EcoVadis

Definition of EcoVadis:

EcoVadis is a globally recognized assessment platform that rates businesses’ sustainability based on four key categories: environmental impact, labor, and human rights standards, ethics, and procurement practices.

What is EcoVadis?

In 2007, EcoVadis set out to provide reliable business sustainability certifications. And nowadays EcoVadis is a globally recognized assessment platform that rates businesses’ sustainability based on four key categories:

  • environmental impact

  • labor and human rights

  • ethics

  • procurement practices.

Their assessments cover the following four categories: environmental impact, labor and human rights standards, ethics, and sustainable procurement practices. Companies undertake a self-assessment based on a questionnaire with many hundreds of questions. The questions require the respondent to provide evidence of their sustainability performance for the different categories listed above.

The assessment is then externally verified by EcoVadis’ sustainability experts. Following this process, companies receive an EcoVadis score from zero to 100, which is used to create reliable industry rankings. These let companies compare their business’s sustainability position with that of industry peers.

Why are EcoVadis sustainability ratings important?

Consumers and regulators are increasingly demanding higher standards of environmental stewardship. this means companies will be expected to provide verifiable evidence that all their environmental claims are accurate. This will ensure that “greenwashing” – the misleading use of environmental claims to influence purchase decisions – never plays a part in communications.

EcoVadis provides a reliable benchmark for ethical and environmental standards across many industries. These include chemicals, healthcare, beauty, consumer packaged goods, food, and transportation. Leading brands like Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Nestlé, Schneider Electric, and Michelin are among its clients. EcoVadis also provides rated companies with a decarbonization toolkit to aid their transition to more responsible practices.

What are the challenges of sustainability ratings?

Since EcoVadis is a voluntary platform, not all companies will be included in its metrics. But with more than 90,000 companies rated across 155 countries, it remains a world-leading platform for certifying sustainability credentials.

What is the future of sustainability ratings?

Amid numerous high-profile greenwashing scandals, governments and regulators are increasingly cracking down on misleading sustainability communications. This will make reliable, verified sustainability information even more important in years to come. In addition, proposed new legislation from the EU will force companies to provide proof for the sustainability claims they make about their products. This means consumers will be empowered with more information to make better decisions.

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