Taking responsibility in the areas of research & education, social commitment and sustainability is not only an essential part of the usd mission, but also of the personal mission of each and every usd Hero.
Corresponding activities have always existed at usd. In order to identify opportunities for further development, we consolidated these in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Management System in 2021. We are committed to The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact for responsible and sustainable corporate governance and to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the member states of the United Nations in 2015.
As part of the continuous improvement process, new measures were also implemented last year: Alongside additional requirements for our own actions, we have already introduced various reporting channels ahead of the legal obligation to set up a whistleblower system.
"As a consulting and audit company, we know for a fact that opportunities for optimization are often best identified through a third-party perspective," explains Franziska Aulbach from the Compliance & Legal team. "That's why this year we again had our CSR Management System evaluated by the CSR rating company EcoVadis. Although EcoVadis tightened the evaluation criteria of their sustainability recognition levels, we once again were awarded the silver medal. We are very proud of this."
"A silver medal from EcoVadis for a company of our size is a great honor," adds Andrea Tubach, member of usd's Executive Board. "But of course we are not resting on our laurels: We remain committed - to the environment, labor and human rights, sustainable procurement and ethical cooperation."
About EcoVadis
EcoVadis has been evaluating the environmental and social practices of companies since 2007. In this way, the globally active provider of sustainability ratings supports the efforts of companies to operate sustainably and comply with high social standards. To date, the company has certified over 100,000 companies worldwide.
In the recently published usd Sustainability Report 2022 we present our sustainability strategy and look back on our various initiatives from the past year.
