From silver to platinum: Signode System GmbH achieves highest EcoVadis rating
Customer: Signode System GmbH
Category: Packaging / Transport
Date: Sept. 2024
Signode System GmbH is part of the internationally active Signode Industrial Group, headquartered in the USA, and a leading provider of innovative transport packaging solutions. Signode has been a registered trademark since 1916 and is a pioneer when it comes to protecting products during transportation and storage. The company develops packaging tools and produces protective packaging of all kinds on six continents. Signode operates 33 production sites in Europe. One of these sites is the plant in Dinslaken, where around 130 employees produce strapping materials that are crucial for reliably bundling and securing goods during transportation.
For several years, Signode System GmbH has been submitting its sustainability activities as part of the EcoVadis assessment, which covers areas such as the environment, labor and human rights, sustainable procurement and ethics. These efforts were recognized in 2023 with a silver medal. In order to increase its sustainability performance even further and document it even better to reach the next level, the company called in the expertise of DFGE – Institute for Energy, Ecology and Economy.
Ralf Otte
Quality, environmental and energy management, safety specialist at Signode
“The decision to work with DFGE was based on their in-depth expertise and many years of experience in using EcoVadis. This enabled us to ensure that our existing sustainability measures were effectively recorded and correctly presented in the assessment.”
Challenges
Optimizing EcoVadis-specific documentation
Although Signode System GmbH already had a large number of guidelines, certifications and measures in the area of sustainability, these were not always fully reflected in the rating due to the strict documentation requirements of EcoVadis.
As a result, the company initially “only” achieved a silver rating despite considerable efforts. The challenge was to optimize the existing documentation so that it better met the special EcoVadis criteria.
Solution
Workshops and targeted document analysis
In the first step of the project, the DFGE team analyzed Signode System GmbH’s previous EcoVadis scorecard. This revealed that many documents were either outdated or did not meet the strict EcoVadis requirements. In several workshops, DFGE sensitized the Signode team to the specific requirements and identified targeted opportunities for improvement.
This included integrating documents from the parent companies, such as Signode Industrial Group and Crown Holding, as well as updating existing documents. Together, relevant evidence for the sustainability efforts was carefully compiled and participation in the EcoVadis rating was continuously monitored until the questionnaire was submitted.
Result
From silver to platinum – a fundamental step forward
The cooperation with DFGE led to a considerable improvement in the EcoVadis rating: the score rose from 59 to an impressive 84, which earned Signode System GmbH the platinum medal. This prestigious award places the company in the top 1% of companies rated by EcoVadis worldwide. This is impressive proof of Signode’s commitment to and continuous optimization of its sustainability strategy. The platinum rating is not only a recognition of the efforts made so far, but also an incentive for future improvements.
Burkhard Bödefeld
Factory management at Signode
“We are very proud to have been awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Medal. The joint project has also helped us to identify existing gaps more clearly and to work continuously on further optimizations. The result shows how successful our collaboration was.”
