Sustainability performance officially recognized: KHS has achieved coveted gold status for the first time in the internationally influential EcoVadis rating. Compared to the last audit in 2022, the Dortmund-based system provider for the beverage and liquid food industry has improved by 12 points to 71 out of a possible 100 points. According to EcoVadis, KHS made significant progress in all the categories evaluated.

KHS has been taking part in the annual audit of the globally recognized certification platform for sustainability performance since 2012. To date, EcoVadis has awarded the Dortmund-based system provider seven silver and two bronze awards. "With our first gold medal, EcoVadis honors the steadily growing commitment of the KHS Group and certifies that we have a well-functioning sustainability management system," says Kai Acker, chairman of the board of management of KHS GmbH. "The significantly improved rating result is clear proof of the continuous steps we have been taking in this area for years. We are consistently pursuing this path with the goal of net zero by 2045."

The upgrade should be particularly emphasized in light of the fact that EcoVadis has expanded its evaluation criteria since the European Green Deal (December 2019) and the resulting growing importance of the rating in the context of ESG¹ has expanded significantly. In addition, the French company tightened the scoring system as of January 1, 2023.

KHS impresses compared to the rest of the industry

EcoVadis evaluates the sustainability performance of companies based on the four central criteria of environment, ethics, sustainable procurement, and labor and human rights. KHS was able to improve significantly in all areas compared with the previous year. The system provider achieved the largest increase in the sustainable procurement category, with an increase of 20 points. In addition, KHS improved its previous year's results in the areas of environment, labor and human rights as well as ethics by 10 points each. "Through targeted measures, we have proven that we translate important specifications into processes and thus make them fixed parameters of lived sustainability," says Acker.

According to the EcoVadis rating, KHS ranks among the top 2 percent of companies in the field of general machinery manufacturing. Especially in the categories of environment and sustainable procurement, the Dortmund-based full-service provider is well above the industry average. "The positive rating result is an important signal to our clients and helps us to have a reliable response to the increased interest in sustainability ratings on the part of the financial market. Our sustainability performance demonstrates that we are a reliable and future-proof partner," emphasizes Acker.

EcoVadis: internationally recognized sustainability certifications

EcoVadis is one of the world's most important platforms for assessing corporate sustainability performance. The company was founded in Paris back in 2007. Its aim is to provide interested parties from different industries and markets with a reliable picture of the quality of management systems and the associated risk management of companies in the supply chain. Currently, the EcoVadis database consists of more than 115,000 evaluated companies from 175 countries and 200 industries.

_{¹ The abbreviation ESG stands for the three sustainability-related areas of responsibility of companies: "Environment", "Social" and "Governance".}