What is EcoVadis and why you should het this rating?

Want to understand what EcoVadis is and why more and more companies are requiring their suppliers to undergo an EcoVadis assessment?

In this article, you’ll discover how the EcoVadis ESG rating works, what concrete benefits it offers, and how to improve your score.

Read the full article!

What is EcoVadis?

EcoVadis is a company founded in 2007 in Paris with the goal of providing companies with reliable sustainability assessments.

Over the years, the data from thousands of ESG assessments has enabled the development of the EcoVadis platform, a collaborative system that allows companies to select suppliers based on their ESG performance, thereby improving ESG risk management throughout the supply chain.

EcoVadis services are therefore designed for two main categories of companies:

• Purchasing companies: businesses—primarily multinational corporations—that use the EcoVadis platform to evaluate their suppliers and select them based on their sustainability scores
• Supplier companies: companies of all sizes and across all industries, which are assessed by EcoVadis from a sustainability perspective, receive an EcoVadis rating, and gain visibility as a result

Companies assessed by EcoVadis significantly increase their competitiveness and credibility thanks to EcoVadis medals and badges, as well as the visibility they gain on the platform.

Ollum is an EcoVadis Consulting Partner

Ollum is one of the few EcoVadis Consulting Partners in Italy. This recognition certifies our expertise in sustainability and qualifies us as the ideal consultant to support your company in the process of obtaining an EcoVadis rating and in developing strategies to improve your EcoVadis score.

How does EcoVadis work?

EcoVadis is one of the most important and widely recognized international ESG rating systems, particularly for its high level of detail and credibility.

One of the key components of this sustainability assessment is completing the EcoVadis questionnaire.

This is a long series of questions—the number of which may vary depending on the size of the assessed company and its industry—that companies must answer in full, providinga wide range of information on their sustainability performance. This information is not always easy to find, and supporting evidence must be provided.

What is the EcoVadis scorecard?

At the end of the assessment, EcoVadis publishes a sustainability scorecard that shows the company’s overall score and its results in the four assessed areas: Environment, Labor Practices and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement.

The scorecard therefore helps identify the company’s strengths and areas for improvement and can be shared with clients and business partners through the EcoVadis platform.

How long does it take to complete the EcoVadis questionnaire?

The time it takes to complete the questionnaire may vary. If your company already has experience with sustainability reporting—for example, if it publishes a sustainability report—it likely already has many of the required documents on hand, and the data collection process will be faster.

On the other hand, if you are just beginning your sustainability journey, the document preparation phase will likely take longer.

The deadline for submitting the questionnaire may be extended by up to 60 business days.

What does EcoVadis assess?

The questions in the EcoVadis questionnaire cover 21 sustainability criteria, selected based on the company’s characteristics and grouped into four main areas:

• Environment, which addresses issues such as energy consumption, emissions, waste management, resource use, and the environmental impacts of products and processes;
• Labor practices and human rights, including health and safety, working conditions, training, diversity, and respect for human rights;
• Ethics, covering issues such as anti-corruption, anti-competitive practices, and responsible information management;
• Sustainable procurement, which assesses how the company integrates environmental and social criteria into its supplier management

The weighting of the various factors may vary depending on the industry, size, and characteristics of the company being evaluated.

Is there such a thing as EcoVadis certification?

Let’s start by clarifying that it’s incorrect to refer to an “EcoVadis certification.” It is, in fact, an ESG rating, at the end of which companies can receive medals or badges, depending on their scores on the EcoVadis scorecard. Therefore, what is commonly referred to as EcoVadis certification is actually either a medal or a badge.

EcoVadis Medals

At the end of the assessment process, the company receives a score ranging from 0 to 100. Based on this score, if certain thresholds are met, one of the four EcoVadis medals will be awarded. The criteria for scorecards published on or after January 1, 2025, are:

• Platinum: top 1%
• Gold: Top 5%
• Silver: top 15%
• Bronze: top 35%

To earn a medal, you cannot have a score lower than 30 in any of the four thematic areas (Environment, Labor Practices and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement).

The medals are valid for 12 months from the date the scorecard is published. Not all companies receive a medal; only those that meet the minimum thresholds do.

EcoVadis Badge

If a company has a good overall score but does not meet the percentile required for medals, it may receive an EcoVadis badge.

There are two EcoVadis badges: “Committed,” which requires a minimum score of 45, and “Fast Mover,” which requires a score between 34 and 44 and a minimum improvement of 6 points over 18 months compared to the previous score.

The Benefits of the EcoVadis Rating

Conducting an ESG assessment with EcoVadis is, in and of itself, an important process for a company, as it helps identify many areas where the company can improve in terms of sustainability.

However, there are also many other tangible benefits to EcoVadis. The most important of these is probably the following:

Increase the likelihood of being selected and retained as a supplier by large international companies, thanks to a reliable and comparable ESG assessment throughout the supply chain.

Let’s take a closer look at why.

Upon completion of the assessment, companies receive a sustainability scorecard showing their scores in the four assessed areas. These scorecards can be shared within the EcoVadis platform, thereby joining the EcoVadis network—a global ecosystem of over 150,000 assessed companies.

Once part of this network, companies can share their scorecards with stakeholders or potential business partners. In addition, potential clients can request access to your scorecard, increasing your chances of being found and establishing new business relationships.

How can you improve your EcoVadis score?

The EcoVadis rating reflects the actual sustainability performance of the evaluated company; therefore, completing the questionnaire does not guarantee a high EcoVadis score.

That is why it is important to prepare thoroughly, making sure you have all the required documents and supporting evidence.

If your goal is to achieve a very high EcoVadis score—such as the Platinum or Gold medal—it’s a good idea to implement strategies to improve your sustainability performance before undergoing the assessment.

Some strategies for improvement may include:

• SBTi-Approved Emissions Reduction Plan
• Energy Efficiency Plan
• Obtaining sustainability certifications, such as ISO 14001 (environmental management system)
• Obtain EPD certifications for your products.
• Acquire an LCA tool to develop EPD certifications for an entire product family, while reducing costs and time.
• Calculate the company’s carbon footprint.

Watch the recording of the webinar on the EcoVadis rating:

Why did my client ask me for my EcoVadis rating?

For large companies and multinational corporations, it is increasingly important to monitor the ESG risks of their suppliers. This is not only to meet growing market expectations, but also to protect their brand, reduce operational and reputational risks, and prepare for the obligations introduced by regulations such as the CSDDD, which will require sustainability due diligence throughout the supply chain.

For this reason, many companies evaluate their business partners through EcoVadis. Obtaining an EcoVadis rating therefore means objectively demonstrating one’s ESG performance and increasing the chances of entering or remaining in the supply chains of major clients.

EcoVadis Enterprise for Supply Chain Management

EcoVadis is not used only by companies seeking to obtain a rating. Large companies and multinational corporations also use the platform to assess and monitor the ESG performance of their suppliers, compare scorecards, and identify potential risks along the supply chain.

For suppliers, achieving a good EcoVadis rating therefore means being able to demonstrate their ESG performance to clients and strengthen their position within supply chains.

Alternatives to EcoVadis: The CDP Rating

If you’re considering conducting an ESG rating but also want to explore some alternatives to EcoVadis, one of the most widely recognized options is the ESG assessment by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

EcoVadis and CDP are two different yet complementary tools. EcoVadis is primarily used to assess the ESG performance of companies within supply chains, while CDP is a disclosure platform focused mainly on environmental performance, particularly climate, water, and forests.

A company can therefore be evaluated using both tools, depending on the needs of clients, investors, and other stakeholders.

How can we support you?

With over 150,000 companies assessed and more than 1,400 large enterprises using the platform to select suppliers, the EcoVadis rating has become a de facto standard in ESG supply chain assessment. As an EcoVadis Consulting Partner 2026, Ollum supports companies both in preparing the questionnaire and gathering evidence, as well as in developing strategies to improve their score prior to the assessment. For those looking to further strengthen their ESG profile, this process can be integrated with complementary tools such as the CDP rating or a sustainability report.