Improving an EcoVadis score is not about adding more documents—it’s about demonstrating a complete and credible CSR management system that covers the EcoVadis methodology: Policies, Actions, Results, Certifications, Coverage, and 360° Watch.

This article explains exactly which levers matter most, how EcoVadis analysts score companies, and what to do to reach higher rating levels and medals.

Understand how your score is calculated

EcoVadis evaluates companies across 4 sustainability themes:

Theme	Examples of evaluated topics
Environment	GHGs, pollution, waste, water, product lifecycle
Labor & Human Rights	Working conditions, safety, diversity, training
Ethics	Corruption, anti-competitive practices, responsible information management
Sustainable Procurement	Supplier environmental and social practices

Each theme is scored through 7 Management Indicators:

Policies
Endorsements
Measures
Certifications
Coverage
Reporting (KPIs)
360° Watch

Every indicator receives a score from 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100, based on evidence quality.

The more indicators you activate → the higher your score.

Boost the indicators that matter most

The fastest and most impactful way to improve a score is to focus on evaluators’ priority indicators.

Strengthen Policies (Plan)

EcoVadis expects written, signed policies covering relevant sustainability risks for your industry and size.

To score high, policies must:

Be official company documents
Go beyond legal compliance
Define objectives (qualitative or quantitative)
Indicate scope (subsidiaries vs entire group)
Be recent and applicable

📌 Tip: If you have group-level policies, ensure they explicitly apply to the evaluated entity.

Show Measures (Do)

Policies without proof of implementation score low.

Provide evidence such as:

Whistleblowing process in Code of Conduct
Environmental emergency plan
Supplier CSR assessments or audits
Employee training on ethics and sustainability
Waste, energy, or water reduction programs

📌 To reach 75 or 100, implementation evidence must cover all activated criteria.

Add Certifications (Very strong scoring lever)

Independent certifications significantly increase scores.

Examples:

ISO 14001 (Environment)
ISO 45001 (Health & Safety)
SA8000 (Labor & Human Rights)
ISO 27001 (Information security)
Eco-labels

Certificates must be:

Full documents (not screenshots)
Valid (dates must be visible)
Matching the evaluated scope

Improve Reporting (KPIs)

Reporting is essential to reach advanced or excellent scores.

Good KPI reporting includes:

Recent data (last 2 fiscal years)
Clear units (kWh, tons of CO2, % trained employees…)
Transparency and comparability (multiple years is a plus)
Ideally aligned with GRI/SASB
Independent verification = bonus credibility

📌 Reporting only counts if it covers at least 80% of operations (95% for GHG and energy).

Increase Coverage for large companies

Coverage indicates how widely CSR actions apply across sites and employees.

Strong examples:

% of sites certified ISO 14001
% of employees trained in ethics
% of suppliers covered by CSR audits

Manage your 360° Watch

EcoVadis analyzes external sources: media, NGOs, external audits, court rulings, watchlists.

Keep a high score by:

Avoiding controversies
Publishing corrective actions when incidents occur
Ensuring transparency and communication if an issue appears

⚠ Even without submitting documents, negative news can drop your score.

Choose the right documents

To score high:

✔ Use company-wide documents covering full scope

✔ Favor fewer, consolidated documents instead of many small ones

✔ Make sure pages clearly show evidence (not just statements)

✔ EcoVadis accepts up to 50 uploaded files—best companies often use fewer than 10, usually 1–3 major reports

📌 Best practice:

Upload one strong CSR/Annual/Sustainability Report
Indicate exact page references to evidence
Support with certificates, KPIs, policies, codes of conduct

Focus on high-impact themes

You don’t need a perfect score everywhere. EcoVadis weights themes differently based on industry, size, and country risk.

Manufacturing, construction, logistics → Environment heavily weighted
Consulting, IT, services → Labor & Ethics may weigh more

Identify your highest-weight themes and prioritize them.

If you want a medal, be aware of eligibility rules

Medals depend on your score AND operational context.

Medal	Percentile threshold
Platinum	Top 1% (e.g., ≥ 81 pts in 2024)
Gold	Top 5% (≈ 73 pts)
Silver	Top 15% (≈ 66 pts)
Bronze	Top 35% (≈ 58 pts)

To receive any medal:

✔ Score at least 30 on every theme

✔ No major 360° Watch controversies in the past 3–5 years

✔ Companies in tobacco, weapons, coal energy → not eligible

Use Greenly AI to maximize scoring efficiency

Greenly helps companies improve scoring by:

Automatically extracting answers from documents
Identifying missing evidence per criterion
Indicating which pages confirm each answer
Checking compliance rules before submission
Simulating improvements (new policies, new KPIs, new certificates)

→ This removes manual document-by-document searching

→ Ensures nothing is missing

→ Helps companies reach higher scores faster

Checklist to boost your next score

High-impact action	Boosts which indicator?
Publish Code of Conduct & CSR Policies	Policies
Train employees (ethics, safety, procurement)	Measures & Coverage
Implement a whistleblowing channel	Measures
Get ISO certifications	Certifications
Produce annual CSR KPI reporting	Reporting
Audit key suppliers or require CSR clauses	Sustainable Procurement
Communicate corrective actions after incidents	360° Watch
Ensure documents cover 80–95% of operations	Validity of all indicators