Ecovadis certificates for six RKW production sites

Frankenthal, July 16, 2020 – Nowadays, a sustainable value-added chain is just as much a success factor for a company as a well-thought-out product design, high-quality raw materials or attractive pricing. In particular, larger companies and manufacturers of branded products for end consumers are increasingly making their procurement from suppliers dependent on certificates verifying the use of sustainable processes. One more reason why sustainability is a key component of the corporate policy and business mission at RKW. Six production sites have therefore been certified by Ecovadis, an internationally recognized provider of sustainability ratings based in Paris.

In Europe, these are the Echte, Nordhorn, Petersaurach (Germany), Castelletta, Saints Frères Emballages (France) and Pori (Finland) sites. Their collective performance is extremely gratifying: The results achieved by all participants over the last twelve months rank among the top flight of evaluated companies.

The evaluations by Ecovadis are based on international sustainability standards including the Global Compact of the United Nations. They cover the fields of the environment, labor and human rights, ethics as well as sustainable procurement. The results are then combined to create a “scorecard”. “It highlights the strengths and scope for improvement so that the participants can selectively improve their performance,” says Lea Weiteder, Manager R&D and Sustainability, who coordinates group-wide activities in this field.

Regular audits since 2015

Since the scorecard is only valid for one year, the evaluations must be repeated annually. Consequently, the work involved for the companies is not inconsiderable, although this is not uncharted territory for RKW: Individual business units have been audited on a regular basis since 2015. Since virtually all enterprises in the industry now work on this topic, both the questionnaire and the requirements are becoming increasingly complex from year to year. For this reason, Lea Weiteder offers assistance across all locations: “Since our business units have to meet different requirements depending on their product portfolios, it is not possible to standardize evaluations across the group. With this in mind, we try to use centralized support to reduce the ever-increasing workload.” 

The RKW Group is an independent, privately owned company headquartered in Mannheim, Germany and one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of excellent film solutions. RKW is the market leader in the areas of hygiene and agricultural films, films for the beverage industry and packaging for powdery goods. In addition, the company makes films and nonwovens for medical applications, for the chemical and converting industries as well as for the construction sector. RKW’s sustainable films enable its customers to improve the daily life of consumers all over the world. In the fiscal year 2020, RKW generated total sales of EUR 784 million. About 3,000 employees process 350,000 metric tons of plastic materials at 19 locations around the world. True to the corporate slogan “When excellence matters”, the company, which was founded in 1957, offers outstanding performance in terms of quality and service. Respect and reliability are the core values of RKW and form the basis of the company’s success.

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