If your company has been asked to complete an EcoVadis questionnaire, you are not alone and you are definitely not behind. Many businesses first encounter EcoVadis because a large customer, investor, or supply chain partner requires it. That moment often comes with stress, confusion, or even panic.

In this guide, Lindsay Hampson, President of ThisRock Inc., breaks down what EcoVadis ratings actually are, how the scoring works, and why this assessment can become a positive turning point for your business rather than a burden.

What Are EcoVadis Ratings?

These ratings are third-party sustainability scores that evaluate how well a company manages environmental, social, and ethical risks.

EcoVadis is not a certification. Instead, it is an annual sustainability rating that scores your company out of 100. The assessment is repeated each year and is designed to show improvement over time, not perfection.

EcoVadis evaluates your business across four core themes:

• Environment
• Labour and Human Rights
• Ethics
• Sustainable Procurement

Your questionnaire, scoring, and expectations are tailored based on your industry, company size, and geographic location, which means two companies can receive very different questionnaires and still be assessed fairly.

EcoVadis Scoring Scale & Medal Thresholds (Bronze to Platinum)

EcoVadis Medal	Percentile / Score Threshold	Key Requirements
Platinum	Top 1% (Overall score ~80+)	No severe negative news; high theme scores
Gold	Top 5% (Overall score ~72-79)	Strong evidence across all 4 pillars
Silver	Top 15% (Overall score ~65-71)	Documented policies and verified measures
Bronze	Top 35% (Overall score ~56-64)	Basic policies and ongoing tracking

EcoVadis scores your company out of 100 and awards medals based on percentile rankings relative to peers.

The EcoVadis medals include:

• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum

Your goal is not to achieve perfection in year one. Most first-time submissions average a score of 50 percent, and that is normal. EcoVadis is built around continuous improvement, where small, meaningful gains year over year matter most.

Many large customers care less about the exact score and more about whether:

• You are actively engaged
• You meet a minimum threshold
• You are improving over time

We are approved consultants & Partners,
with a Platinum Ecovadis Rating

How the EcoVadis Scorecard Works: 4 Themes & 5 Indicators

Within each of the four themes (environment, labour and human rights, ethics, sustainable procurement), EcoVadis evaluates five core elements:

• Policies and commitments
• Measures or actions
• Quantitative results and data
• Certifications and third-party validation
• Industry-specific risk factors

This structure ensures sustainability is not just about writing policies. It is about taking action, collecting evidence, and improving consistently.

How Much Does an EcoVadis Assessment Cost & How to Prepare

Understanding the total cost of an EcoVadis assessment requires looking at two components: mandatory EcoVadis platform fees and internal operational resources.

EcoVadis Platform Pricing Tiers

EcoVadis uses a tiered subscription model based on company size, revenue, and required platform features (such as sharing scorecards externally or accessing advanced benchmarking tools):

• Small Companies (< $25M Revenue): Subscriptions range from approximately $500 to $1,500/year.
• Mid-Sized Companies ($25M – $150M Revenue): Subscriptions range from $1,500 to $3,500/year.
• Large Enterprises ($150M+ Revenue): Subscriptions typically range from $3,500 to $9,000+/year depending on premium plan selection.

Note: If a corporate customer invites your company to complete EcoVadis, basic platform access may be covered by the customer, but sharing your scorecard broadly across your full client network or upgrading plan tiers requires a direct subscription.

Additional Preparation Costs & Resource Allocation

Beyond the annual software fee, businesses must account for indirect submission costs:

1. Internal Capacity (40–80 Hours): Gathering document evidence, organizing audit reports, and tracking missing metrics across HR, Ops, and Facilities requires significant internal team hours.
2. Policy Creation & Action Plan Implementation: Developing missing policy documentation (e.g., Scope 1–3 emissions baselines or supplier codes of conduct) may require operational investments.
3. Expert Guidance vs. DIY: Working with an experienced consultant can reduce internal staff hours by up to 70% while improving first-time accuracy to secure higher medal tiers (Silver, Gold, or Platinum).

4 Essential Preparation Steps Before Submitting

1. Conduct an Internal Audit: Review existing policies across Environment, Labor & HR, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement to identify documentation gaps.
2. Organize Concrete Supporting Evidence: EcoVadis requires documented proof (training logs, energy bills, formal policies, third-party audits) dated within the last 1–8 years depending on document type.
3. Establish Clear Metric Baselines: Start measuring energy consumption, carbon output, employee safety records, and supplier assessment coverage early.
4. Schedule Dedicated Submission Time: Allocate at least 6–8 weeks to complete the questionnaire thoroughly without rushing before your client deadline.

How to Improve Your EcoVadis Rating (Proven Steps)

Based on real submissions and analyst feedback, these steps make the biggest difference:

Strengthen and Update Policies

Develop clear policies for environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and procurement. Make sure they reflect how your business actually operates and are reviewed annually.

Train Employees

Policies must be understood to count. Training records show EcoVadis that commitments are implemented, not just written.

Improve Data Collection

Track meaningful data such as energy use, employee metrics, supplier coverage, and incidents. Even simple spreadsheets are a strong starting point.

Demonstrate Real Action

EcoVadis values audits, corrective actions, certifications, and implementation evidence. Doing the work matters as much as documenting it.

Show Year-Over-Year Progress

Fluctuations happen. What matters is showing learning, transparency, and forward momentum.

Why EcoVadis Ratings Matter for B2B Supply Chains

EcoVadis ratings are used by more than 125,000 companies worldwide and are now one of the most widely adopted B2B sustainability assessments in global supply chains.

In practice, EcoVadis ratings influence real business decisions every day.

A strong EcoVadis score can help your company:

• Retain large customers that require a minimum rating
• Compete more effectively in RFPs and tenders
• Strengthen credibility with partners and stakeholders
• Improve internal culture, morale, and purpose
• Build a foundation for long-term profitability and resilience

Ignoring an EcoVadis request can put key contracts at risk. Treating it strategically can unlock growth and stability.

Common Mistakes That Hurt Your EcoVadis Score

Many companies rush through their first EcoVadis questionnaire without understanding how scoring works. As a result, strong practices often go unrecognized.

The most common gaps include:

• Policies that exist in practice but are not documented
• Actions being taken but not formally tracked
• Missing baseline data for energy, workforce, or suppliers
• No year-over-year metrics to show progress

EcoVadis does not assume what you are doing. If it is not written down, measured, or supported by evidence, it does not count.

Integrating EcoVadis Into Your ESG & Sustainability Strategy

EcoVadis works best when it is not treated as a one-off task. It can align naturally with:

• ESG and sustainability reporting
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• ISO certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001Greenhouse gas accounting across Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3

Over time, EcoVadis becomes one component of a cohesive sustainability strategy that supports profitability, employee engagement, and long-term growth.

10-Year Industry Trends: EcoVadis Benchmark Insights

Companies are genuinely improving!

According to the data, any company that scores a 65 or higher out of 100 earns the “Advanced” or “Outstanding” rank (grouped together here as Advanced+). In simple terms: it means they aren’t just checking boxes; their sustainability practices are strong, backed by real evidence, and better than most of their competitors.

The good news is, the share of companies reaching this elite Advanced+ level leaped from 19% in 2024 to 29% in 2025! That is the single largest one-year jump in the history of this index.

Note on Data & Sources: Unless otherwise specified, all statistics, percentages, and benchmark insights shared throughout the 32 trends below are sourced directly from the official EcoVadis Business Sustainability Index Report.

32 Data Trends Every Business Must Watch

Trend 1: Europe is Still Leading the Pack

Over half (57%) of all the sustainability report cards globally in 2025 came from European companies. France and Germany are leading the charge, making up a massive chunk of that number. These European companies aren’t new to this. Roughly 75% of them have been rated before. This means they’ve moved past the “just getting started” phase and are now in a steady habit of improving year after year.

Trend 2: The US is Big, but Small Businesses are Stepping Back

The US is still the 3rd largest country in the network (with over 5,200 companies rated). However, the number of ratings actually dropped by about 2% compared to last year. (Fun fact: Canada went the opposite direction, growing by 3%!). The real story here is who is leaving. It’s the small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that are quietly participating less. Because small businesses make up the backbone of supply chains, their declining numbers are a warning sign that experts are watching closely.

Trend 3: Mainland China is Improving at Lightning Speed

China’s average score jumped to 50.4, gaining over 12 points since 2021. Even more impressive: in 2021, 0% of Chinese companies achieved that elite “Advanced+” status. By 2025? That number shot up to 21%. While China’s overall volume dipped slightly (as the market settles after a massive boom), a huge chunk (42%) are still first-timers. The data shows that a major group of Chinese companies are taking sustainability seriously and building genuinely strong practices at a rate that is outpacing almost everyone else.

Trend 4: South Korea is the Ultimate Speedster

The number of South Korean companies getting graded jumped by a massive 56% in just one year (reaching 860+ ratings). Nearly half of these companies (48%) were first-timers. Usually, when a country gets a flood of new beginners, its overall quality scores drop temporarily. But South Korea is doing something unique: they are rapidly bringing in fresh companies while simultaneously helping their existing companies get better.

Trend 5: Europe is Acing the Test – But Some Regions are Lagging

Europe’s average score is a stellar 61.2, beating the rest of the world. But if you look closer at the map, there’s a big gap between regions. If a business relies heavily on European suppliers, they might assume everyone is doing great. But the high average masks a reality check: while countries like France and Finland have 50% of their companies scoring in the elite bracket (65+), some Eastern European nations are sitting much lower, around 14% to 19%. The lesson here? Don’t assume a supplier is sustainable just because they are European.

Trend 6: Small Businesses are Punching Above Their Weight

“Small” companies (25 to 99 employees) have actually outscored “large” companies (1,000 to 9,999 employees) by over 3 points every single year since 2021. They are improving incredibly fast in Sustainable Procurement (vetting their own suppliers). Small companies jumped a massive 5.4 points in this category in just one year, hitting a score of 47.3 in 2025.

Why are small businesses suddenly taking this so seriously? It’s all about trickledown pressure. Big corporate buyers and new government laws are forcing small businesses to prove they are sustainable if they want to keep winning contracts. When the pressure is on, small businesses adapt fast.

Trend 7: Extra-Large Corporates Set the Gold Standard

“X-Large” companies (10,000+ employees) scored an average of 58.7 in Sustainable Procurement. This is a whopping 11+ points higher than small companies. A reason for this disparity is that massive corporations have structural advantages that smaller companies can’t match. They have entire dedicated sustainability teams, years of experience, and massive financial leverage to force their supply chains to comply. Their baseline score is at a level that the rest of the business world won’t reach for several years.

Trend 8: Big Companies Keep Practicing, While Small Ones Wait 

Companies that get graded frequently show the strongest improvement over time. The data reveals that larger companies stick to a tight schedule and reassess often, whereas smaller businesses tend to wait much longer between ratings.

Treating EcoVadis like a one-off “test” doesn’t work. The gap between companies that continuously engage and those that don’t is widest among small companies, proving that staying in the cycle is crucial for them.

Trend 9: Experience is the Ultimate Predictor of Success

For small companies, first-timers score an average of 53.4. But by their second rating, that score jumps to a massive 7.4-point gain of 60.8! The exact same trend happens to medium companies (jumping from 50.5 to 58.9) and medium-large companies (jumping from 52.7 to 61.5). Think of it like compounding interest. Each rating cycle forces a company to build proper documentation, embed green practices into daily routines, and clearly see their blind spots so they can fix them. Experience pays off.

Trend 10: New Corporate Giants are Starting Further Behind

First-time large companies scored 44.7 in 2025 (down 1.4 points from the 2021 cohort). First-time x-large companies scored 51.4 (down a notable 3.0 points from 2021).

Why is this happening? EcoVadis is expanding into new global markets and industries. In less mature markets, the massive corporations are the first to get graded. They may be “giants” by employee count, but they are complete beginners on their sustainability journey, which drags down the baseline average for newcomers.

Trend 11: Sustainable Procurement is Most Improved, But Still the Worst Subject

“Sustainable Procurement” means checking up on your own suppliers to ensure they are being responsible. This category saw the single biggest score jump in 2025 (+4.4 points). However, even with that growth, it remains the lowest-scoring subject globally with only 19% of companies reaching the elite Advanced+ tier here, compared to around 38% for the Environment.

Trend 12: The Supply Chain Underdogs are Surging

Over the last four years, the biggest score improvements in Sustainable Procurement didn’t come from sustainability pioneers like Finland (+6.4 points) or France (+10.2 points). Instead, they came from India (+16 points), Mainland China (+14.2 points), and Turkey (+12 points).

Why it Matters: When international buyers suddenly demand that suppliers show their sustainability credentials, those local markets have to adapt instantly. Because they didn’t have the old infrastructure already built, they are building brand-new, modern systems from scratch at a dramatic pace.

Trend 13: The Environment is the Heavyweight Champion

The number of companies hitting the top Advanced+ tier for Environmental practices more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, skyrocketing from 17% to 38%. Overall, average environmental scores grew by 9.6 points (outpacing every other theme).

Regulations, investors, and customers are all demanding climate action. Carbon tracking and “net-zero” goals are no longer optional side projects; they have been handed down as an absolute mandate to business teams.

Trend 14: Labor & Human Rights is the Highest-Scoring Category Globally

“Labor & Human Rights” ranked as the absolute highest-scoring theme across the entire global network in 2025, hitting an average score of 59.5. While the Environment category is closing the gap fast, Human Rights still holds the crown.

A massive 44% of small companies reached the elite Advanced+ tier here, which is higher than their performance in any other subject. On this theme, being small is absolutely no disadvantage.

Trend 15: Corporate Ethics is Finally Speeding Up

For a long time, progress in the “Ethics” theme was slow. But 2025 saw a sudden acceleration, with 25% to 27% of companies across all size groups hitting the Advanced+ tier. Ethics is unique because it doesn’t require a massive budget. Setting up anti-corruption policies, fair business rules, and whistleblower channels is just as easy to do if you have 50 employees as it is if you have 5,000. Because of this, small and large companies are almost completely neck-and-neck.

Trend 16 & 17: Everyone has a Plan, but Not Everyone Shares the Homework

Basic sustainability measures have become near-universal. A whopping 97% of rated companies now have some Labor & Human Rights measures in place, and 89% have Environment measures. Even Sustainable Procurement grew by 17 points over 4 years to hit 66%.

Having a plan isn’t the same as showing your results. While 80% of companies have Ethics measures in place, only 38% actually report on them.

Trend 18: Ethics Policies are Easier to Write Than Green Ones

Companies are far more likely to have a formal ethics policy ready to go. Ethics commitments (like code of conduct or anti-corruption frameworks) are largely “text-based” promises. Environmental policies, on the other hand, are much harder to build. They require technical specificity, hard math like carbon emissions baselines, and quantified targets. It takes a lot more time to build a green plan than to write an ethics handbook.

Trend 19: The Reporting Gap is Creating an AI Bottleneck

Right now, 68% of corporate buyers have deployed AI tools to manage their sustainability programs. But an AI tool is only as smart as the data you feed it. Because thousands of suppliers are doing the work but not documenting or reporting it publicly, AI tools are hitting a wall.

The Good News: Reporting is accelerating fast. Sustainable Procurement reporting alone doubled from 16% to 36% between 2021 and 2025.

Trend 20: Having a Practice Doesn’t Mean Doing it Well

When you ask how many companies are handling these themes at a truly comprehensive, deeply mature level, the numbers drop significantly. Only 24% of companies have truly deep Labor & Human Rights practices, and that plunges to just 14% for Environment and 10% for Ethics.

Size brings a massive advantage here. Larger organizations have the dedicated budgets, specific teams, and years of experience needed to turn a shallow policy into a deeply embedded company culture.

Trend 21: Writing a Great Policy is Harder Than It Looks

When EcoVadis looks for “exceptional-level” policies (meaning plans that are highly detailed, specific, and backed by hard evidence) the numbers drop significantly. In 2025, only 10% of companies had exceptional policies for the Environment. It gets even lower from there: 7% for Ethics, 6% for Labor & Human Rights, and a tiny 4% for Sustainable Procurement.

While these numbers have grown from nearly zero in 2021, they prove that crafting a truly high-quality corporate strategy requires a level of sophistication that most companies are still figuring out. Once again, massive companies perform better here because they have the resources to design these complex plans.

Trend 22: Truly Elite Reporting Sits Below 1%

Across the entire global population of rated companies, less than 1% achieve an “exceptional” rating for their sustainability reporting. Even if you look exclusively at Large+ companies (the ones facing the highest government pressure and wielding the biggest budgets) only 2% achieve exceptional reporting on the Environment, Labor, and Ethics, and just 1% manage it for Procurement.

Big corporate buyers desperately need granular, verified, and rock-solid data from their suppliers to build their own sustainability systems. Right now, almost nobody is producing data at that elite level, creating a massive gap between what corporate buyers want and what suppliers can actually deliver.

Trends 23 & 24: What Companies are Best At (and Their Hidden Supply Chain Blindspot)

The most common best practices are all about diversity, health, and safety. A massive 80% of companies have policies for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and 78% have strong health and safety policies. Most companies have emergency plans (69%), provide safety training (66%), and offer healthcare coverage (61%).

The Catch: This care stops at their own front door. When looking at the supply chain (external contractors, communities, or factory workers further down the line), only a measly 2% of companies have a system where those external people can report human rights complaints.

Trends 25 & 26: Solid Corruption Defenses and an Unexpected Tech Win

More than half of companies (51%) now actively report on corruption and bribery. At the same time, thanks to data laws and cyber threats, digital ethics is booming. About 49% of companies give cybersecurity training, and 42% have measures to protect third-party data.

The Next Step: While they have written the anti-bribery rules, only 19% do actual corruption risk assessments, and just 13% audit their procedures to ensure no one is breaking them.

Trends 27 & 28: The Massive Climate Tracking Challenge (What on Earth is Scope 3?)

Only one single environmental practice made it into the global top 20 best practices: having an energy and greenhouse gas policy (62%). Meanwhile, zero procurement practices made the list. A staggering 78% of rated companies still lack science-based carbon targets. Furthermore, between 64% and 73% struggle to set reduction goals for their overall emissions.

What is “Scope 3” and why is it a bottleneck?

Think of a company’s carbon footprint in three layers. Scope 1 is what their own buildings blast out. Scope 2 is the electricity they buy. Scope 3 is everything else; the emissions from the trucks that deliver their goods, the factories making their raw materials, and even customers using their products.

According to the report, a massive 73% to 77% of companies completely lack Scope 3 reporting. As the quote at the bottom notes, this isn’t because companies don’t care; it’s because tracking data across hundreds of external suppliers is incredibly hard.

Trend 29: Energy Investment is Reaching the Factory Floor

While reporting on supply chains is hard, real operational change is happening. Nearly half of companies (46%) are actively purchasing or generating renewable energy. Additionally, 38% are training employees on energy conservation, and 32% have conducted energy or carbon audits.

This proves that the lack of data isn’t a lack of trying. Companies are investing heavily in capital expenditure and training; they simply lack the measurement infrastructure to turn those actions into the formal data that regulators want.

Trend 30: On Biodiversity, Most are Still at the Starting Line

The most common “action” taken on biodiversity (by 33% of companies) is just signing a self-declaration stating that none of their facilities are near sensitive nature zones (a statement that requires zero verification). Meanwhile, a tiny 1% of companies have actually conducted a formal risk assessment or data-driven analysis of their impact on local wildlife.

While carbon and energy are getting massive attention, biodiversity framework and data standards are still maturing, meaning real action beyond energy is heavily lagging.

Trend 31: The Universal Flaw, No Supply Chain Risk Analysis

80% of all rated companies are flagged for the exact same issue: they have no conclusive documentation showing they analyze sustainability risks in their supply chain. Furthermore, 80% fail to endorse external ethical initiatives, and 80% lack quantitative targets on labor and human rights.

This isn’t an area companies are actively fixing, the labor and human rights targets figure barely budged from 2024 (79%). It remains the single biggest roadblocks for global supply chain transparency.

Trend 32: Supply Chain Actions are Mostly Just Paperwork

The most common sustainable procurement actions are documentation-based. Companies rely heavily on supplier codes of conduct (46%) and sending out questionnaire assessments (42%). Only 30% integrate actual social or environmental clauses into contracts, and just 20% conduct on-site supplier audits.

It’s much easier to have a supplier sign a code of conduct than it is to send an auditor to their factory. Companies are prioritizing the “paperwork” phase before tackling deeper enforcement.

The Future Requirements vs. The Present Gap

1. Tougher Laws are Here to Stay: New regulations and buyer demands are forcing the global sustainability baseline to keep rising.
2. The “Scope 3” & Reporting Wall: Companies are trying hard, but they are hitting a massive wall because they don’t have the systems to track deep supplier data (like Scope 3 emissions). As the Co-CEO of EcoVadis puts it, what we need next is not more ambition, it’s the data infrastructure to match it.
3. Compounding Success: Companies that practice and reassess continuous cycles see massive, structural advantages over those that don’t.

Where Global Suppliers Struggle, ThisRock Clients Soar

The global EcoVadis report shows that the average company is fighting hard just to cross a baseline score of 50 to 60. At ThisRock, we’ve spent the past 3 years helping companies of every size (from nimble XS startups to massive XL enterprises) completely shatter those averages.

Whether it is a client’s very first time navigating EcoVadis or a repeat partner pushing for elite status, our results speaks for itself:

1. Skyrocketing Scores: Our clients achieved an average score of 80.12% in 2025, and that has risen to a phenomenal 83.80% in 2026!
2. 48% All-Time Improvement: On average, our clients experience a 48% all-time score increase over their journey with us.
3. A Wall of Medals: Out of our 45 total EcoVadis badges earned, over 70% are Gold or Platinum (the absolute highest tiers of global sustainability)!

Remember how the global report flagged huge gaps in carbon tracking, risk assessments, and actual proof? That is exactly where we roll up our sleeves. We help fill those gaps directly by handling the heavy lifting:

• Emissions Tracking: We calculate complex Scope 1, 2, and 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions so you don’t hit the data tracking wall.
• Risk Assessments: We conduct verified Climate & physical risk assessments, water risk assessments, biodiversity risk assessments, and IT & corruption risk assessments.
• Supply Chain Auditing: We carry out complete Supplier Risk Assessments on ESG values so your procurement score rises.
• Bulletproof Evidence: We ensure your company tracks the right high-quality data with the appropriate documentation to back up every claim.
• Tailored Training: We provide comprehensive team training across all four EcoVadis pillars (Environment, Labor & HR, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement).

Need Help With Your EcoVadis Submission?

If you are completing EcoVadis for the first time or looking to improve your rating, the right support can make a meaningful difference. A strong approach avoids greenwashing, reflects real operations, and builds an evidence base that stands up to scrutiny.

ThisRock has supported more than 50 organizations globally with EcoVadis ratings, ESG strategy, reporting, supplier programs, and employee training.

Book a free 15-minute introductory call to build a clear, confident plan for your EcoVadis submission.

We are approved consultants & Partners,
with a Platinum Ecovadis Rating

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