Assent Inc. (Assent), a leading solution provider in supply chain sustainability management, announced the inaugural winners of Assent Achieve at its annual global conference, Evolve, held Oct. 9-10 in Nashville, Tennessee. The new customer awards program recognizes manufacturing companies and individuals that are demonstrating excellence in product compliance, ESG, and supply chain sustainability management. 

Assent Achieve winners were selected from more than 800 Assent customers across three categories: Product Compliance Program of the Year, ESG Program of the Year and Sustainability Champion of the Year.

Product Compliance Program of the Year

Two winners were recognized for outstanding work in their supply chain engagement and product compliance programs in the last 18 months:

• Doosan Bobcat enhanced their compliance program to proactively prepare for PFAS reporting requirements, such as those issued by the EPA and state-level. They work diligently to maintain a best-in-class SCIP submission program even as the company launches new, innovative products across key markets. Doosan Bobcat’s team has taken an engaged and proactive approach, in partnership with Assent, to educate suppliers while providing research and development feedback to improve Assent’s services. 
• Watts centralized their compliance program across their North American and European operations and improved the transparency of their product compliance program by initiating life cycle assessments (LCAs) for all products manufactured in their largest facility. This was done while partnering with their top 100 suppliers to begin to measure carbon emissions throughout their value chain and making increased investments in their Smart & Connected strategy to deliver superior customer value with innovative solutions to promote water safety, energy efficiency, and water conservation.

ESG Program of the Year

One company stood out this year for the clear value and ROI demonstrated from their ESG program in the last 18 months:

• Essex Furukawa achieved a 70% reduction in scope 3 emissions compared to its 2021 baseline, while proactively identifying potential ESG risks related to human rights and labor rights as well as climate impact through better data and monitoring across the top 90% of their supply chain spend. The company has engaged leadership through the Vision 2030 holistic sustainability program, while also implementing a strategic sourcing policy and new supplier code of conduct this year and as a result of their efforts, recently obtained the prestigious The Copper Mark certification at three North American facilities. 

Sustainability Champion of the Year

This award recognizes an individual whose public facing advocacy and leadership of new initiatives over the past 18 months enhanced their company’s supply chain sustainability. 

• Krisztina Strath has been with IMI, a global specialist engineering company, for more than 35 years, and brings advocacy and leadership for supply chain sustainability. She has worked to strategically connect team members with the data collected from 3,500 suppliers across 31 IMI sites to reduce substances of concern from their products and re-engineer their products to reduce lead.  As well, she has led efforts to educate suppliers on compliance regulations to strengthen the resilience of IMI's supply chains.

“We need to create a world where sustainability is at the core of manufacturing and I am honored to recognize our customers for being true pioneers in the industry and embracing this new reality,”  said Andrew Waitman, Assent CEO. “Congratulations to the Assent Achieve winners who are championing proactive sustainability programs to drive this important mission. Together, we are setting new industry standards and demonstrating that companies can thrive while being a force for good.“

Evolve 2024

Evolve 2024 brought together more than 500 people - virtually and in person - all focused on the theme of “Fresh Perspectives to Spark Supply Chain Sustainability,” and featured New York Times bestselling author Josh Linkner as the keynote speaker. Linkner spoke to attendees about how successful leaders can embed innovation into everyday business operations, and the future of growth. 

Assent’s Vice President, Regulatory & Sustainability Cally Edgren shared updates impacting global manufacturers, including emerging requirements for reporting on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” in the U.S. and expanded supply chain sustainability disclosures, including carbon emissions, in the EU. Chief Product Officer, Catherine Cormier, took the stage to highlight Assent's vision, including the future of product sustainability, the manufacturing genome, and an early access preview of the Assent Sustainability Platform for suppliers.

At Evolve 24, Assent donated $20,000 to One Tree Planted, a nonprofit organization focused on global reforestation, in addition to $1,000 to a nonprofit of choice for each Achieve Award winner.