Sustainability

EcoVadis assessment
– What to be aware of

Are you leading or contributing to your company’s EcoVadis assessment for the first time? In this article we help you get to grips with some of the most important concepts and steps related to an EcoVadis assessment process so you can approach your role as lead or contributor with confidence and help drive sustainability in your company.

22 June 2025
Berit Kristine Bøggild, Client Director, Accredited EcoVadis Consulting Partner & Anne Mikkelsen, Consultant, Accredited EcoVadis Consulting Partner

Article

What is an EcoVadis assessment?

An EcoVadis assessment is a structured, third-party review of your company’s sustainability management system and efforts. Your company pays to get access to a platform where you fill in a questionnaire that is tailored to your company based on your industry, size, and location. EcoVadis analyses your answers and supporting documents and then provides you with a detailed scorecard, and potentially a medal.

Four sustainability themes, 21 sustainability criteria

EcoVadis evaluates your company’s sustainability management system across the following four themes 1) Environment, 2) Labor & Human Rights, 3) Ethics, and 4) Sustainable Procurement. Within these four themes lie 21 sustainability criteria. Your company’s industry, size, and location determine which of the 21 sustainability criteria are included in your questionnaire. In that sense, the process of which sustainability criteria are activated can be compared to a materiality assessment, where EcoVadis determines which topics and subtopics are relevant to your company.

Establishing a timeline for your assessment

The EcoVadis assessment process is divided into four steps.

Registering online (takes 5-10 minutes)
Answering the questionnaire (you have 6 weeks upon opening your questionnaire)
Undergoing expert analysis (this takes 6-8 weeks)
Receiving your scorecard

We typically observe two approaches when companies go through their first assessment. Either they immediately open their questionnaire and fill it to their best ability with the data and knowledge they have at hand. This is often if they do not have a specific score ambition and want to complete the assessment as fast as possible.

The second kind of approach we see is when companies pause and allow more time to prepare ahead of opening the questionnaire, as they aim for a specific score/medal.

We can help you in either scenario to make the most of your assessment.

Activating improvements in your first assessment

If your company has an ambition about achieving a specific score, integrating the following steps in your timeline can help you realise it. As an Accredited Core Consulting Partner, Mannaz can help you with each of these steps.

Getting to grips with what EcoVadis is and what counts
Your core project team will work more efficiently if they have a common understanding of the what, when, why, and how of an EcoVadis assessment. Mannaz can facilitate a workshop that covers key awareness points. (We use the term ‘core project team’ as a term for the key people involved to provide the documentation needed to fill out the questionnaire. No individual will be able to complete an EcoVadis questionnaire by themselves)
Deciding strategic improvement areas
It is valuable to consider your company’s ambition and strategy when deciding which improvement areas to focus on because it ensures your priorities are anchored in your company’s reality. Mannaz can help by facilitating a decision process that combines your company’s strategic focus and double materiality assessment (if you have one) with typical EcoVadis improvement areas.
Planning and mobilising people to ensure improvements and data collection
In this phase, it is important to consider if all involved stakeholders/contributors understand what EcoVadis is, why it is valuable for the company, and why their contribution matters. We can help you with the relevant upskilling. We are also able to provide your with input for your improvements.
Executing improvements
The agreed plan is executed by the project team and contributors. It is crucial to check if the supporting documents live up to key requirements – Mannaz can help you with this evaluation. Read more about supporting documents in the section below.
Opening and completing the questionnaire
Fill in the questionnaire and make any final improvements.

Supporting documents are key

Once you have submitted your questionnaire, EcoVadis’ sustainability analysts assess your answers and supporting documents. Your supporting documents are your way to prove the validity of your responses. It is therefore crucial for your result that your supporting documents are relevant, credible, and up to date. Answers can be rejected on the basis of the supporting documents not living up to requirements.

Mannaz can help you understand how to make sure your supporting documents are valid.

As an example, we have experienced that an area many companies struggle with is documenting the actions they are taking to train their employees. It is key to have a well-established structure for documenting these trainings because they are relevant actions across all material topics (for example awareness training to prevent corruption and training on waste management). If you do not have a structure, your score can be negatively impacted across all four themes. We can offer a solution with a digital platform that hosts your e-learning modules and tracks completion. This allows you to document the content of the training and to document the amount of people who have completed the training (including the percentage of the target group).

Mannaz is an Accredited EcoVadis Core Consulting Partner

Is your organisation preparing for an EcoVadis assessment or reassessment?
As an Accredited EcoVadis Core Consulting Partner, Mannaz can support your organisation in successfully navigating the EcoVadis process.

Reach out to Berit or Anne to get in contact with our team of accredited EcoVadis consultants.