Achieving the EcoVadis gold certification – it was a major goal of Magnus Business Gifts. At the end of 2021, our efforts for people, the environment and society, among others, were rewarded. But that doesn’t mean the job is done now. After all, the EcoVadis certificate must be earned again every year, even though the standards are based on progressive insight. A challenge that we are happy to take on at Magnus.
What is EcoVadis?
EcoVadis assesses companies in terms of sustainability and issues certificates: from bronze to silver and gold to platinum.
How does it work?
Each year, the participating companies answer an extensive questionnaire, supported by documents. EcoVadis then checks the correctness of the submitted evidence. After the assessment, each company receives an overview with recommendations to strive for an even better result the following year.
Congratulations Ann, on your golden EcoVadis certificate. As Magnus’s manager, that merit was high on your list of priorities. Why do you think that’s so important?
“That’s right, it was a target that we wanted to achieve with the Magnus team by 2025. Glad we managed to do that a few years earlier. Yet for us it is not only about the certificate itself. We are more concerned with the underlying idea. Our vision for the future is simple: our children and grandchildren should also be able to walk in green areas when they grow up. That is why we want to deal consciously with the environment, even if that is just a drop on the hot plate. Every little bit helps, which is exactly why the entire team is committed to corporate social responsibility.”
What exactly does that mean, corporate social responsibility?
“That is an extremely comprehensive concept. The bottom line is that companies focus on economic performance, but at the same time also focus on the social and environmental aspect. Good working conditions in every link of the process, for example. But corporate social responsibility can also be fun. Taking good care of our employees by regularly organizing a team building activity or group moment is not a lost cost at Magnus. It is an investment in our team, so that everyone can continue to perform well.”
“Ever since the takeover of the company in 2013, corporate social responsibility has been my showpiece. A challenge that I first tried to tackle alone. But since 2019, my colleague Hilde Hanselaer has been providing me with particularly valuable support in this area. With success, because in 2 years time we went from EcoVadis bronze to gold. And that is actually a credit to our entire team.”
Ann Magnus – business manager Magnus
Doing business with attention to people and society, is that also what your conversation with Queen Mathilde was about?
“The conversation was an initiative of Markant vzw and would actually be about resilience as a female entrepreneur in these times of pandemic. I was allowed to participate in this inspirational brunch with 10 other entrepreneurs. My conversation with Queen Mathilde about resilience in difficult circumstances quickly resulted in an exchange of ideas about sustainable business. A subject close to our hearts. I am honored to have sparred with her. And it gave me confirmation that we are on the right track.”
The gold certificate from EcoVadis is also good proof of this. How do you steer the pursuit of such a certificate in the right direction?
“We do this by drawing up an annual action plan with the help of MVO Vlaanderen. It contains concrete actions with a major impact on our team, the environment and society, but also on our customers. Sublime quality control of our products, the pursuit of less packaging material and the organization of training courses for our employees on healthy nutrition, sports and diversity. These are just a few examples of the many actions we take. We recently also entered into a partnership with a new logistics partner according to the principle of ‘one order one tree’. Since then, 1 tree has been planted per shipment via Trees for the Future.”
What does the future bring?
“We did achieve gold at the end of 2021, but now it is a matter of hard work to receive this great assessment next year as well. After all, sustainable entrepreneurship is constantly evolving. It is up to us to grow into this with enthusiasm.”
Are you also in favor of sustainable business gifts?
