GNT has earned its first EcoVadis gold medal for environmental and ethical activities, ranking the company among the top 3% in the food manufacturing industry. GNT creates EXBERRY® colors from fruit, vegetables, and plants.

EcoVadis awarded a total of 78 out of 100 points, placing GNT in the 97th percentile among the food manufacturing businesses evaluated.

Last year, the company earned the silver medal for its efforts. EcoVadis gave GNT the highest scores for Environment and Labor & Human Rights and increased its ratings on Ethics and Sustainable Procurement this year. The key factors in the gold ranking included:

• Transparent reporting, including an independent Greenhouse Gas Verification Statement
• New initiatives to support employee training, health and safety, and working conditions throughout the value chain
• A new Code of Conduct and policy to support whistleblowers

Rutger de Kort, Sustainability Manager at GNT Group, said: “We are delighted to have earned our first EcoVadis gold medal. This is an important industry benchmark that is used by many of the world’s leading companies to assess their suppliers’ sustainability credentials. Securing gold is a powerful statement as only 5% of assessed companies achieve this status and our score puts us in the top 3%. This will help us demonstrate to manufacturers that our plant-based EXBERRY® colors meet the very highest sustainability standards.”

In 2022, GNT set out 17 sustainability targets to optimize its environmental and social impacts over the course of the current decade. Its milestones so far include a 22% reduction in carbon intensity at EXBERRY® factories since 2020 and a 13% improvement in water efficiency.

In addition, the contract farmers working as part of GNT’s supply chain have all received training in sustainable agriculture.

Photo: The Netherlands HQ. Credit: GNT