Setting up a successful sustainability program with EcoVadis

EcoVadis offers a scalable, cloud-based platform that delivers clear and reliable data on your trading partners' sustainability practices. Our platform allows you to monitor your trading partners' sustainability performance. But what is expected of your company to ensure a successful trading partners' assessment program? Let's find out.

How does EcoVadis support my company’s sustainability program?

Here are the main commitments of EcoVadis:

• Provide a scalable, cloud-based platform for ongoing monitoring of your trading partners' sustainability performance;
• Manage your trading partners' integration and onboarding process;
• Deliver precise and reliable data on your trading partners' sustainability practices;
• Support and assist your trading partners during the EcoVadis assessment process through our internal multilingual support team;
• Designate a dedicated Account Manager, and set up quarterly Steering Committee meetings with the Enterprise customer management.

What does EcoVadis expect from my company to ensure a successful Sustainability program/collaboration?

Here is what we expect from procurement organizations to ensure a successful trading partners' assessment program:

• Provide clean data of the trading partners to be assessed, as well as the capacity planning (requested assessment volumes quarterly);
• Inform trading partners before starting the assessment campaigns;
• Ensure follow-up with the trading partners in case of inaccurate data or lack of action from the invited trading partners;
• Encourage and incentivize trading partners to improve their sustainability practices in the long term;
• Consistently integrate EcoVadis sustainability data in the existing procurement processes;
• Designate a Project Manager, and set up quarterly Steering Committee meetings with the procurement leadership team and other stakeholders contributing to your program's internal and external impact, namely Marketing/PR.

The image below illustrates the key actions that need to be taken to achieve the EcoVadis assessment program.

What are the core success factors to ensure the program's success?

To make the most of your EcoVadis assessment program, it's crucial to keep these key success factors in mind:

Communication

It is essential to tell your trading partners why this assessment is vital for both you and them, and how you will integrate the results into your procurement decisions.

All businesses have inherent sustainability risks, and the EcoVadis Rating provides the requesting organization with a trusted assessment of its business partners while allowing the rated companies to report on sustainability continuously and reuse the assessment results responding to multiple requests.

Processes

It is essential that your company has clear and transparent rules for selecting the trading partners to be rated and integrates the EcoVadis Rating into procurement processes.

While setting up a program for your trading partners' sustainability assessment, ask yourself how best to align it with your organizational structure and available resources, for instance:

• What approach to companies' onboarding aligns most with your procurement structure (e.g. by procurement categories, locations, divisions, etc.)?
• What frequency and approximate number of companies in an assessment campaign will be realistic for you to handle (e.g. 50 per month or 200 per quarter)?
• What essential functions must be involved (lead buyers, internal compliance, etc.)?
• Whom internally can you identify as potential "early adopters" ensuring the program's success?
• Have you thought of incentives and objectives to ensure a high level of engagement of the active contributors of your program?

Setting realistic sustainability performance targets for your trading partners is also essential. For instance, it could be to achieve the sustainability performance level of "Moderate" or work on a corrective action plan and engage in continuous improvement. Clear targets will lead to the successful integration of the EcoVadis Rating into your procurement processes and decisions.

Organization

Centralized coordination, C-level sponsorship and strong support from the procurement team are critical factors in ensuring the program's success.