A platinum first

The platinum medal places KHS in the top one percent of the now over 150,000 companies that have been rated by EcoVadis. Depending on the size of the company and the branch of industry, the rating draws on up to 21 sustainability criteria. These are based on various ESG topics and split into the categories of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.
 

Change through continual improvement

At EcoVadis, the main focus is not on compliance with a minimum set of rules and standards but on continual improvement that brings about genuine change. In the KHS competence interview in 2024, EcoVadis CIO Valérie Touchon explained this as follows: “Our rating system works on the principle that there’s no end target to sustainability. As a result, we’re always raising the bar: our Scorecard is continually being developed, each year giving companies an idea of where they currently are and where they could be headed. These insights enable our customers to continually improve.”

Reward for a lot of progress

This also applies to KHS: the company has been rated since 2012. Following seven silver and two gold medals (2023 and 2024), it has now received its first ever platinum medal. Despite higher requirements, the company was able to score 11 more points than the previous year to achieve a total of 86 out of a possible 100 points. This was primarily thanks to the extended guideline and certification management program, which has significantly improved performance, especially in the ethics and labor and human rights categories.

As in previous years, KHS also made further improvements with regard to sustainable procurement. The performances to date in the environmental sector have been outstanding and are largely at the same level as the previous year. What’s particularly pleasing is the recognition given to KHS’ reporting across all four topics that has been steadily further developed over the years. 

Reliable assessment 
of ESG commitment

“We’ve met the strict requirements of EcoVadis and had our sustainability achievements rated since 2012. Our platinum medal sends both an important message to our customers and is confirmation for the KHS Group that we’re taking our responsibility regarding sustainable business seriously and are on the right track here,” says Kai Acker, CEO of KHS GmbH.

For example, concerning climate protection, the Executive Management Board is consistently guiding the engineering company towards net zero. This goal is to be achieved by no later than 2050. The process has been supported for several years by the carbon scorecard, also from EcoVadis, which independently assesses companies’ CO2 management. This is not yet part of the overall rating, but KHS is actively using it. “In this way, we can gage the effectiveness of our climate strategy and the operational measures derived from it, plus of those throughout our value chain,” Acker explains. KHS has made further significant improvements in this area in 2025 and has now achieved the highest rating of ‘leader’ – impressive proof of the outstanding management of the decarbonization of its business activities.
 

KHS relies on the CSRD 
in its reporting

KHS also impressed with its voluntary sustainability reporting: in its current report, for the first time the company has also accounted for a number of requirements specified by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This regulates the disclosure of sustainability data with the aim of making companies’ sustainability achievements transparent and comparable.

As a subsidiary of the Salzgitter Group, KHS is included in its consolidated management report. However, as the Dortmund systems supplier operates in a completely different market environment, for many years it has disclosed its own sustainability achievements and progress in a voluntary report. “This gives our stakeholders a detailed insight into our system of sustainability management,” explains Nicole Pohl, senior ESG manager and human rights officer at KHS.

Since the first edition for 2013/2014, KHS has based its voluntary sustainability reports on the standards established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). To progressively adjust the reports to the criteria of the CSRD, in the current edition, the GRI reporting standards were compared with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) for the first time. The aim in the next few years is to gradually bring the voluntary KHS report into line with CSRD requirements for obligatory reports. “In doing so, we’ll be heading for a successful rating in the future, too, and can further strengthen our position,” Pohl confidently concludes.