Inland Waterway Cooperative NPRC leader in sustainability
The Dutch Inland Waterway Cooperative NPRC (Nederlandse Particuliere Rijnvaart Centrale) has been awarded the gold recognition level for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the independent sustainability assessor EcoVadis. The gold medal is the highest possible recognition level an organisation can receive by EcoVadis and makes the cooperative of inland waterway shipping entrepreneurs part of the top 5% of European businesses in the field of CSR. Certainly
in the Netherlands, this is an exceptional result.
In freight transport, the NPRC cooperative is known for the successful deployment of sustainable ships that continuously strive to minimise the emission of harmful substances. EcoVadis gives buyers worldwide insight into the score of suppliers in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. Over 300 large enterprises use EcoVadis ratings to monitor and enhance sustainability performance of their global supply chains and business activity.
CSR and sustainability criteria
The sustainability platform has reviewed the NPRC on many subjects of Corporate Social Responsibility. Besides the assessment of NPRC’s efforts to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, particulate emissions and NOx emissions, the cooperative has also been reviewed on 21 other criteria spread over four topics: environment, labour and human rights practices, business ethics and sustainable procurement. Achieving a gold medal is extraordinary; less than 5% of the reviewed companies achieve this score.
Frontrunner in inland waterway shipping
The NPRC scored high with the EcoVadis assessors. Whereas other organisations in the sector reach an average of 43 points, the NPRC scored 68 points and is with this result by far the leader in the inland waterway shipping sector, not only in the Netherlands but also within Europe.
CEO Stefan Meeusen is very pleased with this result: “As a provider of inland waterway transport, we consciously opt for an innovative approach in the field of CSR. For us, this is not just something you do on the side. The main focus of our CRS strategy is the improvement of transport efficiency and economic performance of the members of the cooperative. In addition, the NPRC focuses on training and education, logistic innovations and the reduction of harmful emissions. We have formulated ambitious targets for each of those key points, which we measure annually. We are proud of having achieved the gold label, but we will not stand still and strive to remain on the top in the future. “NPRC’s Gold level performance on their EcoVadis scorecard demonstrates their leadership in sustainability,” commented David McClintock, Marketing Director at EcoVadis. “They are setting a best practice example not only for their industry, but also for the local communities they serve, which is vital for driving the change we need for a sustainable future.”
Shippers make supply chains more sustainable
The trend of the past years of making business processes more sustainable and reducing the ecological footprint continues is more relevant than ever. The NPRC has developed a dashboard which gives shippers insight into the reliability and sustainability of the supply chain. Covestro, one of the shippers the NPRC is working with, is impressed with the efforts of the NPRC. Nils Peterzelka, procurement manager bulk shipping at Covestro, explains: “We have high sustainability standards our suppliers have to fulfill. The EcoVadis gold CSR recognition proves that the NPRC cooperative is on the right track. Making the supply chain more sustainable is high on our agenda and the NPRC succeeds in its implementation.”
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