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Becoming B Corp certified or acquiring other certifications like an ISO 14001 are becoming pivotal components in the the fight against climate change, as accreditations like these help demonstrate a company’s commitment to environmental and social benefits – and ultimately encourage investors and customers alike to contribute to the the business while mitigating climate change.
An Ecovadis score, also known as an Ecovadis rating, can help companies to demonstrate thoughtful efforts towards improved human rights, a more functional supply chain, and overall improved sustainability practices.
👉 What is EcoVadis, why is it important, and how can Greenly help you acquire it?
Implementing sustainability can be a difficult task due to many constraints, such as the widespread use of CSR labels, greenwashing, lack of reliable and available information, supplier engagement and the complexity of those supply chains.
💡 EcoVadis aims to bridge the gap between these difficulties to make sustainability a more achievable goal for companies around the world, as the Ecovadis assessment process can help companies to improve upon their sustainable procurement, sustainability performance, address specific sustainability themes, and even to earn an Ecovadis medal to demonstrate a company's performance and a company's sustainability management system.
EcoVadis uses their online platform, developed in conjunction with carbon experts, to provide companies with detailed information regarding their business partners or suppliers – such as with ESG data or their sustainability to decide whether or not to begin or continue a business relationship with them.
The ultimate goal of EcoVadis is to help guide all companies around the world towards sustainability, and raise awareness on the importance of sustainable measures in order to positively impact the globe in the midst of climate change.
EcoVadis works by enabling a wide variety of CSR issues, or corporate social responsibility measures into their final evaluation scores listed on their platform. Some of the CSR issues EcoVadis strives to include are environmental measures, labor and human rights, and efforts to achieve ethical or sustainable goals.
This data derived from EcoVadis is first provided through a scoring card to delineate the strengths and weaknesses of the company in question. These score cards are valid for one year, and those subscribed to EcoVadis are eligible to receive one additional assessment. For instance, if the company is dissatisfied with their current score – they can request to be reassessed.
After receiving an EcoVadis scorecard, the company can then reassess the areas that need the most attention for improvement. EcoVadis accentuates the importance of prioritizing actions to limit a company from feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. In other words, EcoVadis pontificates the idea of taking one step at a time to improve upon various sustainability measures.
After six to eight weeks, a company will receive the results from their questionnaire and their EcoVadis scorecard. While it may seem like the end all be all to receiving your EcoVadis scorecard, it is actually just the beginning – as the other benefits provided by EcoVadis can help supply the company in question with valuable resources to improve upon the scorecard and ultimately improve their carbon performance and sustainability.
The EcoVadis is the starting point for many who wish to acquire an EcoVadis label, but what are the other advantages to joining EcoVadis?
| Phase | Description | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Company registers on EcoVadis platform and provides basic information. | 1-2 days |
| Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) | Company completes a detailed questionnaire and submits relevant documentation. | 2-4 weeks |
| Documentation Review | EcoVadis experts review the submitted SAQ and documentation. | 3-6 weeks |
| Analysis & Scoring | EcoVadis conducts a comprehensive analysis and assigns a score. | 1-2 weeks |
| Scorecard Delivery | Company receives the scorecard with detailed results and improvement areas. | 1 day |
| Feedback & Improvement | Company reviews feedback, plans improvements, and may request a reassessment. | Ongoing |
There are a multitude of benefits to acquiring an EcoVadis label. For instance, an Ecovadis label can help a company to understand their carbon emissions in depth through the use of quantifiable data, which can assist these companies to develop personalized plans to reduce their carbon footprints.
Also, Ecovadis allows companies to share their carbon emission reports between various partners directly on the EcoVadis platform – meaning potential investors or partner companies won’t have to wait annually for updates on various sustainability or carbon emissions reduction reports.
💡 In short, EcoVadis allows the opportunity for new measures to be illustrated to potential patterns instantly and improve business productivity. In addition to this, EcoVadis will still provide companies with an annual sustainability report.
Some ways in which a previous assessment via EcoVadis methodology could help your company include:
Sustainable procurement is a major part of an EcoVadis assessment, as it can help your company to improve upon the following:
EcoVadis is all about building upon improvement, and as a result – they offer a toolkit that can help companies organize their environmental and sustainable goals while also monitoring their progress. EcoVadis also offers an Intelligence Suite that provides extensive solutions to sustainability, and a network including over 75,000 resources.
An EcoVadis label is clearly beneficial to any company seeking to improve their sustainable efforts, but is it difficult to acquire?
The benefits of an EcoVadis label are not free for all. There are several steps required in the process in order to qualify for an EcoVadis label. For instance, EcoVadis asks all companies interested in EcoVadis to make an online profile of their company and fill out a questionnaire.
This questionnaire, while it may be easy to do mindlessly, must be completed with utmost attention and accuracy – otherwise, the ultimate score provided by EcoVadis will be an incorrect representation of your company’s sustainability efforts, and will harm you and your partners in the long run.
EcoVadis personalizes the questionnaires depending on the size of your company and locale of your primary businesses activities. While the questionnaire must be answered honestly in order to be deemed effective, companies seeking an EcoVadis label can still do a few things to prepare for this infamous step.
The EcoVadis questionnaire is split between the four categories mentioned before: environment, labor & human rights, and ethical and sustainable progress. Therefore, the company preparing to take the questionnaire can search for all viable records to prove their commitment to each category – such as a CSR report, key performance indicators, their procedures for employees, and various certifications.
EcoVadis also recommends that all companies seeking an EcoVadis label to ensure consistency throughout all of their documentation to be provided: such as the same dates, company name, and logo exhibited throughout their various paperwork. The documents should also clearly explain their function and how they aim to mitigate the various sustainability measures that EcoVadis evaluates, and that these documents are up-to-date and remain valid upon submission. EcoVadis does not condone documents created just for the sake of persuading the end results of the questionnaire.
It’s useful to think of the EcoVadis questionnaire as a final exam: like the test for your driver’s license or about taking the bar to become a lawyer. While it is possible to retake the EcoVadis questionnaire just as it’s possible to take the bar or your driver’s license exam until you pass – it’s better to be prepared the first time around to ensure success.
👉 Therefore, it’s best to understand your company’s business ethics, environmental impact, current ethics and sustainabale procurement, and overall strengths and weaknesses regarding sustainability and carbon emissions before taking the EcoVadis questionnaire – and that’s where Greenly can help you.
The steps necessary to receive a good EcoVadis scorecard can be challenging, therefore – many companies will recruit third-party assistance from a carbon accounting software in order to ensure success.
Greenly can help your company compile all of the information and resources necessary for a successful EcoVadis evaluation.
Essentially, the greatest benefits of EcoVadis are to be acquired after the initial questionnaire has been completed – and while EcoVadis promotes the idea that the journey towards sustainability only begins after receiving an EcoVadis scorecard, why not ace the test on the first try if you’re able to?
Greenly can help your company measure your current emissions, draft reports, and find ways to reduce or offset your emissions. EcoVadis accepts proof of action plans for future sustainability projects, such as an invoice for credible proof of actions or intentions to improve upon your company’s carbon footprint and sustainability measures.
💡 For instance, an invoice from Greenly for the use of our carbon accounting services could be used as documentation to apply for an EcoVadis label.
We offer customer specific approaches and action plans to reduce emissions and implement sustainable measures, methods to join the net-zero movement, life cycle assessments on all your products and services, and ideas on how to incentivize your employees on the importance of going green.
In addition to all of these services, Greenly also provides a digitized greenhouse gas emissions assessment, which includes scope 3 emissions – which remains the most difficult category of emissions to calculate due to their external locus of control and miscellaneous nature.
👉 Therefore, Greenly can not only help you acquire a good EcoVadis scorecard – but using our carbon accounting services can ultimately help your company acquire other certifications or join other organizations seeking sustainability reform – such as an ISO 14001, applying to the SBTi, or joining the Agenda 2030 movement created by the UNGC.
Greenly doesn’t exclude companies based on success or size – we offer all of these services to anyone interested in reducing their carbon footprint, and we will even tailor our prices according to your company’s size and activity levels.
EcoVadis accepts up to 55 documents in order to demonstrate a company’s commitment to sustainability and reducing emissions.
💡 Many companies may very well have no idea where to start in drawing up these documents, but Greenly can help your company better understand where your emissions are specifically coming from, create concrete plans to reduce them, and ultimately – the documentation that is required to qualify for labels like EcoVadis and many more.
The process of applying to be a part of EcoVadis, while daunting to take the successful preliminary steps to complete the questionnaire, can help you ultimately gain long-term resources that will prove useful for your company’s journey towards sustainability.
After acquiring an EcoVadis label, those who are a part of this online platform for sustainability management will be able to track their progress and view the progress of their competitors' environmental and social performance. In short, EcoVadis has a unique quality that many other certifications don’t – being able to monitor your peers in the business.
An EcoVadis label is valuable for all companies, as in the long run – it will prevent allegations like greenwashing and ensure investors, customers, and all other future business collaborators the efforts being made to establish transparency, accountability, and sustainability.
Don’t go through the process of completing your EcoVadis questionnaire alone – Greenly can help you obtain a valuable EcoVadis scorecard, in addition to a plethora of other certifications all while working towards a better understanding of how to continuously improve upon your carbon footprint.
If reading this article about the Evocadis label and how Greenly can help you get it has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces. Why not request a free demo with one of our experts - no obligation or commitment required.
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