Neckarsulm, 12 January 2024 – Bechtle has been awarded Ecovadis Gold status for its sustainability efforts for the first time. The European IT company has undergone annual assessments by Ecovadis since 2016, continually improving its score and after five years of Silver, has now achieved Gold. The Ecovadis Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) analysis considers 21 criteria across the topics of Environment and Climate, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement and this year’s rating sees Bechtle in the top two per cent of the IT companies assessed. Germany’s largest IT system house saw the greatest improvements in the area of sustainable procurement and is in the top one per cent of all IT companies ranked.
Ecovadis awarded Bechtle’s overall sustainability efforts a total of 73 out of 100, which is an increase of an impressive six points over the previous year. “The Ecovadis Gold Status is not only a great achievement for us, but also affirmation that sustainability and technical advancement can go hand in hand. The Gold medal is also recognition of our team, which has embedded sustainable practices into the heart of our corporate strategy,” says Arthur Schneider, Head of Sustainability Management, Bechtle AG.
Forward-facing sustainability strategy
Bechtle’s Sustainability Strategy 2030 defines its specific ecological, economic and social objectives. It refers to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and comprises four strategic fields of action that are particularly relevant for Bechtle—ethical business practices, environment, people, and digital future. Each field of action is backed by a programme that includes goals, milestones and operational measures.
Independent platform for rating sustainability
Ecovadis is a globally recognised sustainability rating platform analysing data from over 100,000 companies in the fields of Environment and Climate, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement with the aim of providing a more transparent picture of how sustainability practices are successfully being put into practice. The Ecovadis sustainability scorecards offer a detailed insight into ecological, social and ethical risks in 200 categories and 175 countries. The ratings are documented on an online platform and are available to the companies’ business partners among others.