In its 2030 vision, BOBST has declared sustainability as one of its four pillars, meaning the Group intends to take strong actions and report publicly along the strictest Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) standards. The first step was an assessment of the current situation in order to set the right course. We asked EcoVadis – the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings – to provide an initial sustainability rating early in 2021, which led to a result of 34 points. One and a half year later, we are happy to report that great progress has already been made, with BOBST reaching 49 points and earning a bronze medal. “This is of course just a step forward, not the end of the journey,” according to Gabriel Migy, Head of Corporate Sustainability at BOBST.

Founded in 2007, EcoVadis is a provider of sustainability ratings to more than 100 000 companies worldwide, including multinationals such as Nestle, LVMH, and Johnson & Johnson. Companies must undergo a process of questioning relevant to their business field and activities, and prove their declarations. They are then given a global score calculated from the aggregation of four categories: Labor & Human Rights, Environment, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.

After its initial assessment in early 2021, BOBST received a first score of 34 along with a list of recommendations for improvement. An important point for sustainable businesses is the ability to trace one’s own supply chain upstream (to avoid for instance purchasing minerals that come from conflict zones). BOBST has since then started the process of scrutinizing its key suppliers to identify potential hotspots along our value chain.

At the end of 2022, a new procedure of evaluation was started with EcoVadis to track BOBST’s progress and pave the way for future actions. With considerable improvements in the fields of Environment, Sustainable Procurement and Ethics, the updated rating rose to 49, awarding BOBST a bronze medal.

Of particular interest was the analysis and benchmarking of the company compared to its peers. BOBST performed globally extremely well with the concrete actions in place (e.g. health & safety, employee representatives, ISO certifications, carbon footprint, etc.) as well as with its reputation among stakeholders or the general public. Where there seems to be room for major improvement compared to other large companies is detailed ESG policies and non-financial reporting.

According to Gabriel Migy, Head of Corporate Sustainability, “BOBST has a long-standing tradition of being at the forefront of offering good social conditions to its employees, standing alongside them and their families in good or challenging times, setting best-in-class practices in health & safety and encouraging the development of people’s skills through training and mobility. However, today, sustainability has a much larger meaning, ranging from calculating our products’ carbon footprint, to encouraging diversity in management or ensuring IT security. Even if we remain a small company compared to the biggest multinationals, we are part of the leaders in our field and plan to do our part to address the major global issues. As usual, we intend to do it in a pragmatic way, not to greenwash but to have tangible results through science-based approaches in a Plan / Do / Check / Adjust manner. We have already improved quite quickly since the first evaluation, and I am quite confident that we will do better in the ones to come.”