Kraton Achieves EcoVadis Gold-Level Sustainability Rating

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Apr 23, 2020, 09:00 ET

HOUSTON, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, announces that it achieved a Gold recognition medal for its sustainability rating from EcoVadis.

"We are proud to have earned our first-ever EcoVadis Gold rating," said Nella Baerents, Kraton's Global Sustainability Director. "This recognition demonstrates our continuous commitment to sustainability throughout the organization, enabling us to help meet market demands, advance the bioeconomy, and promote a more sustainable future through collaboration in the value chain."

Kraton's points score and the resulting Gold rating puts it in the top 98 percentile of its industry. With more than 6,000 suppliers globally, Kraton's progress on supply chain initiatives was vital in elevating it to the next level. Kraton's achievements in 2019 include further deploying the Responsible Procurement: Making a Positive Difference program to all suppliers in scope and onboarding them on the EcoVadis platform. The company also added a corporate social responsibility section to its vendor performance scorecard, conducted 20 physical audits of suppliers and manufacturers, and improved the vendor base's risk evaluation methodology.

"Kraton's Responsible Procurement program is designed to accelerate environmental and social improvements across our supply chain in collaboration with key partners," said Suzanne Pesgens, Kraton's Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. "Collectively, we aspire to make an impact through a common goal of delivering sustainable, useful and competitive solutions to the market."

More information about Kraton's sustainability initiatives can be found on kraton.com. The company's 2019 Sustainability Report will be available soon.

EcoVadis is a global provider of business sustainability ratings, intelligence and collaborative performance improvement tools for global supply chains. The EcoVadis platform and sustainability scorecards provide insight into environmental, social, and ethical risks across 198 purchasing categories and 155 countries. Their methodology provides a single framework to evaluate, collaborate and improve sustainability performance to protect brands, foster transparency and innovation, and accelerate growth. For more information, visit ecovadis.com.

About Kraton Corporation
Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA) is a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products. Kraton's polymers are used in a wide range of applications including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants, lubricants, medical, packaging, automotive, paving and roofing applications. As the largest global provider in the pine chemicals industry, the company's pine-based specialty products are sold into adhesives, roads and construction and tire markets, and it produces and sells a broad range of performance chemicals into markets that include fuel additives, oilfield chemicals, coatings, metalworking fluids, lubricants, inks, flavors and fragrances and mining. Kraton offers its products to a diverse customer base in numerous countries worldwide. Kraton and the Kraton logo are all trademarks or registered trademarks of Kraton Corporation, or its subsidiaries or affiliates, in one or more, but not all countries.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "may," "intends," "plans" or "anticipates," or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding the Company's ability to deliver sustainable solutions and their associated impacts to the market are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management's current expectations and estimates, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release, and we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise such forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

Media Contact: Thao Pham; T: (281) 770-1380
Investor Relations Contact: Gene Shiels; T: (281) 504-4886

SOURCE Kraton Corporation