What Is EcoVadis and Why Is My Customer Asking for It?

You have received an email from a customer asking you to complete an EcoVadis assessment. You have never heard of it. You have googled it and found pricing that makes your eyes water. You are wondering whether your customer has lost the plot.

They have not. Here is what is going on and what you need to do about it.

What EcoVadis is

EcoVadis is a sustainability ratings platform used by procurement teams to assess their suppliers. It is the most widely used in the world. Over 130,000 companies have been assessed on it at the time of writing.

Your customer subscribes to EcoVadis and uses it to evaluate their supply chain. They invite you to complete a questionnaire covering four areas: environment (25%), labour and human rights (25%), ethics (25%), and sustainable procurement (25%). You upload supporting evidence alongside your answers. An EcoVadis analyst reviews your submission and gives you a score out of 100.

Scores are graded into medal levels. Platinum is the top 1%. Gold is the top 5%. Silver is the top 15%. Bronze is the top 35%. Below that, you receive a score but no medal.

Why your customer is asking

Your customer is not asking because they think your business is not sustainable enough. They are asking because procurement teams need a consistent, comparable way to evaluate suppliers across their entire supply base. EcoVadis gives them a standardised scorecard.

New regulations are driving this. CSRD requires companies to report on their value chain. That means they need data from their suppliers. They need to know your environmental impact, your labour practices, your governance, and how you manage your own supply chain. EcoVadis is how many companies collect that data in a structured way.

The commercial reality is that your EcoVadis score can directly affect whether you get onboarded as a new supplier, keep your preferred supplier status, renew an existing contract, or win a tender. When your customer says they need your EcoVadis score, it is not a suggestion.

What it costs you

This is where most suppliers panic. They google EcoVadis pricing and find enterprise numbers in the tens of thousands. That pricing is for corporates who subscribe to the platform to assess their suppliers. Your cost as a supplier being assessed is different.

You pay EcoVadis directly for the subscription. EcoVadis pricing varies, so it's worth getting in touch with them. The subscription gets you access to the platform, allows you to complete the questionnaire, and gives you a scorecard you can share with any customer who asks.

The subscription is just the platform fee. It does not include help preparing your submission. If you want consultancy support, that is separate. At Ltt Group, we offer fixed-price packages covering everything from a review and route map through to fully guided support to submission. Get in touch for current pricing.

What you need to do

You register on the EcoVadis platform, complete the questionnaire, and upload supporting documents. Policies, certifications, data, training records. Anything that proves the claims you are making. An analyst reviews your submission and issues your score within 4-6 weeks.

The most critical thing to understand: EcoVadis scores evidence, not intentions. Every "yes" answer needs proof. If you say you have an environmental policy, you need to upload it. If you say you have reduced emissions, you need the data. If you say you train staff on ethics, you need the training records. Answering "yes" without evidence scores the same as answering "no."

The second most important thing: your first submission sets your baseline. A weak first submission gives you a low score that takes 12 months to improve, because you can only resubmit annually. Getting it right the first time is worth the investment.

Where to get help

Ltt Group helps suppliers prepare for EcoVadis assessments. We work with businesses from complete confusion to submitted assessment, typically in 8-12 weeks. If you have already submitted and your score came back lower than expected, we review existing scorecards and identify where points were lost so you can close the gaps before your next submission.