These achievements underline Esker’s continuous commitment and leadership in ESG performance
Esker, a global cloud platform and leader in AI-driven process automation solutions for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service functions, today announced it has once again received recognition for its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments. EcoVadis awarded Esker the Platinum Medal and placed it in the top 1% of companies evaluated across all industries. EthiFinance also ranked Esker among the leaders of its ESG Rating. These two accomplishments exhibit Esker’s successful implementation of its ambitious ESG roadmap.
The Platinum Medal is the highest distinction awarded by EcoVadis, the leading provider of business sustainability ratings. Esker received an overall score of 81/100, up 7 points from 2022, and improved its social and ethical conduct score by 10 points. EthiFinance, a European rating, research and advisory group serving sustainable finance and development, evaluates companies according to a framework containing 140 criteria which are divided into four tiers. Esker achieved an overall score of 75/100, an increase of 8 points over 2022. Notably, this included a 30-point improvement in environmental performance and a 9-point improvement in the social performance category.
“The EcoVadis and EthiFinance awards crown two decades of continuous efforts to establish a more sustainable and resilient business model,” said Jean-Michel Bérard, CEO at Esker. “We have put a roadmap in place in which we pledge to increase our efforts to achieve four key objectives: acting ethically and responsibly, continuing to grow customer trust, fostering a content and skilled workforce, and doing our part in protecting the planet. The involvement of all teams and stakeholders is essential to successfully reduce Esker’s environmental footprint, which also is a prerequisite for long-term growth.”
This year, Esker has been able to distinguish itself in the social sphere, thanks to long-standing commitments to employee well-being as well as externally through community engagement and educational initiatives. Esker understands the importance of a positive work environment and promotes a culture of diversity and inclusion and held several company-wide awareness-raising initiatives such as trainings, events and workshops on these subjects. And successfully so, as the question “I feel accepted as I am at Esker” received the highest score in the 2023 HR employee survey. Over 91% of employees recommend Esker as great company to work for.
“The EcoVadis Platinum Medal and the significant progress on social and ethical conduct aspects acknowledge the long-term work performed not only by Esker Management and HR teams, but above all by Esker employees, who are very involved in proposing ideas and seeing them through,” said Aurélie Guimera, Worldwide Director of Human Resources at Esker. “This is an impressive team achievement which aligns superbly with our company values.”
Being a technology company, Esker is committed to the inclusion and promotion of women in IT positions. With 32% of management positions held by women (compared with 31% of women in the total workforce), the company’s goal is to achieve an overall rate of 34% women in the workforce by 2027.
Esker’s commitment to innovation is also reflected in its education sponsorship programme, which includes being a founding partner of the coding school Ecole 42 Lyon, and a cocreator of an AI research chair at INSEEC. By supporting a variety of schools and organisations in the region that promote gender equality in the IT sector and encouraging exchanges between students and employees, Esker is working to contribute to the development and integration of future graduates. An additional pillar of this work revolves around the recruitment of interns and work-study programme participants, whose number has more than doubled in France between 2020 and 2022.
On the environmental front, Esker is strongly committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its business activities. Esker has proactively measured its carbon emissions across all locations worldwide, including all direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3).
Esker recently renewed its ISO 14001 environmental management certification for both locations in France (Villeurbanne and Décines). Esker strives to extend the lifecycle of company-owned IT equipment and electronic devices as much as possible by performing in-house maintenance, vendor support and employee buyback programmes. These buybacks are made in exchange for donations to charities of the employee’s choosing. As part of its ESG roadmap, Esker is also committed to extending the lifespan of its IT equipment for all subsidiaries by six months by 2027.
Esker considers ethical business conduct to be the foundation of its operations. To that end, the company has implemented anti-corruption policies and training as well as a Code of Conduct for all employees.
Learn more about Esker’s ESG strategy https://www.esker.co.uk/company/environmental-social-governance/
