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Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Leading by Example: JAGGAER 2024 ESG Impact Report Showcases Sustainability in Procurement
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--JAGGAER, a global leader in enterprise procurement and supplier collaboration, has released its 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Impact Report, highlighting its progress in leading the procurement sector by example on sustainability. This year's report focuses on how the company embeds sustainability across its Source-to-Pay (S2P) solutions and internal operations to empower strategic cost reductions, 360° risk management and sustainable growth. This year's report focuses on how the company embeds sustainability across its Source-to-Pay (S2P) solutions and internal operations to empower strategic cost reductions, 360° risk management and sustainable growth. Share As part of its efforts to anticipate customer needs, JAGGAER also undertook preparatory work for a Double Materiality Assessment, a key element in the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and a measure of accountability that signals a shift towards a more comprehensive understanding of both exposure to sustainability-related financial risks and broader impact on society and the environment. Andrew Roszko, CEO at JAGGAER, comments: 'With a mission to guide the procurement and supply chain function into the future, at JAGGAER we practice what we preach. We experience first-hand the insights, transparency and strategic intelligence that our solutions provide businesses as they strive to manage risk, stay compliant and thrive. This report not only provides us with a critical benchmark for our environmental stewardship and role in the world but also reveals the breadth of intelligence available to support companies as they try to extract strategic data to cut costs, navigate volatile markets and stay competitive.' In addition to this, the company received a Gold Medal from EcoVadis, placing it among the top 5% of all companies evaluated and within the top 1% among its industry peers. Environmental JAGGAER measured and published GHG emissions for the fourth consecutive year, achieving a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and a 43% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from the 2021 baseline. These results were supported by initiatives like AWS cloud migration and improved emissions data accuracy as well as environmentally responsible workplace practices. The latter were promoted through online collaboration tools, hybrid work, sustainable office rentals, paperless operations, and waste-reduction measures such as recycling and the promotion of reusable containers. In addition to this, through a partnership with Reforest'Action, the company contributed to reforestation projects in multiple countries, financing the planting of over 10,370 trees since 2019. These forests are expected to offset 1,556 tons of CO₂e over 30 years. Social As a signatory of the UN Global Compact, JAGGAER upholds its principles, ensuring non-discrimination and equal treatment based on merit and job requirements. In line with its commitment, the report reveals that in 2024 women made up 41.8% of JAGGAER's global workforce and held 36.1% of management positions. In support the happiness and health of employees, JAGGAER delivered wellbeing programs and mental health workshops across all regions, while maintaining a flexible work culture. To honor and cement company connections with local communities, employees dedicated over 380 volunteer hours to community service through local partnerships and initiatives. JAGGAER's efforts to create a serene and fair work environment were rewarded with two notable accolades: the Sunday Times – Best Places to Work 2024 (UK) and Gallagher's 2024 Best-In-Class Employer award (North America). Governance The ESG Steering Committee met quarterly to align on policy and homed in on data privacy and information security as core priorities, achieving industry-first AI management and security certifications, assurance measures, and full compliance with mandatory training. Employee engagement was high, with 100% of employees completing compliance training. Increased viability via the EcoVadis CAM solution, confirmed efforts to date and revealed that 71% of assessed high-spend or critical suppliers pose low GHG emissions risk. JAGGAER is a global leader in enterprise procurement and supplier collaboration, and the catalyst for enhancing human decision-making to accelerate business outcomes. We help organizations to manage and automate complex processes while enabling their highly resilient, accountable, and integrated supplier base. Backed by 30 years of expertise, our proven AI-powered industry-specific solutions, services, and partnerships form JAGGAER One, serving direct and indirect, upstream, and downstream, in settings demanding an intelligent and comprehensive source-to-pay solution. Our 1,200 global employees are obsessed with helping customers create value, transform their businesses, and accelerate their journey to Autonomous Commerce.
Reuters
22-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
How Europe's ambition to lead on corporate human rights ran into the sand
July 21 - Just over a year ago, the European Union approved a directive that sought to usher in a new era of human rights protection across Europe. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) was meant to give investors more visibility on the risks throughout the value chain of investee companies and make non-compliant companies accountable to member-states and to victims of human rights or environmental harm, even in their operations outside Europe. It took five years of wrangling to agree the rules on corporate due diligence and in the end, just 5,400 companies – fewer than 1% of EU firms – and 900 international corporations that do significant business in the EU were expected to be impacted. Since November last year, however, legislators have sought to unpick it, amid heavy lobbying from industry groupings, which argued that the rules meant European companies could not compete with rivals in China and the U.S., where President Donald Trump is rolling back regulation and imposing tariffs on foreign goods. In February, the European Commission introduced the first in what would be a series of Omnibus packages, focused on sustainability and investment and billed as a recalibration of rules 'in a growth-friendly manner'. The Commission said that if implemented, its Omnibus proposals would mean total savings in annual administrative costs of 6.3 billion euros and would mobilise a further 50 billion euros of public and private sector investment in support of policy priorities. The wide-ranging proposals include giving companies an extra year, to 2028, to implement the CSDDD; limiting due diligence to direct – tier one – suppliers unless there is 'plausible information' to justify deeper investigation; and doing away with a harmonised civil liabilities regime, leaving member states to establish their own mechanisms and set their own penalties. Since the first Omnibus package was published, the European Council and the EU Parliament have both made further proposals to reduce the number of companies in scope, and their reporting requirements. The European Council, for example, wants to raise the CSDDD threshold from 1,000 employees and a turnover of 450 million euros to 5,000 employees and 1.5 billion euro turnover. One of the EU Parliament's proposals is to do away with companies' obligation to draw up climate-transition plans. As part of the Omnibus, the Commission also proposed reopening the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Standard (CSRD) under which companies would have to report on implementation of climate transition plans, and the EU Taxonomy. All three work together as a framework for investors providing meaningful information on risk. Both the European Council and EU Parliament have suggested further amendments to the scope and veracity of the CSRD. The proposals reflect wide-ranging criticism from lobby groups. The French Banking Federation had argued that significant divergences between the scope and requirements of the CSDDD and CSRD risk increasing the regulatory burden and that the CSDDD put European companies at a disadvantage compared with international competition. VCI, the trade group for the German chemicals industry, said that 'huge legal uncertainty and incalculable risk' associated with civil liability would likely lead to companies withdrawing from high-risk regions and markets. Opposition has been voiced in the U.S. too, with a bill introduced in the Senate that seeks to protect U.S. firms from the reach of the due diligence law. Pierre Garrault, senior policy adviser at the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), says 'The Omnibus initiative now modifies potentially the core substance of these rules. But that's not what businesses and investors wanted. They wanted more guidance, more clarity and less duplication.' And he suggests that the proposed changes in the Omnibus legislation could defeat the main purpose of the CSDDD because just a few companies from a few member states would be in scope. 'That creates a lot of fragmentation in the way that companies can report on sustainability matters and establish their own processes on due diligence when the main objective was to create that EU-wide standardisation, and that single European baseline.' David Ollivier de Leth, a researcher at Netherlands-based Centre for Research on Multinationals (SOMO), shares those concerns. 'The whole point of this law is that you should look at the risks, and the risks are what should guide you, not the size of the company or (its) location.' With businesses potentially now only having to address adverse human rights impacts beyond tier one suppliers if they have 'plausible information' to act on, campaigners are concerned that the Commission's changes would mean companies simply turn a blind eye to potential harms. 'I think it is fair speculation to say (that) it might even incentivise companies not to look for that plausible information because what if I get it, then I might be liable for what I've discovered,' suggests Marion Lupin, policy officer at the European Coalition for Corporate Justice. While a big enough injustice might attract the attention of NGOs, she adds, 'you're very much outsourcing the risk-management to other stakeholders, whose job is not to survey value chains of multinationals. It's very problematic.' Another Omnibus amendment restricts due diligence further by limiting the information corporations can ask for from suppliers with fewer than 500 employees, the so-called VSME standard, a voluntary reporting standard for small- and medium-sized companies developed by the Commission's technical adviser on sustainability reporting. VSME allows companies to assert 'we don't know (about human rights risks in our supply chain), because we're not allowed to ask,' says SOMO's Ollivier de Leth. Ollivier de Leth says SOMO's study of seven major EU supermarket supply chains demonstrates just how much the tier one limitation guts the purpose of the CSDDD. It found that most firms' tier one suppliers were based in EU countries deemed to be at low risk of human rights violations. That is in contrast with the large proportion of more distant suppliers, which originate in countries with a high risk of human rights violations, such as deforestation and land rights abuses found in meat and soy chains, or child labour in cocoa supply chains. Campaigners are also concerned about the demise of harmonised civil liability, which would have ensured that the conditions under which a company can be held liable are the same in every member state. Instead, a hotch-potch of national rules potentially creates a legal minefield, argues the ECCJ's Lupin. Johannes Blankenbach, senior EU researcher at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, agrees: 'Harmonised civil liability is very important for remedy, and also as an incentive for a true level playing field among companies of quality due diligence beyond just ticking boxes.' Investing in thorough due diligence also protects companies themselves, he adds. Before the advent of the CSDDD, only a few European countries had implemented due diligence obligations based on international standards framed by the OECD and U.N. Guiding Principles. French law, for example, requires due diligence across the full value chain but is short on detail that can leave it open to interpretation in the courts, say campaigners. Germany's legislation, meanwhile, focuses only on tier one suppliers. That limit followed extensive corporate lobbying, but Blankenbach argues that the way companies have chosen to apply Germany's legislation so far has created the very bureaucracy they sought to avoid, with 'firms performing indiscriminate compliance exercises with all their tier one suppliers, sometimes flooding them with relatively meaningless surveys'. 'It's a bitter irony to see that tier one focus replicated in the Omnibus,' he adds. In April, legal charity ClientEarth and seven other campaign groups filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman, the EU's independent watchdog, accusing the Commission of 'maladministration' for bypassing proper impact assessment and excluding broad public participation in preparing the Omnibus package. Read more They also accused the Commission of consulting industry lobbyists in closed-door meetings before publishing its proposals. In July, the EU Ombudsman wrote to the Commission asking it to justify its decision-making process, and giving it until September to respond. A Commission spokesperson told journalists that swift changes had been needed since the reporting requirements already applied to some companies. "Businesses and member states urgently needed legal certainty to comply with the sustainability framework," the spokesperson said. Some companies and investors are pushing back against the Omnibus. Over 200 have so far signed an open letter stating that 'regulatory simplification can be achieved without compromising on the substance of sustainability rules or their significant benefits for businesses across the EU'. They include EDF, Vattenfall, Ingka Group and the Inter IKEA group, as well as pensions groups, insurers and asset managers – many of whom have already begun implementing and preparing for the due diligence legislation. A spokesperson for Inter IKEA Group and Ingka Group told The Ethical Corporation that it's important the CSDDD doesn't 'turn into a compliance without impact'. 'We advocate for maintaining a risk-based approach beyond our direct suppliers and ensuring that companies can legally access the information needed to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse impacts throughout their value chains.' How much weight those arguments have will become clear this autumn when the European Parliament finalises its position and negotiations between the Commission, European Council and EU Parliament begin. Businesses and investors who are preparing for the new legislation urgently want clarity. Will it come at the expense of rights holders?
Fashion United
15-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Fairly Made relies on AI to enhance sourcing transparency in fashion
For traceability, simply making declarations is no longer enough. Fairly Made, a French green tech company specialising in sustainable fashion, has unveiled a new tool, Supply Chain Intelligence, to help leaders in fashion meet regulatory requirements, such as the CSRD, ESPR or AGEC. According to a survey conducted by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 47 percent of businesses cite data availability and management as major issues. Fragmented data, a lack of internal skills and insufficient supplier engagement are key challenges. PwC suggests that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be part of the solution by accelerating the speed of knowledge, decision-making and organisational change. This is precisely what Fairly Made has invested in. Its "Supply Chain Intelligence" is a new module integrated into its SaaS platform, dedicated to traceability, environmental impact assessment, eco-design and product compliance. Helping brands (and consumers) gain a clear and complete view of the supply chain The aim of this AI is to help managers better manage their sourcing by making key data – certifications, energy consumption, partners, etc. – more easily accessible, thanks to a dynamic filter. The AI also provides structured analyses of this data. Expected benefits include time savings and greater operational clarity. Fairly Made offers this solution as a SaaS subscription. About CSRD, ESPR, AGEC CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) is a European directive that requires large companies to publish detailed reports on their sustainability (environmental, social and governance impact). ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation) aims to make products placed on the European market more durable, repairable and recyclable. AGEC (Anti-Gaspillage pour une Économie Circulaire) is a French law to reduce waste, improve sustainable production and promote recycling. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Associated Press
08-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
CSRHub Partners With CSR Talent Group To Expand ESG Access
As previously seen on the CSRHub blog. CSRHub is excited to announce a new partnership with CSR Talent Group, a trusted network of experienced ESG and sustainability professionals who provide on-demand support to purpose-driven organizations. Through this collaboration, CSR Talent Group consultants now have access to CSRHub's comprehensive ESG data platform—covering over 58,000 companies and fueled by more than 1,000 data sources. These tools support critical work in benchmarking sustainability performance, preparing for regulations like the CSRD, and evaluating supply chain risk. Together, we aim to empower organizations with the transparent, actionable data they need to improve ESG outcomes and drive long-term impact. We're looking forward to building on this partnership with shared resources, use case applications, and more in the months ahead. About CSRHub CSRHub offers the most comprehensive global set of expert consensus sustainability ratings, information, and tools. Clients use CSRHub's decisive data platform for global benchmarking, supply and value chain risk assessment and compliance readiness solutions. Founded in 2007, CSRHub covers nearly 60,000 public and private companies, and provides ESG performance scores on 42,000 companies from 134 industries in 158 countries. Our Big Data platform uses algorithms to aggregate, normalize and weight ESG metrics from 1,000 sources to produce a strong consensus signal on corporate sustainability performance. Interested in learning more about CSRHub? Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from CSRHub
Business Post
05-07-2025
- Business
- Business Post
Operational benefits beyond compliance
The business landscape is undergoing a profound transformation as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations move from the periphery to the heart of corporate strategy. And while regulatory compliance often serves as the initial driver, the real value of ESG implementation lies in its operational benefits. However, for small and medium-sized enterprises, this evolution presents both challenges and unprecedented opportunities for growth, operational efficiency, and long-term resilience. While large corporations have been grappling with ESG requirements for some time, SMEs are increasingly finding themselves in the spotlight. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) may not currently mandate reporting for smaller businesses, but not only is this exemption temporary: more immediately pressing is the growing demand from larger entities for ESG data throughout their supply chains, creating a ripple effect that reaches even the smallest suppliers. The complexity of ESG reporting can appear daunting. With approximately 200 data points to consider across environmental, social, and governance metrics, many SME owners and staff feel overwhelmed before they even begin. This complexity is compounded by the fact that ESG encompasses everything from energy consumption and waste management to employee wellbeing and board diversity. The challenge is often exacerbated by SMEs discovering their need to provide ESG data only when larger clients make sudden demands. Ashleigh Connors, an ESG consultant at TEKenable, said that businesses often remain 'blissfully ignorant - until someone comes knocking on their door looking for specific data points'. The pressure is mounting from multiple directions. Large corporations, increasingly held accountable for their entire value chain's environmental and social impact, are demanding greater transparency from suppliers. Meanwhile, public and private tenders now routinely include ESG criteria, making sustainability performance a competitive differentiator rather than merely a regulatory requirement. While regulatory compliance often serves as the initial driver, the real value of ESG implementation lies in its operational benefits. 'There are also cost savings to be had, as it makes energy use very obvious,' Connors said, pointing to how systematic monitoring of environmental metrics makes consumption patterns immediately visible, highlighting inefficiencies that might otherwise go unnoticed for years. There is also the example of supply chain responsibility: 'It's not just what you're doing as a company,' Connors said. 'If you're buying from other companies that has a knock-on effect. If you buy palm oil, it's your responsibility to ensure it's not contributing to deforestation.' This extended responsibility might seem burdensome, but it actually drives innovation in sourcing strategies and can lead to more resilient supply relationships. The competitive advantage However, the financial implications are equally compelling. Energy audits frequently reveal substantial cost-saving opportunities, while improved resource management can significantly reduce waste-related expenses. Companies that embrace ESG early often discover that what initially appeared to be additional overhead actually enhances their bottom line. The key to successful ESG implementation lies in systematic data collection and analysis. Modern technology solutions can integrate with existing business systems, automatically capturing relevant metrics and presenting them through intuitive dashboards. As Connors puts it: 'If you're not tracking it, then you're not managing it.' For businesses wondering where to begin, Connors recommends starting with energy management. 'Starting with energy makes sense as it's the biggest thing,' she said; as energy consumption typically represents one of the largest controllable operational costs, it is an area where improvements deliver immediate, measurable results. A comprehensive energy audit examining heating systems, transport, and machinery provides a solid foundation for broader ESG initiatives. Once baseline measurements are established, the focus naturally shifts to optimisation. This might involve upgrading to more efficient equipment, implementing smarter scheduling systems, or simply raising awareness among staff about energy consumption patterns. Crucially, SMEs embarking on their ESG journey need not go it alone, Connors said. 'There's a lot of support out there. You have the likes of Enterprise Ireland, you have the IDA and so on. There is money sitting there, from the EU, ready to help SMEs do things in this area.' The European Union has also introduced the Voluntary SME (VSME) standard, providing a structured framework for companies ready to embrace ESG principles without the full complexity of enterprise-level reporting requirements. This graduated approach allows businesses to build capability progressively rather than attempting to implement comprehensive systems immediately. Simply looking at heating, transport, and machinery, you can audit that and at TEKenable we can create dashboards Professional guidance can prove invaluable in navigating the initial complexity. ESG consultants help businesses identify which metrics matter most for their specific sector and circumstances, avoiding the paralysis that can result from trying to address everything simultaneously. Forward-thinking SMEs are discovering that early ESG adoption creates significant competitive advantages. As procurement processes increasingly incorporate sustainability criteria, companies with robust ESG credentials find themselves better positioned to win contracts and attract investment. The reputational benefits extend beyond formal procurement processes. Consumers, particularly younger demographics, increasingly favour businesses that demonstrate genuine commitment to environmental and social responsibility. This trend is particularly pronounced in business-to-business (B2B) relationships, where corporate customers face their own ESG reporting requirements. The ESG revolution represents more than regulatory compliance or market pressure; it reflects a fundamental shift towards more sustainable and resilient business models. For SMEs, early engagement with ESG principles offers the opportunity to shape their approach proactively rather than reactively. Success requires viewing ESG not as an additional burden but as a framework for operational excellence. Companies that embrace this perspective often find that ESG implementation enhances decision-making processes, improves risk management, and creates new opportunities for innovation and growth. The message for SMEs is clear, said Connors: ESG engagement is no longer optional for businesses serious about long-term viability. With appropriate support, strategic planning, and the right technological tools, even the smallest enterprises can successfully navigate this transformation while unlocking new sources of value and competitive advantage. 'Simply looking at heating, transport, and machinery, you can audit that and at TEKenable we can create dashboards. After that you start optimising – you will then be able to start to move the dial,' she said.
