The number of R2 certified facilities is booming, according to the latest tally of facilities from R2 Solutions.
As of this week, 215 facilities have been certified to R2, both in the U.S. and abroad. This translates into 140 companies with at least one certified facility. By contrast, 31 firms with 71 facilities have certified to e-Stewards.
A closer examination of the data reveals interesting patterns about firms’ certification strategies. For example, 16 firms currently have at least one dual-certified facility, for a total of 30 facilities certified to both R2 and e-Stewards. This represents approximately half of e-Stewards-certified firms, which would seem to indicate that companies choosing to pursue an e-Stewards certification are also highly likely to obtain an R2 certification as part of the process. However, the reverse is not true for firms choosing to pursue an R2 certification.
This is likely aided by the recent announcement by the Basel Action Network that R2 requirements have been incorporated into the e-Stewards standard. The net effect has been a simplification of the dual-certification process for firms pursuing e-Stewards.