Quito (ECS Group): embedding CSR across an international group

Quito, a major player in international air freight

Quito is the parent company of the ECS Group, an international air freight player with more than 1,500 employees across some sixty countries.

Before adopting Ditto, Quito already had many CSR compliance building blocks in place, covering legal, information security and environmental topics. The company is notably ISO 27001 certified. Structuring and formalizing its CSR strategy, however, remained a major challenge. It lacked an overall framework to standardize policies, centralize and structure evidence, define clear action plans, and effectively involve every team. The arrival of Laurence Sauphanor as Chief Sustainability Officer more than two years ago signaled a clear determination to accelerate that effort.

Structuring the CSR practices of a fast-growing group

Quito's initial goal in adopting Ditto centered on the EcoVadis assessment, with the aim of moving faster on this front. Quito broadly had all the elements EcoVadis requires, already gathered as part of its ESG reporting for Naxicap and in the context of the CSRD, on which the company was working toward compliance in parallel. Some elements were still missing, however, particularly on HR, due to the lack of an HRIS. A transitional system was put in place to fill that gap and ensure complete data for the next reporting cycle.

On top of this, while many CSR actions were already in place across the group, their formalization and supporting evidence still fell short. Structuring policies and identifying priority issues were crucial steps to make the CSR strategy more effective and operational.

Year 1: laying the foundations of a structured CSR approach

It was in this context that Quito discovered Ditto. From the outset, our support worked on two levels: substance (formalizing and structuring policies, centralizing data) and form (help with the EcoVadis submission), driving a tangible acceleration of the CSR strategy.

In six months, Ditto helped Quito strengthen the structure of its CSR approach through an intuitive platform and hands-on support. We helped the company:

• Formalize its CSR policies while involving every team concerned
• Centralize and structure the collection of ESG data
• Build, collect and archive evidence of the CSR measures in place

Involving departments across the board, from HR to IT and through procurement and legal, was a real catalyst. Our ability to tailor the pace and content to each team was decisive in securing quick, effective buy-in.

Year 2: consolidating the groundwork and building a true CSR management system

Building on this initial structuring, Quito launched a second phase of its CSR approach, with the ambition of turning the first year's gains into a genuinely solid, lasting CSR management system. This phase rested on three complementary levers:

• Updating existing elements: the reports and policies already in place were refreshed to stay aligned with the group's evolving business and stakeholder expectations.
• Adding the building blocks of a solid management system: beyond the policy formalization and data centralization already underway in year 1, Quito put in place the expected processes: steering, periodic review, and rollout of policies to the teams concerned.
• Producing a CSR report aligned with the Mid Cap framework: this EcoVadis framework applies to mid-sized companies, above the headcount and revenue thresholds of the SME framework. It involves heightened requirements around governance, CSR strategy steering, and non-financial reporting, in line with Quito's growth trajectory.

A business impact from the very first months

Ditto's impact was fast and tangible. In less than six months, Quito was able to structure its CSR management system and calmly prepare for its first EcoVadis assessment. That progress had direct repercussions on its business:

• Better internal visibility into CSR maturity and areas for improvement
• A clear roadmap driving stronger team involvement
• Strategic alignment with the momentum encouraged by major customers such as DHL and investors such as Naxicap

Steady progress that is paying off

Two years after launching the approach, Quito earned the EcoVadis Silver medal, with marked gains across several pillars: +10 points in Environment, +16 points in Ethics and +10 points in Sustainable Procurement.

These gains stem less from broader coverage: the actions launched back in 2024 and 2025 on that front will only bear fruit at the next assessment, in 2027. They come above all from solidifying the policies and measures already in place, and from meticulous work to capture points in the fine detail of the file, notably thanks to the CSR report produced this year, aligned with the Mid Cap framework.

For a large company like Quito, improving the coverage assessed by EcoVadis is above all a matter of time and prioritization: results are not immediate, but they are highly impactful and rewarding once achieved. See you in 2027 to fully measure the effect.

The Ditto edge

Beyond the platform, three things made the difference in supporting Quito toward the Silver medal:

• Prioritizing actions: focusing Quito's efforts on the actions with the greatest impact on the score, rather than spreading teams' energy thin.
• Continuous monitoring of changes in the EcoVadis methodology, to anticipate shifts in criteria and adjust the strategy accordingly.
• Attention to detail, thanks to the coach's expert eye, ensuring every element of the file is in order and points are maximized at each submission.

Looking ahead: an evolving collaboration

As for the next steps with Ditto, avenues to improve the system have already been identified.

The company's relationships with its customers, increasingly attentive to environmental and societal commitments, call for an ever more structured and transparent approach. Ditto supports Quito in this momentum, providing the tools and expertise it needs to turn its ESG strategy into a genuine driver of competitiveness and growth.