CEF, the UK’s leading multi-channel electrical distributor, has retained its silver EcoVadis sustainability rating, which places the business in the top 15% of all companies assessed globally.
EcoVadis is a platform that evaluates a company’s sustainability practices, measuring performance across four key categories: environment, labour & human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. The ratings, which are based on evidence backed data and third-party sources, are increasingly used by customers and partners to ensure responsible business practices across the supply chain.
This year marks a significant milestone for CEF, as it completed its first combined sustainability assessment across four previously separately assessed entities. With this year's evaluation, CEF retained its silver rating and improved its overall score to 73, up from 68 last year.
“I want to congratulate all our team members for their dedication to improving our EcoVadis rating over the last twelve months, and for securing an increased score through the complexity of merging four previously separate business units into a single assessment” said Connor Dalton, Director of ESG, Sustainability, and Health & Safety.
“In 2022, we began to lay the foundations of our Sustainability & Social Value (SSV) strategy, and are now seeing meaningful progress each year. Achieving gold is our next major goal, and we’re committed to being a leader in our sector and a force for good, with a focus on people, planet, and communities.”
The biggest improvements were seen in the sustainable procurement and ethics categories, driven by enhanced supplier audits in China and stronger IT security training and awareness initiatives.
Looking ahead, CEF are planning to develop its action plans with the aim of reaching gold status in the next EcoVadis assessment, a level awarded to the top 5% of companies globally.
For more information about CEF’s silver EcoVadis rating and Sustainability & Social Value strategy, please visit https://www.cef.co.uk/