You’ll learn about the foundational elements of EcoVadis to help prepare you for the EcoVadis Assessment.
EcoVadis offers a Sustainability Assessment which is widely adopted across the manufacturing supply chain and beyond. EcoVadis has a global reach and has assessed more than 150,000 companies.
Company Size
Companies of all size use EcoVadis including XS (Up to 25 Employees), Small (26-99 Employees), Medium (100-999 Employees) and Large (1000+ Employees). Pricing scales according to the size of the company and the specific Sustainability Ratings Package selected.
Why Use EcoVadis?
Companies choose to participate in EcoVadis for a variety of reasons such as customer requests EcoVadis score, alignment to a sustainability framework, third-party validation of sustainability program, and to manage a sustainable procurement program.
Another key benefit is due to the wide adoption of EcoVadis, you may be able to respond to multiple customers with this single assessment. There is a proliferation of sustainability rating tools, but EcoVadis has gained many, many followers. By leveraging EcoVadis’ significant scale, you may be able to reduce the number of sustainability disclosures completed by your company.
Assessment Sections
The EcoVadis Questionnaire is split into 4 main themes: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.
Each theme contains sustainability criteria with a total of 21 criteria.
The Environment theme includes 9 criteria:
Energy Consumption and GHGs, Water, Biodiversity, Local & Accidental Pollution, Materials, Chemicals, and Waste, Product Use, Product End of Life, Customer Health & Safety, and Environmental Services and Advocacy
The Labor & Human Rights theme includes 7 criteria:
Employee Health & Safety, Working Conditions, Social Dialogue, Career Management & Training, Child Labor & Forced Labor & Human Trafficking, Diversity & Discrimination & Harassment, External & Stakeholder Human Rights.
The Ethics theme includes 3 criteria:
Corruption, Anti-competitive Practices, and Responsible Information Management
The Sustainable Procurement them includes 2 criteria:
Supplier Environmental Practices and Supplier Social Practices.
EcoVadis Scoring
Each assessment is reviewed by an independent analyst from EcoVadis. The analysts review evidence provided by the company to either accept or reject a specific question. The theme and criteria weightings differ by industry so it’s best to refer to your questionnaire to understand which areas are weighted highest.
The final score will fall on a range of 0 to 100, with 100 being the best score.
EcoVadis Medals
Platinum medal is awarded to the Top 1%
Gold medal is awarded to the Top 5%
Silver medal is awarded to the Top 15%
Bronze medal is awarded to the Top 35%
It is important to know that the specific score is adjusted approximately every 6 months so as more companies improve their score, it requires a higher score to maintain a medal badge. The true sustainability leaders are able to claim multiple years of medals showing a strong track record of steady improvement and focus on managing sustainability at their company.
EcoVadis Badges
Committed: A minimum score of 45
Fast Mover: A score between 34 and 44 with a minimum improvement of 6 points compared to the prior assessment in an 18 month period.
How can I improve my company’s EcoVadis response?
EcoVadis provides detailed analysis on prior submissions where you are able to analyze each question to understand how your response fared. A detailed review of prior submissions is a good starting to point to assess opportunities for improvement. Further, it is important to assess your company’s priorities and align them with the areas for further investment to ensure there is a strategic fit for your organization.
A Certified EcoVadis Practitioner is trained to review your EcoVadis response and support your organization to make improvements. Reach out to ESG OWL to learn more about our experience supporting companies with their EcoVadis response and our professionals that are Certified EcoVadis Practitioners.