Product Overview of EcoVadis
EcoVadis is a global platform that specializes in providing comprehensive sustainability ratings and assessments for businesses, helping them achieve and enhance their sustainable development goals.
What EcoVadis Does
EcoVadis was founded in 2007 to address the growing need for companies to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable procurement practices and overall corporate sustainability. The platform offers a robust methodology based on international sustainability standards, including the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, the International Labor Organisation (ILO) conventions, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, ISO 26000, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Ruggie Framework).
Key Features and Functionality
Global Reach and Industry Coverage
EcoVadis provides sustainability ratings and assessments for over 130,000 companies across 180 countries, spanning more than 200 industries. This global reach enables businesses to manage sustainability performance on a worldwide scale.
Comprehensive Scorecards
The platform generates detailed scorecards that evaluate a company’s performance across four key themes:
- Environment: Assessing efforts to minimize environmental footprint, including energy use, waste management, and resource conservation.
- Ethics: Evaluating commitment to ethical business practices, such as anti-corruption measures, fair competition, and transparency.
- Labor & Human Rights: Examining respect and promotion of labor rights and human rights, including employee health and safety, working conditions, and non-discrimination policies.
- Sustainable Procurement: Analyzing the integration of sustainability criteria in purchasing decisions and ethical sourcing of materials.
Industry Benchmarks
EcoVadis scorecards include industry benchmarks that compare a company’s performance against industry peers, helping to contextualize results and identify areas for improvement.
Continuous Monitoring
The platform allows for ongoing tracking of sustainability performance, enabling companies to stay updated and make necessary adjustments over time. This includes tools for continuous monitoring and a Carbon Action Manager to help manage and reduce Scope 3 emissions.
Actionable Insights and Corrective Action Plans
EcoVadis delivers practical recommendations and feedback based on the assessment, helping companies to address weaknesses and enhance their sustainability practices. The Corrective Action Plan (CAP) is a tool shared between the evaluated company and its clients to improve CSR performance, with prioritized actions automatically proposed by the tool.
360° Watch Findings
The platform integrates external inputs from over 100,000 public sources, combining Artificial Intelligence with human analysis to collect stakeholder inputs that may impact a company’s score. This ensures a comprehensive view of a company’s sustainability performance.
Carbon Management
EcoVadis offers a dedicated Carbon Action Module, which includes features such as a Carbon Heatmap for identifying carbon hotspots, a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Data Exchange for collecting granular carbon data, and a Carbon Dashboard for analyzing GHG management performance. This module supports companies in accelerating decarbonization and emissions accountability.
Technology and Expertise
The assessments are conducted by a global team of sustainability experts from over 50 nationalities, ensuring that company answers are supported by proper documentation and respect international criteria. The platform is built and hosted on Microsoft Azure, providing reliable, holistic sustainability ratings.
Benefits
- Risk Management: Helps businesses manage risk and improve sustainability performance.
- Transparency and Compliance: Enhances transparency in supply chains and supports compliance with sustainability regulations from over 160 countries.
- Reputation and Trust: Aids in meeting regulatory requirements, enhancing reputation, and building trust with customers and stakeholders.
- Continuous Improvement: Provides tools for continuous monitoring and improvement, driving businesses towards more ethical and sustainable practices.
In summary, EcoVadis is a powerful tool for businesses seeking to enhance their sustainability credentials, manage risk, and improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Its comprehensive scorecards, industry benchmarks, and continuous monitoring features make it an invaluable resource for companies worldwide.