The Californer - Assent Recognizes Manufacturers for Leading Supply Chain Sustainability Programs

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Quote by Mark Smith, Chief Customer Officer

Companies honored in annual Assent Achieve Awards for improving transparency, sustainability, and ESG through meaningful impact across their supply chains

OTTAWA, Ontario - Californer -- Assent Inc. (Assent), the global leader in supply chain sustainability management, today announced the recipients of the 2025 Assent Achieve Awards, recognizing outstanding manufacturing companies and individuals demonstrating excellence in product compliance, ESG, and supply chain sustainability management.

Selected from over 1,000 Assent customers globally, Assent is proud to announce the following recipients across five categories:

Supply Chain Sustainability Champion of the Year: Jorgen Akesson, Visual Comfort & Co.

This award recognizes a company's leadership and dedication to sustainability within supply chain management:

At Visual Comfort & Co., Jorgen revamped supplier monitoring and manuals to ensure all suppliers thoroughly understood compliance requirements, and implemented new ways to monitor and support audits, ongoing engagement, and supplier training to maintain compliance. He reimagined the ESG program, redefining sustainability from a compliance requirement into a shared principle that guides business decisions. Jorgen's efforts are highly impactful, forward-thinking, and deeply embedded in how the organization operates.

Emerging Sustainability Leader: Jessica Chepp, Brunswick

This award celebrates a leader who stood out over the past year for their role in advancing sustainability within their organization and industry:

As a Product Compliance Expert, Jessica Chepp has played a pivotal role in advancing sustainability at Brunswick. By embedding best practices into complex global operations, developing divisional-level supplier governance reporting for better sustainability oversight, and educating internal teams to build long-term regulatory awareness, Jessica transformed fragmented supplier data into a streamlined, accurate foundation for responsible sourcing. She reduced supplier records from 11,000 to approximately 4,000, improving data quality, cutting waste, and influencing stronger internal data practices across business units. Jessica is driving meaningful, measurable change that supports Brunswick's commitment to a sustainable future.

Supply Chain Sustainability Program of the Year: Cook Medical

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This award celebrates an organization whose public advocacy and leadership actively promote sustainability within their industry:

Cook Medical demonstrated a proactive approach to understanding and meeting all requirements necessary for sustainable compliance regulations. Their team launched ESG surveys to collect supplier data and benchmark maturity, as well as a thorough Double Materiality Assessment through Assent this past year to identify the impacts and risks associated with their value chain around ESG topics. Their enthusiastic approach to continuous learning, growth, and improvement throughout their supply chain has been a true testament to their commitment to sustainability best practices.

Momentum Award: Pure Fishing & Whelen Engineering Company

This award recognizes growth in a company's overall ESG program and accomplishments over the past year. Two organizations stood out:

Pure Fishing leveraged Assent's platform to gather PFAS, REACH, ESG and TSCA information on over 30,000 items produced in eight different countries. This information enabled proper reporting on PFAS chemical information in Canada and the USA in 2025. Pure Fishing also received REACH information on over 10,000 items allowing proper reporting.
Whelen Engineering Company's program experienced impressive growth, expanding from a minimal initiative to managing six campaigns over two years. As a vertically integrated business that transforms raw materials into finished electronics, Whelen proudly supports American suppliers and manufacturers. The company also recycles scrap plastics and metals internally to create resources for its own use. Last year, Whelen began handling all six of its reporting programs through Assent. Since then, the team has redesigned its processes around Proposition 65. Additionally, Whelen has significantly improved its response times to customers and increased accuracy.

"Our customers continue to raise the bar for what's possible supply chain sustainability management," said Mark Smith, Chief Customer Officer at Assent. "Each of these award winners turned compliance into an opportunity for leadership by building programs that not only meet regulations but inspire meaningful change across their organizations and industries. It's an honor to celebrate their accomplishments and partnership as we advance together toward a more sustainable future."

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As part of the recognition package, each Assent Achieve Award recipient selected a charitable organization to receive a donation on their behalf.

To learn more about the Assent Achieve Award program, please visit https://www.assent.com/assent-achieve/.

About Assent

Assent provides the leading supply chain sustainability management solution and is on a mission to become the global platform of record for supply chain sustainability and compliance for manufacturers. Founded in 2010, Assent is the only company that unifies platform, people, and supplier intelligence to future-proof supply chains amid global disruption. Powered by AI, we enable faster, smarter compliance — from risk analysis to automated document review — while delivering unmatched speed, cost efficiency, and confidence. With a proprietary supplier engagement engine and deep regulatory expertise built into our platform and services, Assent helps customers navigate complexity, reduce risk, and accelerate growth.