EcoVadis 101: Master Your Sustainability Ratings & Boost Your EcoVadis Score

EcoVadis is the world’s largest sustainability ratings provider, with over 150,000 companies rated. EcoVadis ratings matter. They give companies a holistic view of their sustainability performance, enabling them to assess and share their current performance and what they have to do to improve.

As the only rating solution for every aspect of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, EcoVadis is considered the gold standard for measuring a company’s overall sustainability performance. It is also being increasingly utilized as a tool for companies to assess the sustainability performance of their suppliers.  

If you would like to learn more about the most popular sustainability rating service, are looking to report with EcoVadis, or would like to improve your score, read on for our valuable tips.

What is EcoVadis and Why Your Sustainability Rating Matters

EcoVadis is a global provider of corporate sustainability ratings, intelligence, and tools. The company was founded in Paris in 2007 with a mission to:

Provide reliable, globally recognized sustainability ratings and insights, enabling all companies to reduce risk, drive improvement, and accelerate positive impact on our planet and society.

EcoVadis Mission

Since its founding, it has grown to become the largest sustainability ratings provider, giving scores to over 150,000 companies in 175 countries.

To become an EcoVadis-rated, companies have to go through the EcoVadis assessment process, after which they will receive an EcoVadis rating score, both of which are explained below.

Why Large Companies are Incorporating EcoVadis into Procurement Decisions

Sustainability performance is being considered as much as cost in today’s business world, which is why EcoVadis is so valuable. It gives companies an easy way to benchmark and track the performance of their suppliers, and with more than 150,000 companies rated, there is no better way to assess the performance of your supply chain.

• Standardized Benchmarking – EcoVadis provides a standardized, data-driven framework that allows companies to compare supplier performance consistently across regions and industries, making sustainability informed procurement decisions more reliable and objective.
• Competitive Advantage – Sustainable procurement ensures that companies reduce exposure to unethical sourcing and environmental risks. Tracking and showing that your supply chain sustainability performance improves over time can help build a competitive advantage.
• Supplier Engagement – Companies use EcoVadis to engage suppliers to encourage them to make sustainability improvements, set targets, and track progress over time to drive long-term supply chain performance enhancements.

Real-World Example: How Fedrigoni’s Uses EcoVadis to Reduce Supply Chain Impact

Fedrigoni, a global paper and packaging company, made EcoVadis assessments a cornerstone of its supplier evaluation and procurement process. This ensured that sustainability metrics became as important as cost or quality in procurement decisions.

By actively working with suppliers, through training sessions, benchmarks, and feedback based on EcoVadis scorecards, Fedrigoni achieved measurable improvements across its supply chain. Over two-thirds of its suppliers improved their sustainability scores, proving that a ratings platform can be used both as a one-time decision-making tool and as a way to incentivize and track improvements.

How the EcoVadis Rating Process Works

To be assessed by EcoVadis, companies need to follow a simple four-step process:

1. Step 1 EcoVadis Registration: Signing up through the registration page starts the process. To begin with, companies will be expected to share information about their company size, name, industry, and geography. This will help EcoVadis create a customized questionnaire and price.
2. Step 2 EcoVadis Questionnaire: Once the registration has been received and processed, companies will be notified, and they can begin filling out their customized questionnaire. After completing the questionnaire, which should take no more than a few hours or a couple of days, supporting documents will be requested. Finally, a subscription plan will be chosen, and billing information will be given for payment. The customized company will have to share data across 21 sustainability indicators, which are grouped into four key themes:
   • Environment: Evaluate a company’s environmental impact, including energy consumption, emissions, and waste management.
   • Labor & Human Rights: Looks at labor and human rights practices, including health and safety, working conditions, and diversity.
   • Ethics: Focuses on business ethics, such as corruption, bribery, and anti-competitive practices.
   • Sustainable Procurement: Assesses how sustainably a company sources its goods and services.
3. Step 3 EcoVadis Expert Analysis: EcoVadis sustainability experts will now spend 6-8 weeks reviewing the answers to the questionnaire and supporting evidence, using a methodology based on international standards such as the Global Reporting Index (GRI), ISO 26000, and United Nations Global Compact
4. Step 4 EcoVadis Results: Companies are notified when their scorecard is available on the EcoVadis platform. If they were invited to complete the assessment by a customer, they will also be notified and sent a copy of the scorecard. Scorecards are valid for twelve months, after which companies need to reassess.

EcoVadis Ratings

Companies can expect to receive their EcoVadis score results 6-8 weeks after submitting their questionnaire. They will receive a score for each theme, an overall score between 1 and 100, and a corresponding annually updated sustainability rating across four different medal categories: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Each of these for 2025 is described in greater detail below:

• Platinum – Top 1% (overall score between 81 and 100)
• Gold – Top 5% (overall score between 73 and 80)
• Silver – Top 25% (overall score between 66 and 72)
• Bronze – Top 50% (overall score between 58 and 65)

In 2023, EcoVadis also added badges to recognize companies that are just starting to report or have made progress but are outside of the medal range. The two badges that companies can obtain are:

• Committed Badge: Any company with a minimum score of 45
• Fast Mover Badge: Any score between 24-44 with a minimum

The rating score and medal are based on the publication date, not the questionnaire completion date. The trend for medals is that they get harder to achieve every year. In 2022, for example, Platinum had to have an overall score between 75 and 100, and Gold had to have an overall score between 67 and 74.

Why EcoVadis Ratings Matter

Having your company’s sustainability credentials verified by EcoVadis gives your company’s claims validity and ensures you are being transparent and accountable.

A good score is important as it can differentiate your business, improve your brand reputation, and be the deal breaker for hiring a new investment, securing investments, and attracting new customers. Research suggests that 91% of companies take sustainability ratings into consideration when making a purchasing decision.

An EcoVadis rating also allows you to benchmark and compare your performance against competitors and peers and gives you a corrective action plan to follow to improve your score.

EcoVadis ratings are also important for supply chain sustainability. Buyers can use EcoVadis to send their suppliers customized questionnaires to get a better understanding of the sustainability risks in their supply chains and improve procurement practices.

Embarking on EcoVadis? Reach out to learn how we can help you optimize your business rating →

The Importance of EcoVadis in Supply Chain Sustainability

The majority of companies’ sustainability impacts, such as carbon emissions, human rights issues, and waste, are tied up in their global supply chains. Suppliers can use EcoVadis to send their supply chain partners a customized questionnaire for all of their sustainability reporting.

Multiple studies show the widespread financial and brand image benefits of having a sustainable supply chain. One study from the World Economic Forum showed that sustainable supply chains can reduce supply chain costs by 9%-16%.

With vast experience in helping over 1,000 suppliers improve their sustainable procurement, EcoVadis can help both buyers and suppliers in the following ways:

• Buyers: It gives buyers a clear and timely way of accurately assessing the sustainability performance of their suppliers, helping them identify opportunities for more sustainable suppliers or drive improvements in existing ones.
• Suppliers: Suppliers can benchmark their performance against competitors and get actionable insights into improving their ESG performance to differentiate their brand and win more business.

Why EcoVadis Is For Companies of All Sizes

In 2023, 48% of EcoVadis reporters were medium-sized businesses, and 34% of reporters were small businesses. Why are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the majority of EcoVadis reporters? The main reason lies in the supply chain. Large companies are increasingly requiring their suppliers to report to EcoVadis or achieve a specific score to build business relationships.

Here are a few examples of major corporations leveraging EcoVadis in their supply chains:

• GM: GM asked their tier 1 suppliers to sign their Environmental, Social and Governance Partnership Pledge, which is a commitment to achieving a minimum score of 50 on EcoVadis Labor & Human Rights and Ethics and Sustainable Procurement pillars.
• Nestle: Assess more than 3,000 companies, two-thirds of their supplier spend through EcoVadis helping them make procurement decisions.
• Johnson and Johnson: Used EcoVadis to assess the performance of almost a thousand of their suppliers. They used EcoVadis to conduct social due diligence in their supply chain, and it is a contributing factor in their decision-making.

Smaller companies are now capitalizing on EcoVadis reporting to gain a competitive edge, a strategy that’s driving their significant presence in the reporting landscape.

EcoVadis vs. CDP: Which Is Right for Your Business

EcoVadis and CDP are two of the most recognized sustainability assessment platforms, each with its own focus. EcoVadis offers a comprehensive evaluation across a broad range of ESG criteria, making it ideal for businesses looking to manage supply chain risks and enhance overall sustainability performance. In contrast, CDP zeroes in on climate-related and environmental factors, providing detailed insights for organizations that prioritize public disclosures and targeted climate action.

Ultimately, your choice will likely depend on what your biggest customer is asking you to report with.

Want a detailed comparison of EcoVadis and CDP? Read our full breakdown of EcoVadis vs. CDP here →

Actionable Tips to Improve your Ecovadis Sustainability Rating

If your company received an EcoVadis medal below your goal or the dreaded no medal (score below 50%), you have 12 months to take measures to improve your rating. Follow these five simple steps to improve your score:

1. Conduct a Gap Analysis

Before making any changes, it’s essential to know where you currently stand. Evaluate your existing EcoVadis scorecard and its corrective action plan across the four main themes: Environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. If you are yet to get your EcoVadis rating, you can conduct a materiality assessment. Use this information to identify your weak areas.

2. Create an Action Plan

Develop a comprehensive action plan based on the results of your gap analysis or materiality assessment. Prioritize actions that will yield the most significant impact on your score, assign tasks to specific teams or individuals, and set achievable deadlines.

3. Use a Software Partner for Data Preparation

Utilize a specialized ESG software partner to collect, prepare, and manage your sustainability data. These platforms can automate the tracking of KPIs, streamline data collection, and even generate reports that you can directly submit for your EcoVadis evaluation. This will not only make the process more efficient but also ensure accuracy.

4. Compile Supporting Documentation

EcoVadis places a significant emphasis on proper documentation. Gather all the necessary documents that support your sustainability and CSR efforts, including policies, evidence of initiatives, and compliance records. There is a limit of 55 documents. Make these documents easily accessible for the EcoVadis evaluation.

5. Monitor & Measure Progress

Regularly assess your performance through analytics and internal audits to ensure that you are on track to meet your goals. Modify your action plan as needed based on these evaluations.

6. Resubmit your EcoVadis Questionnaire

After you receive your score, you have one year to improve your sustainability processes, strategies, and goals until you can go through the process again and get your new score.

Good.Lab: Your Strategic Partner on the Road to an Improved EcoVadis Score

Good.Lab is both an approved EcoVadis training partner with EcoVadis approved consultants and has conducted our own EcoVadis report, receiving a bronze medal in our first report.

We understand what it takes to achieve a high EcoVadis rating, how to collect the necessary data, and how to use that to make data-driven strategies to improve your ESG performance. With our best-in-class ESG software and EcoVadis expertise, we can help you through the whole process.

With our expert guidance, you’ll be empowered to implement the right strategies and see measurable improvements—while results naturally vary, we’re here to help you get closer to your goals.