Sumitomo (SHI) Demag collects second consecutive silver sustainability medal

Tokyo, Japan – Sustainability software platform and one of the top ESG ratings providers EcoVadis recognises the German/Japanese injection molding machinery manufacturer in the top six percent of all participants in 2024.

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag announced that it has placed in the 94th percentile of worldwide companies assessed by EcoVadis, a globally recognized sustainability ratings platform. Awarded silver for the second year in a row, the company narrowly missed out on a gold medal. This repeated recognition highlights Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s relentless dedication to sustainability, ethics, and responsible business practices, and provides further assurance that the company’s sustainability strategy is continuously advancing in the right direction.

“This year we placed within the top six percent of all global participants, which is testament to the hard work that all our teams continue to put into sustainable practices. Just one percentage more and we would have been awarded gold,” exclaims company Compliance Officer Carsten Friedemann. In 2022, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag was awarded its first EcoVadis bronze medal, progressing to silver in 2023 and climbing the ratings again this year.

Due to the revered success of the EcoVadis ratings and with more companies now participating in the listing, the evaluation criteria implemented in 2024 was much rigorous. “To reflect the business imperative of sustainability, rather than dilute the relevance of these awards, EcoVadis tightened the criteria for medal eligibility to reflect the higher standards across all four evaluated areas,” reports Thomas Kroha, responsible for infrastructure, energy, environment and sustainability within the company.

In 2023, silver medals were awarded to companies scoring in the top 25 percent. The silver criteria increased to the top 15 percent in 2024. Indicative of the switch towards mandatory ESG disclosures, the number of companies seeking sustainability assessments from EcoVadis rose 134 percent in 2024. Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s score averaged 73 points out of 100, with significant improvements once again reported in all categories, including 80 points in Environment and 70 points in Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.

Reflecting on some of the company’s biggest sustainability milestones in the last 12 months, Friedemann adds: “We reached our first ISO 45001 certification with regard to occupational safety management. Additionally, we also submitted our first detailed report to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which helps companies to increase transparency by tracking emissions.”

The compliance officer adds that joining the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) was another progressive leap forward. It requires companies to submit a package of measures within 24 months on how they want to reach CO2-neutrality. This is then checked and evaluated according to scientific standards. Further efforts made globally by the company include receiving a CDP climate change, water management and deforestation rating of A-, inclusion in stock market sustainability indices, and being awarded a gold standard for inclusion , diversity and LGBTQ+.

“The annual EcoVadis review is greatly important to our customers as it provides them with a neutral and independent benchmark to assess our company efforts and progress,” affirms Kroha. “Being so close to achieving gold this year means that we will continue to accelerate our efforts to reach this target in 2025.”

“Sustainability for us is more than words, or medals. It is a lived practice that solidifies our product, production and employee wellbeing positioning. And we remain dedicated to advancing every aspect and contributing to a more sustainable future, not because of legislation, but because it is the right thing to do to preserve our planet for future generations. This silver EcoVadis medal, combined with all the other activities, demonstrates these continuous efforts,” extols Sumitomo (SHI) Demag CEO Christian Maget.

To-date, more than 130,000 companies have been rated by EcoVadis, including many global polymer processors and machinery manufacturers. The methodology involves examining the entire supply chain using questionnaires and reports to award points in the five categories of labor and human rights, environment, sustainable procurement, carbon management and ethics. The scores are averaged to determine the overall result, ensuring each aspect of sustainability is considered