Spreadsheets vs. software: Managing climate data smarter
June 06, 2025
“In every question lies an opportunity to strengthen sustainable business practices.”
In 2025, our ESG webinars attracted extensive audience engagement, raising thoughtful questions vital to sustainability progress. This article consolidates answers to the most relevant and frequently asked queries gathered throughout the year, directly reflecting expert insights from these live sessions. Organised under four core themes: EcoVadis, ESG reporting, decarbonisation, and the CDP, this structured Q&A recap sharpens ESG understanding and assists organisations in navigating their sustainability pathways with confidence and clarity.
EcoVadis: Optimising your assessment
Can we combine multiple documents into one for EcoVadis evidence submissions?
While EcoVadis’ methodology now permits some document consolidation, the best practice remains to upload separate documents. EcoVadis allows up to 55 documents per assessment, so keeping them distinct enhances clarity and reviewer accessibility. Retaining older valid documents alongside new versions to demonstrate year-on-year progress is encouraged.
How does EcoVadis ensure a fair scoring system across diverse companies and sectors?
EcoVadis designs questionnaires tailored to company size, industry, and geography, activating only relevant indicators. This ensures that medium and smaller enterprises are not penalised for criteria meant for larger firms. Scores reflect percentile ranks across all participants, so a gold medal signifies top 5% performance against all assessed companies worldwide, motivating continuous improvement.
How can procurement teams be motivated to integrate sustainability into their processes?
Effective procurement engagement requires governance structures that link ESG objectives into KPIs and decision-making cycles. Collaboration across supply chain, HR, and sustainability teams alongside leadership endorsement is critical. Training modules clarifying sustainable procurement and encouraging pragmatic supplier engagement help embed sustainability in procurement practices.
How can companies manage varied sustainability questionnaires from customers when already rated by EcoVadis?
Companies should prompt customers to consult their EcoVadis scorecards to avoid duplicate requests. Survey fatigue is common, and better internal alignment within customer organisations can reduce repetitive questionnaires. Leveraging the EcoVadis platform as a single source of supplier sustainability data streamlines communication and reduces burden on suppliers.
Curious to know more about the EcoVadis certification? Watch our video series!
ESG reporting: Key frameworks and DMA best practices
For a company already EcoVadis rated, is VSME reporting necessary and how are they complementary?
EcoVadis rates sustainability management, while VSME offers a structured ESG reporting framework. They complement rather than replace each other. Companies may use VSME to satisfy external reporting for customers and regulators, while EcoVadis validates internal governance practices, creating a comprehensive ESG approach tuned to stakeholder demands.
What is double materiality and why is it central to CSRD-aligned reporting?
Double materiality assesses both how sustainability impacts the company financially and how the company impacts the environment and society. This holistic lens shapes prioritisation and disclosures under CSRD regulations, ensuring companies report on all material ESG risks and opportunities affecting financial and non-financial stakeholders.
How often should companies refresh their double materiality assessments?
DMAs should be updated regularly and thoroughly documented. Auditors often review DMA processes to verify stakeholder selection, threshold-setting, and treatment of negative human rights impacts. Companies that incorporate insights transparently and demonstrate evolving understanding tend to have smoother assurance processes.
How important is peer benchmarking when developing ESG strategy?
Benchmarking against peers and understanding customer expectations are crucial to stay competitive. While companies tailor initiatives to their business model and maturity, knowing the ESG landscape of competitors enables better strategic alignment and addresses stakeholder demands more effectively.
Our ESG reporting services and resources can help your organisation’s goals. Dowbload our newest guide and start exploring.
Decarbonisation: Measuring emissions and taking action
What practical steps can cultivate employee engagement in emissions monitoring?
Communication and education underpin cultural change. Organisations should embed carbon reduction goals in strategy and leadership communication, assign accountability, and use tools such as sustainability task forces. Even small firms can begin measuring Scope 1 and 2 emissions incrementally to build awareness and data maturity.
Why is supplier emission (Scope 3) reporting necessary despite perceived double counting?
Scope 3 reporting assigns responsibility to buyers for their supply chain emissions since procurement decisions influence upstream emissions. Though counted multiple times at different corporate tiers, Scope 3 drives collective action to lower global emissions through informed supplier engagement and greener purchasing choices.
How should companies approach carbon target setting, especially SBTi commitments?
Setting science-based targets signals ambition, integrity, and leadership to investors and customers. While some firms hesitate over achievability, Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) targets help organisations clarify reduction pathways and gain stakeholder trust. The emphasis should be on credible baselining and progressively ambitious commitments.
What role do risk assessments and monitoring systems play in climate resilience?
Companies need to integrate climate risk analysis and emissions data in an iterative monitoring system. Sector-specific protocols (especially in finance and insurance) guide focus on transitional and physical risks. Such systems support better investment decisions, compliance, and resilience planning.
Want to know more about reducing carbon emissions? Read our Scope 3 focused guide now.
CDP: Understanding disclosure & transparency
Must companies submit life cycle assessments (LCAs) for good governance scoring on CDP?
Full LCAs are not mandatory for all products, but conducting LCAs or similar analysis on main products is advised to support the governance score. Concentrating on core offerings balances resource use and aligns with CDP expectations.
How can companies best handle the integrated format and new scoring system of CDP?
CDP now encourages agile, flexible reporting aligned with an integrated questionnaire and new software platform. Companies should prepare by understanding the scoring logic, leveraging available guidance, and documenting sustainability narratives. Third-party verification, while optional, improves scores and credibility.
Watch our on-demand session about CDP’s essential criteria for more insights.
Conclusion
The ESG challenges of 2025 demand that companies proficiently manage EcoVadis assessments, adopt pragmatic ESG reporting frameworks like VSME, implement rigorous double materiality evaluations, and embed comprehensive decarbonisation strategies. CDP disclosures further bolster transparency and stakeholder engagement. This Q&A collection reflects expert replies from key webinars, offering actionable insights that enable organisations of all sizes to navigate sustainability complexities confidently and strategically. Embedding these lessons will enhance ESG resilience and foster leadership in an evolving sustainability ecosystem.
This article distils the pragmatic answers from 2025’s live ESG webinars, serving as a valuable reference for professionals striving to enhance their company’s sustainability impact and compliance in the current dynamic environment.
Your partner for all things ESG
Nexio Projects is an international sustainability consultancy helping organisations move from compliance to purpose. Our experts support you across key ESG topics — from strategy and reporting to climate action and product sustainability.
We help you:
- Improve ESG ratings like EcoVadis
- Achieve B Corp certification
- Comply with CSRD and other reporting standards
- Build a robust sustainability strategy
- Set Net Zero targets and manage climate risks
- Assess product impacts and outsource ongoing ESG management
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