EcoVadis Going for gold

Econocom has been rated 70/100 for the year 2022, up 12 points since 2019 — a score that earned the group its first gold medal. It recognizes the work done by all our divisions and reflects the stronger CSR policy and group impact across all our markets, locations and subsidiaries. We look back at the award with Véronique di Benedetto, Vice-Chairman France, and CSR Manager Badis Belgacem.

A leading platform

EcoVadis is an extra-financial ratings platform that evaluates the CSR performance of companies around the world and scores them out of 100 every year. The rating is internationally recognized and highly regarded by our clients, which consider it in their calls for tender. « EcoVadis has definitely become the leader in rating suppliers across Europe, » says Véronique di Benedetto, who stresses the platform’s rising influence by mentioning the growing number of requests from clients, both in France and worldwide. As Econocom France’s Vice-Chairman clarifies, it has become « second nature » for clients to ask for the EcoVadis rating.

Continuous progression over ten years

The EcoVadis platform scores suppliers on four criteria: ethics, environmental performance, responsible procurement and human capital. Econocom’s progression in all four has been constant since the company’s presence on the platform but especially remarkable in the past three years. As Badis Belgacem stresses, « we’ve gained nearly twenty points in the environmental theme over the last three years. » The CSR Manager also mentions Econocom’s improvement in ethics (up twenty points here too) with the notable launch of the Code of Conduct, related procedures and whistleblowing platform. Ten points have also been gained in HR (human capital) and four additional points in the responsible procurement theme.

A direct impact on the business

As Véronique di Benedetto explains, when it comes to tendering, the CSR rating can represent « 5% to 20% of the total score, » making it a vital part of Econocom’s bids. It’s also becoming a strategic issue for the company. Badis Belgacem clarifies: « The EcoVadis score gives our clients a concrete indication of our commitments. » But it’s no easy feat… Although EcoVadis sets a hundred questions every year, the responding company can’t submit more than 55 documents to the platform…

That complexity has led Econocom’s CSR & Impact Division to act as ‘leader’ over all the relevant divisions (Procurement, HR, Ethics, etc.) in order to inform, organize and coordinate the company’s response on the platform. As Badis readily admits: « It’s an organic response from all the company’s stakeholders, we’re nothing without the invaluable assistance of the operational divisions… » The business impact has accelerated both Econocom’s awareness of CSR issues and its significant improvement in the area.

Overall, the gold medal is thanks to the involvement of the entire company and the hard work of our CSR & Impact Division. Note that Econocom has almost doubled its rating in the last ten years. And we can do it all again next year!