Dutch ICMIF member Achmea has announced that it will be working with EcoVadis, a provider of business sustainability ratings. The cooperative financial services provider will use assessments by EcoVadis when talking with current and potential suppliers. This is in line with Achmea’s sustainability ambitions which are to create sustainable value for its customers, employees and the business and for society. This also means that Achmea offers sustainable and responsible products and services.

Achmea says it is committed to Duurzaam Samen Leven (Sustainable Living Together), the company’s vision of living sustainably together. The social, moral and ecological footprint of Achmea’s products and services is inextricably linked with the business operations of its partners and suppliers. Consequently, Achmea wants to understand and monitor its current and potential suppliers’ sustainability performance and enter into focused discussions with them on this.

First suppliers approached in January 2022

Some of Achmea’s suppliers already work with EcoVadis. Other suppliers will be approached in the near future with the request that they should also be assessed. Achmea and its suppliers will use the results to see how they can improve their sustainability performance.

Achmea had previously announced that it is committed to climate-neutral operations by 2030, a climate-neutral investment portfolio by 2040 and a climate-neutral insurance portfolio by 2050 at the latest.

EcoVadis helps companies with sustainability benchmarking and monitoring in order to reduce risks and improve their performance. Its methodology encompasses 21 criteria in four themes: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. The criteria are built on international sustainability standards. EcoVadis provides organisations with the key indicators and context they need to make decisions, identify new opportunities and improve performance.

Climate budget for Achmea employees

As part of new two-year collective labour agreement, Achmea also announced in January 2022 that from 2023 all 12,000 of its employees will receive a one-time net climate budget of €2,500. This sum can be spent on products and services that contribute to sustainability and so to improving the climate.

Bianca Tetteroo, Chair of the Executive Board of Achmea, said “Climate change is an important theme in our strategy. Achmea has ambitious climate targets. This means that we not only look at our own footprint, but also encourage customers and employees to become greener. By including a climate budget in our employment conditions, we are shaping our climate ambitions in a contemporary way.”