Inside JAKALA's EcoVadis journey: an exclusive interview with Enrico Bottacco

Sustainability creates trust. Trust creates value.

Sustainability is most meaningful when it can be measured.

That is why JAKALA is proud to share that it has been awarded the EcoVadis Gold Medal, achieving an outstanding 84/100 score and ranking in the 97th percentile of more than 150,000 companies assessed worldwide.

EcoVadis is one of the world's leading ESG assessment platforms and a benchmark trusted by clients, partners and investors across the globe. For JAKALA, it is an independent validation of the journey built together over the years.

What makes this achievement even more valuable is that it represents the entire Group. It reflects the commitment of its people across Regions, business units and functions, and reinforces the trust clients place in JAKALA every day.

If you'd like to learn more about what this achievement means for JAKALA and the journey behind it, we invite you to read the interview below.

EcoVadis Gold: seven questions for Enrico Bottacco

For those who have never heard of EcoVadis: what are we talking about?

When it comes to sustainability, one of the hardest things is telling who is genuinely doing things well and who is merely claiming to.

EcoVadis was created precisely for this: it is one of the world's leading platforms for assessing companies' ESG performance, through an independent, globally recognized methodology. Today it covers more than 150,000 companies across over 180 countries and 230 industries.

For an international group like JAKALA, EcoVadis provides a common language that clients, partners and investors understand immediately, whatever market they operate in.

Why does a company like JAKALA choose to be assessed?

Because today sustainability is no longer just a matter of reputation: it is a business requirement. More and more clients are asking for concrete evidence of their suppliers' ESG performance.

An independent assessment by EcoVadis means we can demonstrate, with verified data, our level of maturity in fundamental areas such as Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. In other words, EcoVadis allows us to turn our commitment into value the market recognizes.

In practical terms, does this score help the business?

Absolutely. When we take part in bids, tenders or supplier qualification processes, the EcoVadis rating is an immediately recognizable competitive advantage. Many major international groups already use EcoVadis to assess their partners. Our score of 84/100 places us in the 97th percentile of all rated companies and allows us to present ourselves as a reliable, well-structured and credible partner on ESG matters. For our sales teams, it means something very simple: fewer barriers to entry and more opportunities to access strategic clients and projects.

In 2020 our score was 52/100; today it is 84/100. What is behind this growth?

There are no shortcuts.

This result is the fruit of years of work shared across Divisions and Regions. We have built more robust processes, strengthened our ethics and compliance safeguards, developed sustainable procurement initiatives, and introduced innovative tools such as the Digital Product Passport.

The growth in our score tells an important story: JAKALA has managed to turn sustainability from a project into a way of working.

What sets JAKALA apart from other companies the most?

If I had to choose one distinctive element, I would say trust.

Our highest score is in the Ethics area, where we achieved particularly significant results thanks to the investments made in governance, anti-corruption and responsible business conduct. For a company that works every day with data, technology and long-term relationships, being recognized as a trusted partner is an enormous competitive advantage.

Does this result apply only to Italy?

No, and that is precisely where its value lies.

The EcoVadis assessment is carried out at Group level and represents JAKALA as a whole. This means every region and every business unit can leverage this recognition in conversations with clients and partners around the world. The 84/100 does not belong to a single function or a single country: it is a shared asset of all of JAKALA.

What comes next? Where do we want to go?

The goal is not simply a higher score, but to keep making sustainability a concrete driver of growth and competitiveness. We certainly aspire to the highest levels of the EcoVadis assessment, but above all we want to keep turning ESG commitments into real value for our clients, our people and our business. Because the best kind of sustainability is the kind that delivers measurable results. When a client asks us whether we are a reliable partner, the EcoVadis rating is an immediate answer. Behind that 84/100 there are years of investment, processes and people. That is why it is not just a number: it is a tool that helps us do business.

For further information and support, you can reach us at: sustainability@jakala.com.