Sustainability has been an important topic across the business world for decades. Though in recent years, the conversation has been amplified by renewed corporate interest in everything from eco-friendly design and packaging to recruiting ability based on ethical practices.
At Griffith Foods, we know that sustainability is not achieved by one or two independent actions. It is not a transactional process, and it’s never a “finished” job. It’s a long-term journey that is always evolving, made simpler by adopting global systems thinking and a holistic view of how we nourish ourselves – and nourish the world.
As a purpose-driven company, we strive to be a source for good. Sustainability is deeply embedded within our organization – in every decision we make, every partnership formed, and every community we help feed with the recipes we create. We are taking the necessary steps to create a long-term vision and plan based on a robust materiality process that helped us identify priority areas where we want to make a positive impact, such as our carbon footprint. As a result of this insight, we are developing a 2030 road map to both mitigate risk and find entry points for essential partnerships and opportunities by which we can create value for the company and positively impact society.
We are also taking action to review our work by asking credible, leading organizations in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance to measure our progress. This includes working with EcoVadis, an expert on ESG, and evaluating companies’ performance in this area. We are proud to say we’re taking our commitment to sustainability one step further and delivering on our Purpose.
EcoVadis is a sustainability rating provider that uses a methodology based on international sustainability standards, including a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), United Nations Global Compact, and ISO 26000. Using innovative technology and sustainability expertise, they strive to engage companies and help them adopt sustainable practices.
Our relationship goes beyond a simple business affiliation, including exploring the ins and outs of Griffith Foods’ policies, actions, and supplier network to evaluate global corporate sustainability across our entire family of brands. Our journey includes three key steps:
1. Assessment
EcoVadis assessed the company across environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. For example, in terms of labor practices, the assessment reviewed subcategories of:
- Employee health and safety
- Working conditions
- Social dialogue
- Career management and training
These reviews helped EcoVadis analyze the information to arrive at a unified scorecard, which was customized to our company, while accounting for industry, size, and location.
2. Feedback
What’s different about EcoVadis is that, unlike other surveys and investor tools, they proactively guide companies toward improvement. That’s why in addition to our score, EcoVadis provides commentary on our sustainability strengths, as well as areas for improvement across all criteria. We consider this information crucial to identifying clear goals, developing new solutions and continuously improving sustainability management across the business.
3. Supplier Review
In addition to the assessment, we are also working with EcoVadis to evaluate more than 1,500 of our raw material and packaging suppliers around the world on their sustainability performance. Our goal is two-fold:
- To ensure that the companies that we buy from or work with achieve a certain sustainability standard.
- To expand Griffith Foods’ impact by identifying and addressing sustainability risks across the supply chain.
According to EcoVadis, the supply chain is the most powerful lever for sustainability impact, as 64% of assessed companies improve their performance on second assessment.
Green for Good
To us, sustainability isn’t just a corporate initiative on a piece of paper. It’s a deep-seated, ongoing mission that has the power to create real change for our growing, vulnerable planet. We know there’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re committed to continuously improving and creating greater value for stakeholders across our value chain.
That’s why we’re conducting a yearly assessment of our sustainability practices and a subsequent roadmap with concrete action items for improvement by the next annual EcoVadis review. At the same time, our mission isn’t just about checking the boxes. Our work with EcoVadis is just one illustration of our greater sustainability journey, and helping our customers create better products – and a better, more sustainable world.
