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How to increase your Ecovadis score

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Written by Support

Improving an EcoVadis score is not about adding more documents—it’s about demonstrating a complete and credible CSR management system that covers the EcoVadis methodology:Policies, Actions, Results, Certifications, Coverage, and 360° Watch.
This article explains exactly which levers matter most, how EcoVadis analysts score companies, and what to do to reach higher rating levels and medals.

Understand how your score is calculated

EcoVadis evaluates companies across 4 sustainability themes:

  • Environment: GHGs, pollution, waste, water, product lifecycle

  • Labor & Human Rights: Working conditions, safety, diversity, training

  • Ethics: Corruption, anti-competitive practices, responsible information management

  • Sustainable Procurement: Supplier environmental and social practices
    Each theme is scored through 7 Management Indicators:

  1. Policies 2.Endorsements 3.Measures 4.Certifications 5.Coverage 6.Reporting (KPIs) ** 7.360° Watch Every indicator receives a score from 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100**, based on evidence quality.The more indicators you activate → the higher your score.

Boost the indicators that matter most

The fastest and most impactful way to improve a score is to focus on evaluators’ priority indicators.

Strengthen Policies (Plan)

EcoVadis expects written, signed policies covering relevant sustainability risks for your industry and size.
To score high, policies must:

  • Be official company documents

  • Go beyond legal compliance

  • Define objectives (qualitative or quantitative)

  • Indicate scope (subsidiaries vs entire group)

  • Be recent and applicable
    📌 Tip: If you have group-level policies, ensure they explicitly apply to the evaluated entity.

Show Measures (Do)

Policies without proof of implementation score low.
Provide evidence such as:

  • Whistleblowing process in Code of Conduct

  • Environmental emergency plan

  • Supplier CSR assessments or audits

  • Employee training on ethics and sustainability

  • Waste, energy, or water reduction programs
    📌 To reach 75 or 100, implementation evidence must cover all activated criteria.

Add Certifications

Independent certifications significantly increase scores.
Examples:

  • ISO 14001 (Environment)

  • ISO 45001 (Health & Safety)

  • SA8000 (Labor & Human Rights)

  • ISO 27001 (Information security)

  • Eco-labels
    Certificates must be:

  • Full documents (not screenshots)

  • Valid (dates must be visible)

  • Matching the evaluated scope

Improve Reporting (KPIs)

Reporting is essential to reach advanced or excellent scores.
Good KPI reporting includes:

  • Recent data (last 2 fiscal years)

  • Clear units (kWh, tons of CO2, % trained employees…)

  • Transparency and comparability (multiple years is a plus)

  • Ideally aligned with GRI/SASB

  • Independent verification = bonus credibility
    📌 Reporting only counts if it covers at least 80% of operations (95% for GHG and energy).

Increase Coverage for large companies

Coverage indicates how widely CSR actions apply across sites and employees.
Strong examples:

  • % of sites certified ISO 14001

  • % of employees trained in ethics

  • % of suppliers covered by CSR audits

Manage your 360° Watch

EcoVadis analyzes external sources: media, NGOs, external audits, court rulings, watchlists.
Keep a high score by:

  • Avoiding controversies

  • Publishing corrective actions when incidents occur

  • Ensuring transparency and communication if an issue appears
    ⚠ Even without submitting documents, negative news can drop your score.

Choose the right documents

To score high:
✔ Use company-wide documents covering full scope
✔ Favor fewer, consolidated documents instead of many small ones
✔ Make sure pages clearly show evidence (not just statements)
✔ EcoVadis accepts up to 55 uploaded files—best companies often use fewer than 10, usually 1–3 major reports
📌 Best practice:

  • Upload one strong CSR/Annual/Sustainability Report

  • Indicate exact page references to evidence

  • Support with certificates, KPIs, policies, codes of conduct

Focus on high-impact themes

You don’t need a perfect score everywhere. EcoVadis weights themes differently based on industry, size, and country risk.

  • Manufacturing, construction, logistics → Environment heavily weighted

  • Consulting, IT, services → Labor & Ethics may weigh more
    Identify your highest-weight themes and prioritize them.

If you want a medal, be aware of eligibility rules

Medals depend on your score AND operational context.

  • Platinum: Top 1% (e.g., ≥ 81 pts in 2024)

  • Gold: Top 5% (≈ 73 pts)

  • Silver: Top 15% (≈ 66 pts)

  • Bronze: Top 35% (≈ 58 pts)
    To receive any medal:
    ✔ Score at least 30 on every theme
    ✔ No major 360° Watch controversies in the past 3–5 years
    ✔ Companies in tobacco, weapons, coal energy → not eligible

Use Greenly AI to maximize scoring efficiency

Greenly helps companies improve scoring by:

  • Automatically extracting answers from documents

  • Identifying missing evidence per criterion

  • Indicating which pages confirm each answer

  • Checking compliance rules before submission
    → This removes manual document-by-document searching
    → Ensures nothing is missing
    → Helps companies reach higher scores faster with clearer insights

Checklist to boost your next score

  • Publish Code of Conduct & CSR Policies

  • Train employees (ethics, safety, procurement)

  • Implement a whistleblowing channel

  • Get ISO certifications

  • Produce annual CSR KPI reporting

  • Audit key suppliers or require CSR clauses

  • Communicate corrective actions after incidents

  • Ensure documents cover 80–95% of operations

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