EcoVadis has become a standard requirement in many international supply chains. For suppliers, the score can be a key factor in their relationships with major clients, in tenders, when qualifying for certain contracts, or in internal assessments of business partners.<\/p>\n
The EcoVadis assessment covers key areas such as the environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. The questionnaire is tailored to the company\u2019s profile. Factors such as the sector of activity, the company\u2019s size, the countries in which it operates, and the associated risks are all taken into account. A manufacturing company will generally have greater exposure to issues such as energy, emissions, waste, health and safety, or chemicals. A service company may place greater emphasis on ethics, working conditions, data protection or procurement.<\/p>\n
The methodology focuses on policy areas, actions and results. A policy demonstrates the company\u2019s commitment. Actions show what happens in practice. Results show whether the measures are having an effect and whether the company is monitoring progress. To achieve a better score, these three elements must be interlinked. A policy without actions is of limited value. An action without documentation cannot be verified. A result without a clear methodology may raise questions.<\/p>\n
The EcoVadis score is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100. It reflects the level of maturity of the sustainability management system at the time of the assessment. From 2024, medals will be awarded based on a company\u2019s percentile, calculated by comparing it with all companies assessed by EcoVadis over the past 12 months.<\/p>\n
The recognition levels are: Platinum: the top 1% of the companies assessed; Gold: the top 5%; Silver: the top 15%; Bronze: the top 35%.<\/p>\n
To be eligible for a medal, the company must also meet other criteria, including not scoring below 30 in any of the four areas assessed.<\/p>\n
There are also badges for companies that do not qualify for a medal. \u2018Committed\u2019 is awarded for a minimum score of 45, and \u2018Fast Mover\u2019 for a score between 34 and 44, with an improvement of at least 6 points on the previous assessment, within an 18-month period.<\/p>\n
This framework changes the way in which companies should set their targets. It is not enough simply to aim for a single numerical target. They need to understand where they stand in comparison with other companies that have been assessed, and what expectations the customers or partners requesting the rating have.<\/p>\n
Many companies only start preparing when they receive the invitation or when the deadline is already approaching. It is then that they discover that information is scattered across HR, the environment, procurement, legal, operations, quality, finance and compliance. The company needs to know what policies it has in place, what measures it applies, what data it collects, what documents can be used and where there are gaps. Preparation should begin with an internal review covering these four areas. The company needs to assess what it can already demonstrate and what needs to be improved for the next assessment.<\/p>\n
A page on corporate responsibility or a broad statement on sustainability is not enough. EcoVadis looks for clear policies that have been approved, are up to date and are relevant to the company\u2019s operations. An environmental policy must address the company\u2019s actual risks. An ethics policy must cover issues such as anti-corruption, conflicts of interest and the protection of whistleblowers. A human rights policy must apply to the workforce and, where relevant, to the value chain. A sustainable procurement policy must outline how suppliers are treated and the associated ESG risks.<\/p>\n
General documents, without any specific responsibilities, objectives or scope, are of little help. The assessment favours policies that are linked to the company\u2019s internal processes.<\/p>\n
If the company claims to organise training sessions, there must be records, materials, attendance lists or other evidence. If it claims to assess suppliers, there must be criteria, assessment forms, clauses, audits or improvement plans. If it claims to be reducing energy consumption, there must be data, projects, reports or comparisons over time. A claim without supporting documentation remains just a claim. At EcoVadis, evidence is essential.<\/p>\n
EcoVadis requires formal, recent documents that are already part of the company\u2019s management system. Documents created solely for the purposes of the assessment, without any real-world application, do not demonstrate maturity.<\/p>\n
This problem often arises before the deadline. The company quickly drafts policies or procedures, uploads them to the platform and hopes that the formality will suffice. In practice, however, documents must be backed up by actions, responsibilities, data and results.<\/p>\n
A new policy may be a good start, but it cannot replace a track record of implementation. For a robust assessment, the company must demonstrate that the system works, not that it was cobbled together in a hurry.<\/p>\n
Some companies try to make up for shortcomings by sheer volume. They upload numerous files, reports, presentations, procedures or certificates, without clearly linking them to the questions in the questionnaire. Documents must be easy to follow and must respond precisely to the requirement. A good file is official, dated, applicable to the organisation being assessed and relevant to the selected response. The quality of the documents matters more than their number. A smaller, well-chosen set can support the assessment better than dozens of documents that do not specifically prove what the company claims.<\/p>\n
Certifications can carry weight, particularly in the areas of the environment, health and safety, quality, energy or information security. However, they do not automatically cover all EcoVadis requirements.<\/p>\n
An ISO 14001 certificate may demonstrate the existence of an environmental management system, but the company may still require data on energy, emissions, water, waste or targets. ISO 45001 can support health and safety, but does not automatically cover all issues relating to human rights, diversity, social dialogue or working conditions.<\/p>\n
Certifications must be used in conjunction with policies, actions, indicators and outcomes. On their own, they are not a complete solution.<\/p>\n
EcoVadis also analyses the results. This is where many companies are less well prepared. The indicators may include energy consumption, emissions, waste volumes, water consumption, workplace accidents, training hours, ethical incidents, complaints, the percentage of suppliers assessed, or closed corrective actions.<\/p>\n
Without data, the company cannot demonstrate progress. It may be carrying out activities, but it cannot prove whether these have led to improvements. A simple system for collecting performance indicators, applied consistently, is more valuable than a comprehensive report produced only occasionally.<\/p>\n
The issue of sustainable procurement is often left until last. Companies focus on their own operations and forget that the EcoVadis methodology also assesses how suppliers are managed. For many sectors, ESG risks lie within the supply chain: raw materials, transport, outsourced services, subcontractors, suppliers in high-risk countries, or product categories with a high social and environmental impact.<\/p>\n
The company must be able to demonstrate whether it has a code of conduct for suppliers, ESG criteria for supplier selection, risk assessments, contractual clauses, audits or improvement plans. A mere reference to the general terms and conditions of purchase is not always sufficient.<\/p>\n
The EcoVadis scorecard is valid for 12 months. Once the results have been received, the company has a solid basis for improvement: strengths, areas for improvement and recommendations.<\/p>\n
Companies that use the assessment solely to respond to a client\u2019s request are missing out on the most useful aspect. The scorecard can serve as a work plan for the coming year: policies to update, indicators to introduce, training programmes to document, suppliers to evaluate, and results to monitor.<\/p>\n
The next assessment should not be prepared from scratch. It should show what has changed since the previous cycle.<\/p>\n
EcoVadis can be seen as a requirement imposed by clients. For companies that use it correctly, it becomes an exercise in internal discipline. It helps to clarify policies, organise documents, collect metrics and integrate ESG criteria into procurement and operations. A better score does not come from better wording, but from a system that can be demonstrated.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EcoVadis a devenit o cerin\u021b\u0103 obi\u0219nuit\u0103 \u00een multe lan\u021buri interna\u021bionale de aprovizionare. Pentru furnizori, scorul poate conta \u00een rela\u021bia cu clien\u021bii mari, \u00een licita\u021bii, \u00een calificarea pentru anumite contracte sau \u00een evalu\u0103rile interne ale partenerilor comerciali. Metodologia EcoVadis Evaluarea EcoVadis acoper\u0103 temele principale precum mediu, munc\u0103 \u0219i drepturile omului, etic\u0103 \u0219i achizi\u021bii sustenabile. Chestionarul este […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noutati"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10749"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10751,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10749\/revisions\/10751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}