The global food and beverage industry has improved its overall rating to ‘good’ on the sixth edition of the annual EcoVadis Business Sustainability Risk & Performance Index.
The EcoVadis Index is based on sustainability performance data from more than 83,000 ratings of almost 53,000 companies across nine industries in five regions of the world.
Companies are ranked across four areas: Environment, Labour and human rights, Ethics, and Sustainable procurement. The global food and beverage industry saw an improved performance overall. Over 65% of companies assessed achieved a rating of “Good” or better – an increase from 50% in 2017.
The industry earned a rating of 51.4, up from 46.6 in 2017. Finishing top of the ranking in 2017, in comparison with some other industries, food and beverage has improved at a slower pace, after ranking third this year behind both finance / legal / consulting and construction.
The European food and beverage industry scored the highest rating, achieving 55.5 overall, followed by the US with 48.2.
“Increased regulatory pressures and ongoing supply chain disruptions are putting a bigger spotlight on sustainability risks and requiring organisations to rethink their approach to their social and environmental commitments,” said EcoVadis co-founder and co-CEO Pierre-Francois Thaler.
“Companies who consistently use a ratings-based engagement strategy are reaching greater levels of sustainability management performance across their value chains – a foundational element to supply chain risk mitigation and resilience.”
Since being founded in 2007, EcoVadis has grown to be one of the most reputable providers of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 100,000+ rated companies. This includes Epson and VMware who both published their ESG reports earlier this year.
More recently, contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Samsung Biologics achieved the Gold Sustainability Rating through the rating’s provider. Samsung Biologics scored 71 out of 100, putting them in the top 5% of the more than 100,000 companies worldwide assessed by EcoVadis.
