KHS GmbH has been awarded a platinum medal by EcoVadis for the first time, with 86 out of 100 points. The rating confirms the Dortmund system provider’s progress in sustainability and places the company among the top 1% of over 150,000 businesses assessed by the platform. The EcoVadis methodology covers up to 21 sustainability criteria based on ESG topics and grouped into environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. Compared with last year’s 75 points and gold medal, the engineering company improved by eleven points. A key driver was an extended guideline and certification management program, which strengthened results especially in ethics and in labor and human rights. KHS also further advanced sustainable procurement, while maintaining its high level in the environment category. The recognition given to the company’s reporting across all four topics reflects steady development over several years.
"We’ve met the strict requirements of EcoVadis and had our sustainability achievements rated since 2012. Our platinum medal sends both an important message to our customers and acts as confirmation for the KHS Group that we’re taking our responsibility to sustainable business seriously and are on the right track here," says Kai Acker, CEO of KHS GmbH.
Carbon management and net zero pathway
Regarding climate protection, the Executive Management Board is guiding the company towards net zero by 2050 at the latest. EcoVadis also offers an independent assessment of companies’ carbon management systems through a carbon scorecard. While this is not yet part of the overall rating, KHS has integrated it into its own carbon management. "In this way, we can gage the effectiveness of our climate strategy and the operational measures derived from it, plus of those throughout our value chain," Acker explains. This year KHS again significantly improved and achieved the highest carbon scorecard rating of leader, evidencing the company’s management of the decarbonization of its business activities.
Voluntary reporting and CSRD alignment
KHS also gained credit for voluntary sustainability reporting. In its current report, the company has for the first time addressed a number of requirements set by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. The CSRD applies uniform rules to the disclosure of sustainability data to support transparency and comparability. As a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG, KHS is included in the consolidated group management report. Operating in a different market environment, the company has for many years published its own voluntary report to disclose achievements and progress. "With this, we want to provide our stakeholders with a detailed insight into our system of sustainability management," says Nicole Pohl, senior ESG manager at KHS.
Since the publication of its first voluntary sustainability report for 2013/2014, KHS has referenced the Global Reporting Initiative standards. To progressively align with the CSRD, the current edition contains a first extensive comparison of GRI standards with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards listed by the directive. The aim over the next few years is to gradually bring the voluntary KHS report into line with requirements for obligatory CSRD reports. "In doing so, we’ll be heading for a successful rating in the future, too, and can further strengthen our position," states Pohl.
