UL Environment’s SQ Program Helps Manufacturers Gauge Sustainability

(UL: Northbrook, IL) -- UL Environment, a business unit of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), has launched of a free web-based tool that will help manufacturers assess their corporate sustainability efforts. Part of UL Environment’s Sustainability Quotient (SQ) Program, this tool provides manufacturers with a preliminary analysis of their sustainability initiatives relative to the requirements of the UL 880 standard. The tool also aggregates responses from all survey respondents and provides an overall benchmark of sustainability progress to date.

“Manufacturers are making great strides when it comes to their own sustainability programs, and this assessment tool will help them identify gaps in standards they are currently using,” says Gary Savin, vice president of UL Environment. “By using this tool, companies will be able to get a sense of their organization’s environmental, social, and governance performance, ideally acting as incentive for further innovation.”

Based on the criteria in UL 880: Sustainability for Manufacturing Organizations (developed in conjunction with GreenBiz), the SQ Program’s assessment tool helps a manufacturer evaluate its sustainability profile based on key indicators, such as environmental purchasing policies, greenhouse gas reduction targets, and sustainable supply chain code of conduct.

“The online assessment tool takes no more than 15 or 20 minutes to complete, and it generates an insightful, valuable, and actionable report for companies looking to get started on—or continue on—their sustainability journey,” says Savin.

The SQ Program is a comprehensive system of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability initiatives of corporations at an enterprise level. The program addresses enterprise sustainability through five domains:
• Environment
• Governance for sustainability
• Work force
• Customers and suppliers
• Community engagement and human rights

Companies that participate in the SQ Program may pursue certification to an entire enterprise-level standard (“full certification”) or certification to select domains within the standard (“focus area certification”). For more information, visit www.sustainabilityquotient.com.

To take the complimentary SQ Program readiness assessment tool, click here.

About The Author

Underwriters Laboratories UL

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is a global independent safety science company offering expertise across five key strategic businesses: Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Knowledge Services, and Verification Services. UL’s worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 96 countries.