You may have received a client request to be rated by EcoVadis or you may just have seen the name in correspondence or on the web. EcoVadis is becoming increasingly popular among procurement professionals within corporations. Most of the requests we have received are from European-based companies and large corporations. But, if you’re like us, you may not know exactly what to expect. Let us share our experience with you.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, all United Nations Member States adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals inviting countries into a partnership to tackle the universal challenges of poverty, poor health, inequity and climate change. The goals placed an emphasis on measurable outcomes for governments and corporations. As a result, many companies have placed increasing demands on their partners and vendors to report their progress toward sustainability goals like carbon emission reduction or waste consumption.
EcoVadis, founded in 2007, has become the leading provider of sustainability ratings for over 100,000 global corporate partners. Companies have been using them to collect and aggregate data from their trading partners and suppliers.
The Trickle-Down Effect
Many suppliers are now being asked by EcoVadis to respond to an extensive survey on behalf of their clients. Suppliers are required to subscribe to EcoVadis, which ranges from $1,000 – $9,000 annually depending on the size of the company and the level of service. The Basic level does not allow companies to post their EcoVadis medal or share their scorecard. Premium and above entitles you to use the medal and to share results with your clients. The results may also be shared within the EcoVadis portal so that clients can review any documents you submitted. (With this in mind, be sure to mark sensitive documents “private” so that only EcoVadis can see it.)
EcoVadis isn’t for everyone, especially if you are a small company. Between the subscription cost and the labor involved, it’s expensive. You may want to consider waiting for a client request before investing. Companies that manufacture products or have consumers who are concerned about green technology may find that an EcoVadis rating is a good selling tool.
Aside from complying with your client’s request, it does have other benefits to your company
• Receive a globally trusted rating
• Understand your company’s performance
• Document and track your progress
• Access to sustainability resources like courses and glossaries
• Use your rating to promote your company to new and existing customers
Here is a video of procurement professionals talking about the benefits provided by EcoVadis. This page has numerous customer testimonials.
The Donkey Work
The survey consists of over 100 questions covering four broad areas:
• Environment
• Labor and Human Rights
• Ethics
• Sustainable Procurement
The survey does require a significant time commitment. If you have already completed policies to become GDPR compliant, some of that work will be transferable. EcoVadis puts a heavy emphasis on documentation and metrics. They don’t want a statement that you are committed to sustainability; they want to know exactly how you are reducing your carbon footprint and see documentation that you have trained staff. This may require the use of a learning management system and/or other tracking resources.
Here’s an example of what we provided EcoVadis with the reduction of carbon emissions based on being a 100% remote work environment.
Dedicate a team or an individual to respond to the survey to accomplish this task. The more familiar you are with the EcoVadis methodology, the easier it is to comply. The user interface is fairly straightforward, but it takes time to get used to some of the nuances. EcoVadis provides orientation documents, and they are worth reading. Be sure you understand what documents will be accepted or rejected so you don’t waste time producing things that won’t be reviewed.
If you don’t have someone on staff who is accustomed to answering compliance questions, consider hiring a consultant.
Deadlines and Details
If the request comes from a client, make sure you know who to contact is on the client side. It may not be the same person you work with for billable projects. Often, these people work either in procurement or compliance. The survey will be closed on the assigned deadline and you won’t be able to add to it, nor will you have access to the survey. You can request an extension, but you’ll need approval from your client. EcoVadis does have a searchable knowledge base and customer service email. It generally takes a day or so for them to respond.
Results
Once your documents are submitted, it will take a few weeks to get results. You will receive a rating on your overall performance and a rating on the four individual categories.
This is the Cadence scorecard. We weren’t rated on “Sustainable Procurement” because we don’t manufacture goods.
Some documents may be rejected and not scored. The rejected documents will be available in your library with the reason for rejection. It can be something as simple as the document doesn’t have evidence that is directly from your company. Most documents supplied by third parties will not be accepted. You will be notified by email and given an opportunity to remediate any problems.
Once you receive results, you should consider creating a communication plan. EcoVadis provides a communications toolkit and boilerplate language for internal and external communications. You can post your medal on your website and send your scorecard to your clients. You can also share your results from the EcoVadis portal.
EcoVadis has its benefits and drawbacks. At Cadence we found that it has helped us to focus both on processes and documentation. Our staff has appreciated learning more about sustainability. In our case, our first evaluation yielded a bronze medal, but the attention we put on the subject lead to receiving the highest honor, a platinum medal, two years later. We have found that receiving an EcoVadis medal is valued by clients who use the platform, but it hasn’t yet become an industry standard in our experience.
If you need help to assess if EcoVadis is right for your company, please contact me at smiller@cadenceresearch.com.
