It is well-known the importance of EcoVadis platform for supply chain partners. In the updated 2023 scoring criteria, to achieve a Bronze medal, a minimum score of 50 points is required, representing a ranking of at least 50%. To achieve a Silver medal, a minimum score of 59 points is required, and for a Gold medal, a minimum score of 70 points is necessary.

However, obtaining a Bronze medal is not an easy task. Suppliers must step by step develop relevant policies and take corresponding measures to steadily improve their performance. So, why is it necessary to establish related policies and take practical actions to improve the score? This is related to the unique scoring system of EcoVadis. In this article, we will provide a detailed interpretation of EcoVadis scoring criteria.

■ Four Main Themes of EcoVadis

The objective of EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating methodology is to measure the quality of a company's CSR management system through its policy, implementation, and performance feedback.

The EcoVadis CSR assessment methodology is based on seven fundamental principles.

● Evidence-Based Approach

The assessed company should provide evidence to support its CSR management system, such as policies, certificates, and reports. Supporting documentation is required, and company statements are only considered with substantial evidence.

● Importance of Industry Category, Country, and Company Size

The evaluation of CSR management system takes into account industry-relevant issues, whether the company operates in high-risk countries, and the company's size and geographical scope.

● Diversified Information Sources

The assessment relies not only on documents provided by the company but also on information from NGOs, unions, international organizations, local government bodies, and other third-party organizations (such as auditors, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), external compliance databases).

● Technological Support

An assessment system is considered stable and reliable when it is supported by technology. Technology enables industrialization, fast learning, growth, and scalability.

● Evaluation by International CSR Experts

Supporting documents are analyzed by experts in CSR practices from around the world who closely follow best practices in the field.

● Traceability and Transparency

Every document used in the assessment process is securely stored and traceable. If necessary, the assessed company can access the most detailed assessment results and score decisions.

● Continuous Improvement and Pursuit of Excellence

The professional assessment methodology is subject to quality control, continuous improvement, and is open to feedback from stakeholders. EcoVadis has implemented a quality management system supported by a Customer Advisory Board and a Scientific Committee.

This assessment considers a range of CSR issues, which are mainly divided into four main themes:

● Environment

The environment theme covers the impacts of products throughout their life cycle, including production processes, product use, and end-of-life.

● Labor and Human Rights

The labor and human rights theme covers working conditions, employee labor rights, and the rights of internal and external stakeholders.

● Ethics in Business

The ethics in business theme covers ethical compliance-related issues, including anti-corruption, anti-competitive behavior, and responsible information management.

● Sustainable Procurement

The sustainable procurement theme covers CSR issues in the supply chain, considering the issues caused by both direct and indirect suppliers.

Within these four main themes, each theme includes several specific topics. The extent to which each topic fully reflects the theme depends on the relevance of each topic to the company's background, such as location, company size, and industry.

The weightage of each theme score is adjusted based on the company's industry and size, typically with Environment (28%), Labor and Human Rights (36%), Ethics in Business (18%), and Sustainable Procurement (18%).

■ Three Sections for Each Theme

As mentioned earlier, EcoVadis considers an effective CSR management system to consist of three elements: policy, implementation, and performance feedback. Here are the detailed definitions for each section:

● Policy

The policy is a set of objectives to address CSR issues specific to a company. These objectives can be principles, agreements, or quantified/non-quantified targets.

● Action

Action refers to the specific measures implemented by a company to achieve policy objectives, targets, and address CSR issues. These implementations include procedures, training, and equipment.

● Results

Results are communicated through performance feedback, which involves communicating the implementation of CSR practices and progress on key performance indicators to internal and external stakeholders. This feedback is presented in the form of qualitative information and quantitative data.

■ Three Sections and Seven Management Indicators

For EcoVadis, these three sections are further divided into seven management indicators: Policy (POLI), Endorsement (ENDO), Measures (MESU), Certification (CERT), Coverage (COVE), Reporting (REPO), and 360° Assessment (360).

Tip: The score for each theme (Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics in Business, Sustainable Procurement) is based on the scores of the seven management indicators and their respective weights. The weights for the three levels of policy, action, and results are 25%, 40%, and 35%, respectively.

The seven indicators have different weightings within their respective sections. For example, in the Policy section, Policy accounts for 80% of the total Policy section score. After receiving the documentation, the analysts assess the seven management indicators based on strict guidelines. Each score level has detailed definitions and provides examples. These criteria are customized for each theme.

■ Conclusion

EcoVadis' methodology for corporate social responsibility scoring system follows the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act/Adjust), which is an iterative four-step management method used by companies for control and continuous process improvement. By dividing CSR issues into four main themes, each theme is further scored based on three sections and seven refined indicators, resulting in the final score after applying the respective weightings.