Attempting your first sustainability assessment without understanding the EcoVadis methodology is like assembling an Ikea flatpack without the instruction manual. YOLOing your way through the EcoVadis process without a clear roadmap will leave you with wobbly results. The pieces don’t fit, you have missing parts, and your heart rate spikes.

Studying the EcoVadis methodology and what it means for your company’s specific situation is the first step to success.

In this post, I’ll explain the basics of the EcoVadis methodology, how it’s structured, and why it matters to your business.

What is EcoVadis?

EcoVadis is a globally recognised sustainability assessment platform that uses a comprehensive methodology to evaluate the maturity of your company’s sustainability management systems. Due to the annual re-assessment cycle, EcoVadis offers a sort of gamified process to improve your EcoVadis score and sustainability rating through quicker iterations.

Over 130,000 companies use EcoVadis to benchmark their sustainability practices and improve and communicate progress to partners, customers, and investors.

The Four EcoVadis Sustainability Themes

EcoVadis offers a holistic view of a company’s sustainability management systems across four themes. These themes are like the four sturdy legs of a table. If one leg is short and weak, the table is wobbly. By spending a little bit of time studying these themes and the scoring methodology, you can fast-track your journey to a higher sustainability score and rating.

The important thing is that depending on your industry and company characteristics, EcoVadis prioritises each theme differently. Each theme covers multiple sustainability criteria, which are also prioritised.

If you are already a subscriber to EcoVadis you can find some of this prioritisation by downloading your Industry Risk Profile through your dashboard. If you are not a subscriber yet and need some help figuring this out, consider the EcoVadis Starter pack. 

Let’s take a closer look at each theme:

Environment: Managing Your Environmental Impacts

The Environment theme focuses on how your company manages environmental impact. This theme addresses energy use, water stewardship, waste management, pollution prevention, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and more.

Whether you manufacture products or provide services, you must demonstrate that you have effective policies with commitments and targets to reduce your impacts. Actions aligned with the commitments stated in your policies such as initiatives that reduce hazardous waste, water use, or switching to renewable energy sources will positively impact your score.

Labour & Human Rights: Promoting Good Labour Practices in Your Operations (and Your Supply Chain)

This theme concerns ensuring the fair and ethical treatment of employees across your operations and supply chains. It covers a wide variety of topics, such as worker safety, discrimination, forced labour, child labour, employee development and more.

For many companies, supply chain practices are where the most significant risks lie, especially when operations extend into regions with less stringent labour regulations. Clear policies and ongoing audits that promote safe, fair working conditions will help protect your workers, build your reputation, and increase your EcoVadis score.

Ethics: Building Trust Through Strong Business Ethics and Anti-Corruption Measures

This theme covers topics related to business ethics, such as anti-corruption, fair competition, fraud prevention, and responsible information management. Data privacy and information security have become critical components of ethical business practices in today’s connected world.

EcoVadis evaluates your company’s policies to ensure that your operations adhere to the highest ethical standards. Implementing a whistleblower protection system, ensuring compliance with anti-bribery laws and obtaining ISO 27001 certification can significantly improve your score.

Sustainable Procurement: Engaging Suppliers to Improve Sustainable Supply Chain Practices

The lion’s share of company sustainability impact lies in the supply chain for many industries. The Sustainable Procurement theme looks at how well you manage supplier relationships, ensuring that your suppliers adhere to sustainable practices.

Leading companies use environmental and social criteria when selecting suppliers, incorporate sustainability clauses into contracts, conduct audits, collaborate to improve performance.

Philips emphasises the importance of working closely with suppliers to promote sustainable practices and provide support to improve working conditions, reduce environmental impacts, and responsible sourcing of materials like conflict minerals.

If you’re sourcing materials or services, especially in high-risk countries, demonstrating that you actively engage with suppliers on sustainability matters can help you score well in this theme.

It’s important to remember that you need to score at least 30 points for each theme to be eligible for EcoVadis’ Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum medals.

How EcoVadis Uses Management Indicators to Score Your Company

The EcoVadis methodology and scoring system evaluate how well your company integrates sustainability into daily operations and practices. EcoVadis assesses your policies, actions and results for each theme:

• Policies (25%): What formal commitments has your company made? Do your policies align with international standards and address key sustainability topics?
• Actions (40%): How do you put those policies into practice? Do you take concrete actions to seek certifications, conduct audits, and implement employee training?
• Results (35%): Are your efforts producing measurable results? You must report performance and show improvement in areas like energy use, emissions, and waste management over time.

These levels are combined to generate an overall score for each theme, ranging from 0-100 points. The theme scores roll up (using a weighted average) into your overall EcoVadis score, ranging from 0-100 points. The entire system is aligned with global standards such as GRI Standards and the UN Global Compact.

Note: An often overlooked part of the EcoVadis assessment is the 360° Watch findings scan which is part of the Results level. It evaluates publicly available information about your company. Negative findings, such as environmental violations or poor labour practices, can subtract points from your score. Positive findings, like sustainability awards or recognition from respected industry bodies, can add points to your score. I explain more about 360° Watch in this blog post.

You can learn more about score improvement strategies and more in our EcoVadis FAQ. 

Why EcoVadis Ratings Matter

So why should you care about your EcoVadis rating?

Many companies, especially those with complex global supply chains, use EcoVadis as a critical measure of supplier maturity. A high score demonstrates your commitment to responsible business practices, which multinational corporations and governments increasingly require. In regions like Europe, the regulatory landscape is becoming stricter.

Whether you're seeking new partnerships, responding to regulatory requirements, or wanting to build your brand’s reputation, a strong EcoVadis rating can open doors.

Here are just a few reasons why your EcoVadis score matters:

• Attract new business: Many companies, especially large multinationals, require their suppliers to demonstrate strong sustainability credentials. A high EcoVadis score can help you stand out in competitive bidding processes and meet evolving customer expectations.
• Meet regulatory requirements: As governments worldwide increase their focus on sustainability, businesses are facing stricter regulations. A robust EcoVadis score shows that your company is ahead of the curve, meeting and exceeding compliance requirements.
• Boost your brand’s reputation: Consumers and investors are more discerning than ever. If you have strong sustainability credentials, you are better positioned to build trust, attract loyal customers, and build your reputation.

Conclusion

The EcoVadis methodology is an instruction manual that you should read. It provides a clear framework for evaluating and improving your sustainability management systems. Spend time to understand the four key themes, the underlying sustainability criteria, how they are prioritised and the management indicators EcoVadis tests you on—policies, actions, and results.

This upfront work will give you clarity, help you avoid overwhelm, set you up for a smooth assessment and potentially achieve higher EcoVadis scores. Best of all, no Allen key is required!

Ready to get started? Sign up for our EcoVadis Essentials email course for step-by-step guidance.