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Composites sustainability wins: EcoVadis recognition, ISCC Plus certification and transparency initiatives

Composites One and Aerovac, Dow Chemical, Envalior and the Global Wind Energy Council are making strides in operations transparency, climate action and industry-wide standard development.

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Across the composites industry, companies continue to make measurable progress in aligning with global sustainability benchmarks and support their business partners’ efforts in doing the same. From taking EcoVadis assessments, to earning ISCC Plus certification, to strengthening industry sustainability and transparency, the following companies are ensuring sustainability remains a priority in their daily operations.

Read “Composites sustainability wins: EcoVadis and CDP awards, water stewardship, GHG reduction.”

EcoVadis awards

Founded in 2007,  (Paris, France) assesses more than 130,000 companies across 180 countries and 220 industries, making it the largest and most trusted sustainability rating provider. It evaluates companies across four key themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.

GLS Composites Distribution LLC earns Bronze Medal

Composites One (Shaumburg, Ill., U.S.) and  have announced that parent company GLS Composites Distribution LLC has been awarded an EcoVadis Bronze Medal, placing the company among the top 35% of organizations worldwide for sustainability excellence. Many of the company’s key customers and suppliers require EcoVadis scorecards to evaluate and benchmark their business partners’ sustainability efforts.

This was only the company’s second year participating in the EcoVadis assessment, and reflects the team’s ongoing dedication to environmental stewardship, ethical practices and responsible sourcing.

Envalior sustainability management recognized with Gold Medal

Sustainable and high-performance engineering materials company (Düsseldorf, Germany) has made the successful completion of its first EcoVadis assessment, receiving a Gold Medal. The milestone comes not long after the publication of the company’s first Sustainability Report and the launch of its Envalior CARES strategy.

Companies with scores in the highest 5% of those assessed over the preceding 12 months receive the Gold Medal. Envalior reports that its EcoVadis score was in the top 3% of all companies assessed in its sector.

“Third-party sustainability assessments such as EcoVadis are an excellent way to provide greater clarity to our customers and value chain stakeholders on our sustainability management performance,” notes Günter Margraf, director of sustainability at Envalior.

At Envalior, driving progress comes under the umbrella of the Envalior CARES strategy. This organization-wide sustainability framework is designed to improve transparency, accountability and performance across key environmental and social focus areas, built on the pillars of “Low CArbon, Sustainable REsources and Social Responsibility.”

ISCC Plus certification

International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (, Koeln, Germany) is a sustainability certification program for bio-based and circular (recycled) raw material feedstocks used in consumer goods, packaging and industrial chemicals. This wide range of materials also includes fuels and low-carbon technologies.

Dow expands bio-circular product offering with ISCC Plus certification

Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich., U.S.) announced that isocyanates manufacturing facility in Freeport, Texas, has earned ISCC Plus certification. This certification reinforces Dow’s ongoing commitment to advancing more sustainable production and product offerings to customers in the North America region with verified supply chain transparency.

Dow’s new certification makes all isocyanate products produced at the Freeport facility available with bio-based material from Dow’s Ecolibrium portfolio through mass balance. This is made possible by using alternative feedstocks based on bio-circular materials at the beginning of its integrated manufacturing process. In turn, customers will see zero impact to product quality while achieving material with increased sustainability benefits and reduced carbon footprint.

More sustainable products will be available in North America and certified by ISCC Plus through mass balance featuring Ecolibrium bio-circular material including:

  • Papi 580N REN Polymeric MDI for polyiso insulation boards and insulated metal panels
  • Papi 23 REN for furniture and mattress foams
  • Specflex NES 1540 REN for automotive noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) solutions
  • Isonate 143L REN Modified MDI for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomer formulations.

The recent Freeport MDI Complex certification provides Dow the opportunity to expand its offerings over time as other alternative feedstocks become available in North America. This offering in particular complements the company’s polyol site certification achieved in 2024.

SSI, GWEC to strengthen sustainability and transparency in renewables supply chains

The  (GWEC, Brussel, Belgium) and (SSI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to drive sustainability, transparency and resilience across the solar and wind energy industries’ supply chains.

As the world scales up the deployment of renewables to drive the energy transition and meet global climate goals, ensuring responsible sourcing and production of solar and wind components is critical. GWEC is actively working to establish a dedicated multi-stakeholder initiative for the wind sector called the Wind Sustainability Initiative (WSI), inspired by the SSI model, which will drive industry-wide ESG and traceability standards.

This partnership will help align best practices, enable knowledge exchange and drive coordinated action to uphold these standards demonstrating each organization’s collective commitment to responsible growth that supports project financing and enables developers and utilities to expand confidently, without facing future compliance or sanction risks.

Under the terms of the agreement, the SSI and GWEC will work together to:

  • Support GWEC in the development of Sustainability Standards for the wind sector, within the WSI framework.
  • Promote harmonized standards for environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and traceability across the solar and wind industries while recognizing sector-specific needs.
  • Facilitate knowledge exchange by leveraging the SSI’s established ESG and Traceability Standards to support the wind sector in the development of its own sustainability assurance framework.
  • Strengthen multi-stakeholder governance by engaging key industry representatives, civil society organizations and financial institutions.
  • Accelerate the adoption of responsible sourcing practices across global renewable energy supply chains.

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