Why get help with your EcoVadis assessment?

EcoVadis enables companies to assess their CSR performance on all sustainability issues. This assessment is highly appreciated by companies and their partners, as it offers a clear, harmonized framework through a score from 0 to 100 and the awarding of a medal from Bronze to Platinum.

The EcoVadis assessment system serves as proof for companies to convince their partners, investors and other stakeholders of their CSR commitments. That's why successfully completing this assessment is a key challenge for any company!

A little more complex than you might imagine, the EcoVadis assessment can be hard to understand. It's not just about implementing CSR actions, it's about knowing how to make EcoVadis understand, fill in the right boxes, share the right evidence and show the right KPIs.

Many companies encounter these difficulties during the EcoVadis assessment process, because they lack the in-house expertise and experience to prepare this demanding questionnaire.

To support them in this process, companies often call on a specialized partner to help them obtain a medal.

In this article, we'll explore why it's important to get support and how to choose the right partner for a successful EcoVadis assessment.

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Why get help with your EcoVadis assessment?

Understanding EcoVadis requirements and how to meet them effectively requires specific expertise. A good partner can support you throughout the assessment and guide you towards CSR compliance, or on more specific tasks, depending on your needs. Here are a few examples of projects:

Perform a gap analysis

EcoVadis describes all the sustainability requirements for a sound CSR management system. A gap analysis is a thorough examination of your system against the EcoVadis requirements to identify what may be missing. Your partner can carry out this analysis for you. We recommend that you carry out a gap analysis at the start of your compliance project to determine where you stand, and then at least once more later in the process to check that you're ready for the assessment. The partner can help you to rectify any identified gaps to achieve the best score.

Managing your CSR projects

Not all companies have a CSR department or CSR manager. It may be that no one is identified to manage these subjects, or simply that it's a mission that's added to another position. In this case, working with a specialized partner can help you absorb this workload to structure and manage your CSR compliance project, from conception and development to meeting EcoVadis criteria. It can also help you implement sustainable actions and identify ways to strengthen your CSR management system.

Evaluate your CSR performance

To find out whether your company is performing well on CSR issues according to EcoVadis criteria, you need to carry out an assessment of your sustainability performance. A specialized partner can guide you through this process and help you set up a continuous assessment procedure to maintain and improve your rating over the years. The willingness to follow and always aim for continuous improvement is valued by the EcoVadis assessment.

Developing and documenting your policies

To obtain a good EcoVadis score, certain policies and protocols need to be put in place and written according to a specific format. A partner can help you document, organize and disseminate these policies so that they comply with EcoVadis expectations.

Guiding your Training projects

To achieve a good EcoVadis score, you need to offer training to all employees on environmental, social, ethical and responsible purchasing topics. A specialized partner can help you develop a training program and even carry out the training for you.

Preparing for the EcoVadis assessment

A partner can also help you prepare for your assessment by gathering all the documentation and evidence you need to demonstrate your compliance. Because they know what the assessors are looking for, they can help you increase your chances of success. 

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The advantages of a specialized partner

Hiring a specialist partner depends first and foremost on your company's needs. Whether for lack of an established team or expertise, some companies find it more advantageous than others.

• Strengthen technical knowledge: A partner can provide organizations with the expertise of a compliance professional without having to hire a full-time compliance team.
• Optimize your compliance process: Your team may be able to achieve the EcoVadis medal, but a partner will know how to do it more effectively and efficiently.
• Improve your assessments: Increase the chances of a successful CSR assessment with an expert who knows what assessors are looking for.

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Choose your EcoVadis partner according to your challenges and priorities

Beavr helps you to structure your CSR approach, while empowering you to deal with sustainability issues and make them a long-term strength for your company.

Our aim? To save you time.

With the expertise of a team of consultants and an effective tool to help you prepare, Beavr is the ideal solution for a successful EcoVadis assessment.

Our sustainability management platform offers much of what a consultant does, including conducting gap analyses, policy templates, guiding your impact assessment process, compiling documentation for your assessment and tracking readiness in an integrated dashboard.

All this while streamlining and automating up to 80% of the work required to comply with EcoVadis criteria.

With the Beavr tool and support, your company can go beyond mere compliance and build a virtuous, sustainable and forward-looking approach. Your employees will quickly become autonomous and enterprising on the issues, equipped with the ideal platform, a partner of EcoVadis.

In short, whether you choose to use a specialist partner or a CSR platform like Beavr, it's essential to understand your needs and resources to ensure an effective and successful sustainability journey.