Understanding the EcoVadis score

In this article, we share with you everything you need to know about the EcoVadis score, a tool used by companies to assess their CSR performance.

Through a questionnaire, EcoVadis measures a company's level of maturity in four key areas: environment, social and human rights, ethics, and responsible purchasing. 

This evaluation translates into a score between 0 and 100, with Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum medals for the best performances.

In this article, we will explain : 

• What is an EcoVadis score? 
• Why is a good score important?
• EcoVadis rating criteria? 
• How to improve your EcoVadis score 
• Real-life examples from DPD france and GA Smart Building
• Why choose Beavr to improve your EcoVadis score?

Please note that the EcoVadis assessment is often mistakenly referred to as a certification, but this is not the case. EcoVadis does not deliver a certification, but a grade and an evaluation of your performance.

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What is the EcoVadis score?

It's a score used to assess a company's performance in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It measures a company's commitment in four main areas:

1. The environment (resource management, emissions reduction, etc.)
2. Social and human rights (working conditions, diversity, etc.)
3. Ethics (anti-corruption, transparency, etc.)
4. Responsible purchasing (choosing suppliers who respect ethical standards, etc.)

The result of the sustainability performance assessment is between 0 and 100, and a company can be awarded a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum EcoVadis Medal. 

It will be awarded on the basis of percentile, i.e. the company's score in relation to all others evaluated over the same period.

This means that each year it becomes more and more difficult to secure a place in the rankings, as more and more companies are assessed, and the methodology gets tougher every year.

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Why is it important to get a good EcoVadis score?

Today's major corporations are obliged to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, and their CSR performance often depends on the practices of their suppliers.

It therefore becomes essential for them to have complete visibility over the management of CSR issues throughout their value chain. However, each supplier may adopt a different approach to implementing its CSR policy, making it very difficult to assess these practices.

This is where EcoVadis comes in, offering a standardized and reliable evaluation system. EcoVadis enables large companies to obtain a coherent, objective overview of their partners' CSR performance, making it easier to monitor their sustainability strategy. And smaller companies can respond to their partners' demands and create a solid sustainability management system.

Thanks to this tool, they can better understand their suppliers' commitments and integrate them into their own sustainability objectives.

Obtaining a good EcoVadis score for a company enables it to demonstrate to its customers, among other things, that it is properly managing its CSR challenges.

Other advantages of a high EcoVadis rating are : 

• Enhanced reputation: this assessment strengthens the company's credibility and brand image, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable and responsible practices.
• Access to new business opportunities: many organizations require a good EcoVadis rating from their suppliers, which can open the door to new contracts and partnerships.
• Better identification of areas for improvement: The EcoVadis assessment helps to identify weak points and opportunities for improvement in CSR practices, which can lead to concrete, beneficial action in the long term, and encourages the implementation of corrective measures.

In short, the EcoVadis assessment is key for companies seeking to strengthen their credibility and competitiveness in the marketplace. It also enables them to better align their CSR practices with those of their partners, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

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EcoVadis rating criteria

You are evaluated on the 4 main themes mentioned above, each divided into sub-themes that may not apply directly to your company. EcoVadis determines the sub-themes, called sustainability issues, according to the size of your company, your sector of activity and your location.

EcoVadis shows you which themes are most relevant to your company and their impact on your rating. It is therefore important to check the importance of each theme on the platform, so that you can focus on those with a medium and high impact. 

For each theme, here is the breakdown of the scoring system: 

• Each theme has a weight (from 1 to 4)
• Each dimension (policies, actions and results) has its respective importance

Please note: consider the scope of your actions, what EcoVadis calls coverage. If your initiatives affect only a small percentage of your company, they won't be considered impactful. This will have an impact on your results, especially for large companies.

And, also good to know, the larger your company, the more EcoVadis will expect you to have memberships and certifications to prove that your commitment is based on recognized frameworks.

At the end of your score, you'll receive a medal: 

• EcoVadis Bronze
• EcoVadis Silver 
• EcoVadis Gold
• EcoVadis Platinum

Find out more in our article on EcoVadis medals.

The more a company adopts sustainable practices, formalizes its management system and anchors CSR in its business model, the higher its score will be.

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How to improve your EcoVadis score

To succeed in your assessment, you need to understand the EcoVadis rating criteria and define your sustainability management system.

This management system, generally based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act principle, helps to define a strategy (with the help of documents such as policies), set objectives, define actions to achieve these objectives, and establish a system of verification and reporting.

Here are some practical tips for improving your EcoVadis rating: 

• Cover all those sustainability issues associated with your business. Quite simply, because if your company emits carbon emissions, you can't ignore this topic. The same applies to the other sub-themes your company is involved in.
• Specify the scope of application, i.e. all the organization's sites and activities concerned by your policies and actions. This will give you a better overview of your coverage.
• Specify the organization's objectives, ranging from general commitments to quantitative targets for each theme. Without objectives, you'll lose points... They must be SMART objectives - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. 
• Specify the governance, division of responsibilities, implementation process and review mechanisms for your policies and actions
• Establish a proof system with the right documents. Please note that EcoVadis does not accept documents created solely for the occasion.

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Examples of companies

At Beavr, we've helped companies like DPD France and GA Smart Building formalize their CSR approach to boost their performance and achieve a higher EcoVadis score.

DPD France rises from 62 to 75/100 + 13 points

DPD France was awarded the Gold Medal in 2024, rising from a score of 62 to 75/100. It rewards all the efforts made on their 4 main pillars: 

• The planet: DPD works to reduce its impact on the environment by taking measures to minimize pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Employees: The company aims to be an employer of choice by guaranteeing an ethical and respectful working environment for all its employees and partners.
• Communities: DPD is committed to projects that are close to its heart, mobilizing the skills of its employees to support local communities and promote social initiatives.
• Their ethical commitments: Ethics and compliance are at the heart of DPD's values, which means that the company is committed to high standards of integrity and responsibility in all its activities.

In concrete terms, to improve their performance, they have taken steps to reduce their impact on the environment, notably by improving their logistics to cut CO2 emissions. 

They have also strengthened their social policies to ensure that their employees' rights are respected and that their well-being is a priority. 

And finally, they have integrated ethical criteria into their business relationships to ensure that their suppliers also meet high standards.

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GA Smart Building wins EcoVadis Platinum medal

GA Smart has achieved Platinum status, rising from 70 points in 2023 to 85 in 2024. Thanks to its exemplary commitment to CSR, GA Smart now ranks in the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. 

GA Smart Building has identified 8 strategic challenges in the area of sustainability, the 4 main ones being :

• Environmental performance: Buildings that reduce carbon emissions and consume little energy throughout their lifetime.

• Resource management and materials consumption: using resources efficiently to limit their depletion and minimize the environmental impact of buildings.
• Exemplary worksites: off-site model: develop off-site construction and increase the use of prefabricated modules to reduce the ecological impact of worksites.
• Well-being, health and satisfaction: designing buildings that promote the well-being and health of occupants, while taking into account the neighborhood and community.

To improve their rating, they took the time to structure and formalize all the actions already implemented within the company. Beavr helped them follow a clear methodology to meet EcoVadis' expectations and prove their commitments.

These two companies illustrate how targeted actions, formalized processes and a well-defined CSR strategy can lead to a significant improvement in EcoVadis scores, strengthening their reputation and business relationships.

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Why choose Beavr to improve your EcoVadis score?

To keep control of your assessment and benefit from expert advice, Beavr can help you carry out your EcoVadis assessment. Beavr is an EcoVadis-certified training partner, which means we know the evaluation criteria and best practices for achieving a good score. We have helped over 150 companies improve their performance in the environmental, social, ethical and responsible purchasing pillars. 

In particular DPD France and GA Smart Building to improve their scores, guiding them towards effective strategies and enabling them to earn medals (Gold or Platinum). 

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Conclusion

The score awarded by EcoVadis is based on 4 main pillars divided into sub-themes, which may or may not be activated for your company depending on its location, size and sector of activity.

To get a good score, you need to address all your sustainability issues, and formalize your CSR strategy through policies, objectives, reporting and so on.

It enables you to demonstrate to your stakeholders your commitments and performance on sustainable issues.

To help you in this assessment, you can benefit from solutions such as Beavr, which enables you to understand the assessment and share expertise to make the most of your quest for compliance.