EcoVadis assessment: What’s new in 2025 and tips & best practices
In 2025, the landscape has shifted for companies aiming to achieve or renew their EcoVadis certification. The methodology and recognition framework have been updated, setting higher standards for transparency, documentation, and measurable impact. Stephanie Pragastis of Nexio Projects outlines the key changes and shares best practices for succeeding in the certification process.
EcoVadis is one of the world’s most comprehensive sustainability rating platforms, assessing organisations on environmental, social, ethical, and supply chain practices. Unlike many ESG ratings, EcoVadis bases its evaluation on thorough documentation analysis, ensuring transparency and credibility across the supply chain.
Since its inception, the EcoVadis assessment has become a global benchmark for sustainability performance, now spanning over 65,000 companies.
What’s new for 2025?
Over time, the methodology and recognition system of EcoVadis have evolved. Here is what is new in 2025:
Medals & badges
Medals are now awarded based on percentiles, not absolute scores. Only the top 35%, 15%, 5%, and 1% of companies receive medals, making recognition more competitive. Badges such as the Committed and Fast-Mover badges acknowledge progress and improvement.
Stricter documentation
Evidence requirements are more rigorous. Documents must be up-to-date, clearly branded, and directly relevant. The annual upload limit is 55 new documents, but valid previous documents can be reused.
360 Watch
This Al-powered tool scans public sources for both positive and negative news. Major findings can impact a company’s eligibility for medals for up to five years and affect scores for even longer.
Coverage metrics
Scoring for certifications and employee training is more granular, with clear thresholds for coverage across operational sites. External verification is required for maximum points in many areas.
Carbon scorecard
Climate strategy is now deeply embedded in the assessment, with a separate carbon scorecard evaluating commitments, actions, and reporting on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
New criteria & options
The 2025 assessment introduces new options for circular economy, extended producer responsibility, environmental advocacy, as well as updated labour and social dialogue criteria. Companies with over 50,000 employees are now classified as XL, with tailored requirements.
The EcoVadis assessment
The EcoVadis assessment guides companies through a step-by-step evaluation of their sustainability practices, from documentation to measurable impact. An overview of the 5 main steps:
Registration
Create your company profile, specifying business activity and contact details. This tailors the questionnaire to your industry, size, and geography.
Questionnaire
Access your custom dashboard, complete the questionnaire, and upload supporting documents. The questionnaire is dynamic and may change annually based on updated criteria.
Expert Analysis
EcoVadis specialists review your responses and evidence-typically within 6 to 8 weeks.
Results
Receive a detailed scorecard summarising your overall and theme-specific scores, strengths, and improvement areas.
Recognition
Depending on your performance, you may earn a badge or medal, reflecting your percentile ranking among all assessed companies.
Best practices
At Nexio Projects, we specialise in guiding organisations through the EcoVadis assessment, as part of wider ESG objectives. Here are several best practices that organisations can adopt to maximise their success in the EcoVadis assessment and strengthen the credibility of their sustainability performance.
1. Start early and monitor changes
Open your questionnaire as soon as possible to identify new or changed criteria. Review EcoVadis’ quarterly methodology updates and adjust your evidence accordingly.
2. Prioritise coverage and verification
Ensure certifications and training cover all relevant sites and employees. Attach certificates and provide clear metrics to demonstrate coverage. Use third-party assurance where possible for higher scores.
3. Elevate documentation quality
Formalise policies and procedures, schedule regular reviews, and centralise document management. Ensure evidence is robust, dated, and directly addresses each criterion.
4. Align evidence with assessment scope
Match documentation to the entity being assessed – group-level or subsidiary-and clarify applicability in your responses. Misalignment can cost valuable points.
5. Prepare for stricter scoring
To achieve top marks, especially in policy and measure indicators, ensure your documentation includes specific targets (e.g., Scope 1 and 2 emissions, DEI goals) and meets new quality factors.
6. Leverage the carbon scorecard
Strengthen your climate commitments, implement reduction actions, and report comprehensively on all emission scopes.
