Together for Sustainability

The aim of Together for Sustainability (TfS) is to jointly develop and implement a global assessment and audit program for the responsible procurement of goods and services. In this context, TfS contributes not only to making environmental and social standards in supply chains assessable, but also to improving them in a targeted manner.

STANDARDS

The harmonization of global standards in the supply chain creates transparency and makes it easier for suppliers and customers to reliably assess and assess sustainability performance. To this end, the chemical industry founded the TfS initiative in 2011, of which Evonik is one of the six founding members. The aim of TfS is to jointly develop and implement a global assessment and audit programme for the responsible procurement of goods and services. Webinars and training sessions on sustainability will also be conducted. In this way, the initiative not only contributes to making environmental and social standards in supply chains assessable, but also contributes to improving them in a targeted manner. 

In this context, we invited our suppliers to corresponding webinars from TfS and EcoVadis in 2023 as part of the TfS Academy. This new learning platform will be used for targeted information as well as further training and development for both suppliers and Evonik's purchasing organization. Overall, the training programs in the area of sustainability in our purchasing department lead to a training rate >99%.  

As a member of the initiative, we also face the assessments of TfS ourselves. In 2023, the rating agency EcoVadis awarded Evonik at least gold status for the seventh time. This puts us among the top 5 percent of companies evaluated by EcoVadis, both in the chemical industry and in all other industries.  

As part of TfS, member companies initiated 492 audits and 1,296 assessments worldwide in 2022. Of these, 17 audits and 91 assessments were initiated by Evonik. Around 80 percent of our direct procurement volume and over 70 percent of our indirect procurement volume are covered by TfS assessments. 

As a member of the initiative, we also face the assessments of TfS ourselves. In 2023, the rating agency EcoVadis awarded Evonik at least gold status for the seventh time. This puts us among the top 5 percent of companies evaluated by EcoVadis, both in the chemical industry and in all other industries.