VDM Metals receives Gold status from EcoVadis
August 3, 2022
VDM Metals International GmbH, Werdohl, Germany, a leading supplier of nickel alloys and high alloyed special stainless steels and part of the Acerinox Group, has been awarded Gold status by EcoVadis for the first time. Gold status puts VDM Metals among the top 5% of companies evaluated by EcoVadis.
Sustainability oriented processes and structures are said to play a prominent role within the Acerinox Group, which has also been a member of the UN Global Compact since 2013. The first performance evaluation of the company took place in 2018, with further evaluations taking place at the end of 2019 and in summer 2021.
“We are very proud of this award, as we were able to improve our rating for the fourth time in a row,” stated Dr Niclas Müller, CEO. “This development proves that we are on the right track. At the same time, the Gold status is an encouragement to further improve our sustainability performance.”
EcoVadis provides a platform through which companies can have their sustainability performance independently assessed. Customers can access this evaluation and then take it into account in their purchasing decisions. In recent years, the EcoVadis platform has developed into an international standard, and more and more VDM Metals customers are requesting access to the company’s assessment results.
The evaluation takes place in several steps. The main element of data collection is a questionnaire covering the topics of environmental activities, labour & human rights, sustainable procurement and ethics/compliance. All information must be provided with suitable evidence and, in a further step, the data is evaluated by EcoVadis. The analysis of each topic is based on three key indicators: policies & guidelines, measures and results. After analysing the responses and related documents, EcoVadis summarises the results into an overall and a topic-based score and provides an overview of strengths and weaknesses.
