EcoVadis : What is it about? How to get it?
Challenges
Faced with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations, companies are under growing pressure to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into the core of their strategy. While implementing CSR practices can help mitigate some of these risks, doing so remains a significant challenge.
In this context, the EcoVadis assessment has emerged as a key benchmark for measuring, comparing, and promoting these practices on an international scale.
What is EcoVadis certification?
EcoVadis is a collaborative platform that assesses a company’s CSR management system performance based on its policies, actions, and results, using a globally recognized rating system. It is not strictly speaking a certification in the ISO sense, but rather an independent assessment accompanied by a rating—recognized by thousands of buyers and clients worldwide.
In practice, many companies participate in EcoVadis because a client, contractor, or strategic partner requires it, particularly in the context of tenders or supplier listings.
Assessment
The questionnaire, tailored to each company’s context (industry, size, location), addresses a range of CSR issues aligned with international standards (GRI, ISO 26000, UN Global Compact), grouped into four themes: Environment, Ethics, Labor & Human Rights, and Responsible Procurement.
The assessment is based on an evidence-based approach: the company’s statements are only taken into account if supporting documentation is provided. Thanks to the customized questionnaire, companies are assessed only on the aspects deemed most relevant to their industry and size. Once the questionnaire is submitted, results are typically communicated within 6 to 8 weeks. The assessment is valid for 12 months, which means annual renewal is required to maintain status.
Result
At the conclusion of the assessment, the company is assigned an overall score (0–100), along with detailed scores for each category. 
In addition to this absolute assessment, a relative ranking by percentile is conducted when the scorecard is published.
Depending on their ranking, companies may be awarded a medal based on the following thresholds:
- Bronze: top 35% (65th–84th percentile)
- Silver: top 15% (85th–94th percentile)
- Gold: top 5% (95th–98th percentile)
- Platinum: top 1% (99th percentile and above)
To be eligible for a medal, the company must achieve a minimum score of 30/100 in each of the four categories and have no blocking incidents in the EcoVadis 360° review.
For companies that have not yet reached the Bronze threshold, EcoVadis offers two recognition badges:
- Committed Company: score ≥ 45, with a CSR initiative currently being developed
- Fast Mover: score between 34 and 44, with an improvement of at least 6 points over the last 18 months
Why undergo an EcoVadis assessment?
The EcoVadis assessment offers both internal and external benefits:
- Better understanding of your CSR performance: identify strengths and weaknesses across the four assessed themes, and better manage associated risks
- Competitive advantage: a medal improves your value-for-money score in tenders and facilitates listing with major clients
- Enhanced reputation: credibly demonstrate your CSR commitment to customers, partners, and investors
- Industry benchmarking: compare yourself to similar companies using EcoVadis’ aggregated data
- Regulatory preparedness: The EcoVadis assessment complements CSRD requirements and facilitates the structuring of ESG reporting
- Continuous improvement: Each scorecard comes with a personalized corrective action plan to help you progress from one assessment to the next
How can D-Carbonize help you achieve a strong EcoVadis score?
At D-Carbonize, we support companies at every stage of their EcoVadis assessment. Drawing on the expertise of our consultants in decarbonization and ESG structuring, we help you submit a robust application that meets EcoVadis’ methodological requirements.
Our support is based on several concrete approaches:
- Carbon footprint assessment: measurement and structuring of greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) to meet the requirements of the Environment pillar
- ESG structuring: identification, formalization, and centralization of evidence related to policies, actions, and expected results for each theme
- Questionnaire optimization: assistance with completion, strategic review, and verification of consistency between responses and supporting documents
- Continuous improvement: implementation of an action plan to sustainably improve the score with each assessment cycle
Would you like to prepare for your EcoVadis assessment with structured support? Contact us!
