Understanding the 2025 EcoVadis scorecard

“EcoVadis scores sustainability management systems, not just results, empowering organisations to demonstrate genuine ESG commitment.”

EcoVadis is the world’s leading sustainability ratings platform, trusted by over 150,000 organisations across 185 countries and 250 industries. It is key for companies aiming to improve transparency and responsibility in their supply chains, which often account for the majority of their environmental and social impact.

Unlike performance-only ratings, the EcoVadis rating evaluates the quality of a company’s sustainability management system, focusing on policies, actions, and results. This approach helps organisations improve continuously. It also allows them to show their sustainability achievements with a scorecard and special medals like Platinum or Gold.

Watch our EcoVadis video series to learn more; from basics to meaningful action.

Understanding the 2025 scoring system

1. The pillar-criteria framework

The backbone of the EcoVadis assessment is a matrix that links the four sustainability pillars with a consistent set of assessment criteria. The pillars are:

Environment
Labour & Human Rights
Business Ethics
Sustainable Procurement

These pillars are each assessed using seven criteria: policies, endorsements, measures, certifications, coverage, reporting, and 360 Watch. This structure enables companies to demonstrate their performance in every critical sustainability domain by showing commitments, procedures, implementation scale, and transparency in their reporting. The approach ensures a balanced evaluation across all fundamental areas, giving equal consideration to policy existence, practical deployment, and the effectiveness of reporting and oversight.

2. Assessment criteria explained

Policies: Formal sustainability commitments that provide the foundation for evaluation.
Endorsements: Third-party recognitions reinforce policy credibility.
Measures: Practical actions taken to realise stated commitments.
Certifications: External validations of robustness (e.g., ISO certifications).
Coverage: Assesses the breadth of policy and measure implementation across the business.
Reporting: Focuses on key sustainability performance indicators.
360 Watch: AI-driven monitoring of external reputation and risks.

Each criterion applies to each pillar. This means companies must, for example, show robust environmental policies, environmental measures, and environmental reporting, and do the same for the other three pillars.

3. How scoring and weighting work

EcoVadis determines a company’s score by aggregating results for each criterion across the four pillars. Each pillar has its own weight adjusted for industry and size, prioritising the most impactful areas. Only relevant, “activated” criteria are considered, based on each organisation’s risk profile.

Individual scores are given as one of five bands: 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100, with detailed EcoVadis scorecard insights displaying pillar-by-pillar strengths and areas for improvement. The overall assessment benchmarks the company against peers and highlights where targeted action can deliver the most value. Negative findings from 360 Watch can affect medal eligibility, emphasising the need for credible sustainability management.

Example: Global logistics provider (headquartered in Japan)

Source: EcoVadis

Tailoring through activated criteria and organisational relevance

Central to EcoVadis’s approach is the concept of activated criteria. When companies register, they provide key data about their industry, size, and operations. Based on this, EcoVadis activates a set of subtopics relevant to the company’s risk profile under each sustainability pillar. For example, a logistics company focusing on sea freight might have biodiversity and marine ecosystem impact activated in their environmental pillar, while a professional services firm may not due to limited operational impact on these areas.

Activated criteria guide the specific questions presented in the assessment questionnaire ensuring it is material and practical. Questions span policy existence, implemented controls, certification status, deployment coverage, reporting metrics, and AI-monitored external risk factors.

This tailoring ensures companies answer only relevant questions and submit evidence accordingly, with strategic use of up to 55 documents allowed per assessment. Companies are encouraged to prepare comprehensive documents that address multiple questions simultaneously, such as sustainability reports or internal KPI dashboards.

Download our annual guide where EcoVadis experts deep dive into this year’s methodology.

Best practices across industries and size

Challenge:

Coca-Cola HBC aimed to strengthen its sustainability framework amid growing global scrutiny on environmental impact and labour practices across a complex supply chain.

Our solution:

Comprehensive support to align policies, expand certifications (like ISO and Fair Trade), and enhance systematic reporting of KPIs across labour rights and ethics pillars, ensuring full activation of relevant criteria.

Outcome:

Secured EcoVadis Gold medal, benefiting from a robust scorecard with clear benchmarks that fuel continuous improvement and validate commitments to sustainable sourcing and ethical business practices.

Challenge:

Stolthaven Terminals faced the difficulty of managing complex environmental risks related to chemicals handling and marine logistics and needed to demonstrate robust sustainability practices to global buyers.

Our solution:

Tailored EcoVadis assessment focused on activated environmental criteria such as biodiversity, chemical handling, and emissions management. Implemented extensive employee training and documentation to maximise coverage and certification validity.

Outcome:

Achieved EcoVadis Gold rating, enhanced transparency and supplier trust, and derived actionable insights to advance sustainability leadership in logistics and chemical storage sectors.

Challenge:

As a small professional services agency, Hey Honey needed to prove its commitment to sustainability despite limited environmental and operational impacts.

Our solution:

Focused assessment on activated criteria material to service-based companies such as business ethics and labour rights. Developed clear policy documents, embraced reporting transparency, and maximised the leverage of endorsements.

Outcome:

Achieved EcoVadis Gold, demonstrating leadership in sustainability for the professional services sector, enabling differentiation in a competitive market and fostering client confidence.

EcoVadis made simpler with Nexio Projects

Navigating the EcoVadis assessment and improving your score has never been easier thanks to Nexio Projects, the number one global EcoVadis partner. With a proven track record of supporting hundreds of clients across industries and countries, Nexio offers end-to-end expertise in sustainability strategy and assessment.

Our accredited consultants, B Leaders, and sector specialists provide tailored guidance—from gap analysis and document review to training and supplier engagement— helping organisations in building a strong EcoVadis submission efficiently. Recognised as a top boutique sustainability consultancy worldwide, Nexio blends local insights with global best practices.

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