for large companies, although as a subsidiary with fewer than 1,000 employees it actually corresponds to a different category. As a result, a more extensive questionnaire with higher requirements had to be completed than would have been appropriate for Envases Öhringen. The Envases Group, with over 10,000 employees, is naturally subject to stricter EcoVadis requirements, but these were not applicable to Envases Öhringen.
Improving the sustainable procurement strategy
Before working with DFGE, Envases Öhringen scored 40 out of 100 points in the area of sustainable procurement and was awarded a bronze medal. After an analysis, it became clear that a comprehensive strategy with clearly defined goals and measurable KPIs for managing and developing sustainable procurement was lacking.
Solution
Envases Öhringen receives accurate EcoVadis rating
By correcting the classification in the M category, the questionnaire was adapted to the actual size of the company. As a result, Envases Öhringen’s sustainability efforts could be appropriately recorded and credited. This enabled a more realistic assessment of the EcoVadis requirements and significantly improved the chances of success.
Development of strategic instruments
DFGE supported Envases Öhringen with the following measures in particular:
- Creating a draft for a Sustainable Supply Chain Policy with quantitative targets.
- Development of a KPI dashboard with all relevant key figures for sustainable procurement.
- Conducting a Gap Analysis to identify optimization potential and necessary improvement measures.
Implementation of long-term improvement strategies
At the end of the project, Envases Öhringen received detailed recommendations for action from DFGE in order to achieve further progress in the area of sustainable procurement in the future. These recommendations form the basis for continuous optimization.
Result
Gold medal and long-term partnership
Thanks to the measures taken by DFGE, Envases Öhringen was able to improve its EcoVadis rating in the area of sustainable procurement from 40 to 70 points and was therefore awarded the gold medal. This shows an impressive increase in sustainability performance and successful implementation of the recommended strategies.
Due to the positive project result, Envases Öhringen commissioned DFGE again for the following year – this time with the optimization of all four EcoVadis topic areas in order to further maximize the company’s sustainability performance.
Gerold Hoger
Strategic Purchaser – Envases Öhringen GmbH
“The collaboration with DFGE was consistently professional and solution-oriented. Thanks to their expertise, we were able to significantly improve our sustainable procurement and achieve a gold medal in the EcoVadis assessment, which we are very proud of. We look forward to continuing to work with them to further optimize our sustainability strategy in all areas.”
Conclusion: The collaboration between Envases Öhringen and DFGE impressively demonstrates how targeted sustainability strategies and sound advice can bring about significant improvements in sustainable procurement. Thanks to DFGE’s customized solutions, Envases Öhringen was able to significantly improve its sustainability performance and strengthen its position as a responsible company.
