Turtle Updates Sustainability Efforts

Turtle & Hughes recently shared updates on its sustainability efforts as outlined last fall.

We have received our 2023 Ecovadis assessment report just in time for Earth Month. We are pleased to share that we scored in the top 16% of companies in our industry receiving a Silver medal, keeping us on track to earn a Gold medal rating by 2025. Since we began using Ecovadis in 2011, our score has consistently improved each assessment cycle reflecting our commitment to improvement.

Ecovadis provides sustainability ratings and assessments for companies across a range of industries. It helps us measure our progress towards goals and identify areas of improvement. Our overall Ecovadis score of 63 in 2023 improved by seven points. We attribute this to our better policy documentation, reporting and other ESG initiatives companywide.

The Ecovadis sustainability recognition levels are based on the percentile rank of a company’s Ecovadis score and a minimum score in each of the four categories: Environmental, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Percentile rank is calculated across all companies in all industries, not per industry. The criteria for scorecards published since January 1, 2023 are:

• Platinum– top 1% (overall score between 78 and 100)
• Gold– top 5% (overall score between 70 and 77)
• Silver– top 25% (overall score between 59 and 69)
• Bronze– top 50% (overall score between 50 and 58)

Category Review

Environmental: At Turtle, we are tracking more metrics than ever before across our business focusing on our energy and waste consumption. In 2022, we sourced 637,436 kWh of our energy from clean solar power at two of our branch locations. We also recycled 9.74% of our total waste, equating to 98,966lbs of material saved from entering landfills. This percentage went up from 8.55% in 2021.

Labor & Human Rights: We have consistently scored well in this Ecovadis category that focuses on how we treat our people. Our score reflects the support and advocacy we give Turtles at all stages of their employment, starting at recruitment. This score also reflects the strength of our policies and reporting mechanisms to ensure equity between employees.

Ethics: In 2023, our score rose by 10 points in this category largely due to the thoroughness of our policies promoting transparency and ethical behavior at all levels of the organization. We also showcased the major improvements to our cybersecurity model as we move towards an ISO 27001 certification.

Sustainable Procurement: Our improvements raised our score in this category by 20 points. We accomplished this by focusing on updating our supplier policies and contracts, surveying our suppliers on their sustainability efforts, and emphasizing our business with Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (MWOBs).

Ecovadis also provides us with feedback on actionable ways to be more sustainable. Some of the recommendations that we are working towards are expanding our greenhouse gas reporting to include Scope 1 and 2 emissions, expanding our environmental policy, and refining our sustainability targets in line with industry standards.

While Ecovadis is a nod to our internal processes, our big focus is helping customers to achieve their sustainability goals. 100% of our specialty business works in relation to sustainability, with many projects focusing on reducing emissions or increasing clean energy usage. Our integrated team helps customers improve efficiency across their businesses, often leading to waste, emissions and energy usage reductions. And as Turtle continues to grow, we are choosing to expand into markets focused on sustainability. These projects are outlined in our annual ESG Report which focuses on sharing quantitative metrics, progress towards our goals and success stories from the field.

We encourage everyone to join us in this important work to make our planet a better place. From all of us to you, Happy Earth Day.