Sustainability certifications
Combine business success with concern for people and the environment
Of course you want your organisation to grow, but you want it to be healthy too. You also want it to respect the people you work with and the physical environment you operate in - now and with the future in mind. In other words, your organisation wants to achieve the perfect balance between people, planet and profit. This is why sustainability is an important part of your management system. How do you know whether your organisation acts in a sustainable way? And if so, how do you show this to your customers, partners and employees? DEKRA helps you answer both questions via audits and certification.
Sustainability is an important element in your management system. The sustainability certification audit gives you an insight into how your organisation performs on various sustainability themes. It also shows how you can improve your performance. There are various sustainability standards against which certification is possible, including energy efficiency and social enterprise.
The benefits of sustainability certification
Sustainability plays an increasingly important role in business operations. An important step in this is obtaining a sustainability certificate, such as the DEKRA sustainability certificate. This gives your organisation several advantages:
You are a social employer
A sustainability certification shows that you do business honestly, give employees and customers equal opportunities and take steps to keep child labour out of the chain. It also shows that you believe in being a good employer and making sure your employees can rely on healthy working conditions.
It’s good for the planet
A sustainable approach to business benefits the environment. It shows that you want to keep the impact your organisation has on the environment to an absolute minimum. This approach involves everyone working together to make sure the planet is habitable - now and in the future.
It stimulates demand for your products and services
Sustainability certification makes you more competitive and enables you to achieve a leading position in your sector. Demand is increasing for organisations that provide sustainable products and services and there are even some products and services that cannot be sold without sustainability certification. Sustainability certification also shows that your organisation is moving forward in its goal to achieve full sustainability.
It strengthens your image
Sustainability certification shows that your organisation and stakeholders value sustainability. This can help you attract and retain customers and ensure that customers are happy to be associated with your brand or name.
You could save costs
Organisations that have a sustainability policy in place often find this enables them to save costs. For example, by investing in the use of solar panels, electric vehicles and eco-friendly temperature control. Investments like these quickly filter through into lower fuel and energy bills.
You attract customers that prioritise socially-responsible procurement
Customers that procure goods and services in line with the Socially-responsible Procurement Manifest (Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Inkopen-manifest) will make their way to you. This is because they are only able to do business with organisations that have a sustainability certification.
Gain an insight into your organisation’s CO₂ emissions
The CO2 Performance Ladder encourages organisations to reduce their CO2 emissions. Your position on the ladder shows you how well you are doing and will be an important factor for your ability to submit successful government tenders. DEKRA can carry out an audit to determine your position on the CO₂ performance ladder for you. The audit will involve the assessment of the CO2 emission reduction goals and control measures you have in place in both your business operations and when implementing projects. We also look at the control measures you are implementing to ensure your organisation achieves energy savings, uses materials efficiently and opts for sustainable energy. You could also choose to combine this audit with audits for other standards, like ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
The CO2 reduction management certificate is a valuable addition to ISO 14001 certification and shows that your organisation is working towards reducing its CO2 emissions. The CO2 reduction table gives you an insight into your organisation’s energy consumption and use. DEKRA can certify you against this standard. When doing this, we also consider the control measures you have introduced to reduce emissions and the goals you have set yourself in this respect. After this audit, we regularly assess the effectiveness of your control measures. This will enable you to make changes to these control measures or put extra control measures in place, if necessary.
DEKRA: your partner in sustainability
DEKRA is your sustainable partner, your ‘go-to’ choice for advice on matters ranging from the most suitable route up to and including the actual audit. The experts at DEKRA constantly follow developments in sustainability certification. They are always happy to share their knowledge and experience with you, so please do not hesitate to contact them.
Platinum sustainability rating awarded by EcoVadis
In 2022, EcoVadis awarded DEKRA a platinum sustainability rating for the second year in a row. Since 2021, DEKRA has made clear improvements in all four rating categories: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.
This renewed recognition puts DEKRA in the global top 1% of organisations rated. With more than 65,000 organisations already rated, EcoVadis is one of the world’s most respected sustainability assessment systems.
Do you have a question? Get in touch with one of our experts