Sewtec ranked as one of world’s most sustainable automation companies

5 August 2019

Sewtec has been ranked among the top four per cent of the world’s most sustainable automation companies in a leading global supply chain survey.

Male looking at camera, stood in front of machinery

We were awarded a gold corporate social responsibility (CSR) rating by global independent assessment agency EcoVadis. Other businesses in EcoVadis’ top band include car manufacturer Renault-Nissan, electronics company Epson and digital transformation group Atos.

In 2019, EcoVadis analysed the sustainability performance of 55,000 companies in 155 countries across the global supply chain. The assessment covered four themes of environment, ethics, sustainable procurement and labour and human rights.

Sewtec achieved the highest possible award due to our focus on energy-efficient manufacturing processes, design of environmentally friendly automation systems and creation of highly skilled jobs. We were awarded a silver rating in our first assessment last year.

91 per cent of companies take CSR criteria into account when making a purchasing decision, according to the HEC Sustainable Procurement Benchmark. Sewtec works for global blue-chip clients in the food, pharmaceutical, personal care and tobacco industries including Nestlé, Unilever and Procter & Gamble.

Sewtec business support director, Mark Atkins, said: “We are extremely proud to have achieved gold EcoVadis accreditation in only our second year of participating in this initiative. We take CSR very seriously and have focused real energy into implementing our sustainability strategy over the past year.

“Sewtec is a major exporter, with 85 per cent of our sales coming from 17 markets outside the UK.  This internationally recognised rating gives our customers assurance that we are a sustainable supplier across all areas. We continue to implement our CSR strategy to further enhance our reputation with customers and, ultimately, gain competitive advantage.”

Over the past 12 months, Sewtec has recruited 41 new highly skilled employees across engineering, manufacturing and sales roles. This brings our headcount to 127 people, with plans to create an additional 60 jobs in the region within the next three years.