How can I use my EcoVadis medal or badge?

Important Updates & Regulatory Notices

Important update on ESG Ratings Regulation

All external sharing of your EcoVadis medal or badge requires including your EcoVadis Recognition Page link. The Recognition Page provides essential context about what the medal or badge represents, including methodology references, validity information, and required disclosures. This transparency measure supports alignment with regulations governing ESG ratings.

Important regulatory notice — Directive (EU) 2024/825

From 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 (EmpCo/ECGT) applies across the EU. It prohibits displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities (Annex I, point 2a). How EcoVadis medals and badges will be treated under these rules has not been settled by regulators and is assessed case by case. EcoVadis cannot guarantee that external display complies with consumer-protection law in every Member State. We recommend reviewing any external use — in particular consumer-facing placements — with your own legal counsel, and pausing consumer-facing use where compliance cannot be confirmed. This page is general guidance and not legal advice.

Overview

EcoVadis medals and badges recognize companies that have completed the EcoVadis Sustainability Rating assessment and demonstrated, relative to other assessed companies, a strong management system addressing sustainability criteria, as outlined in the EcoVadis methodology.

What Your Medal or Badge Represents

An EcoVadis medal or badge is recognition based on the results of an EcoVadis Sustainability Rating — a relative, point-in-time assessment of a company’s sustainability management system. It reflects verified evidence of your management policies, actions, and reporting across environmental, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement criteria.

What Your Medal or Badge Does NOT Represent

Understanding what recognition means is essential to using it correctly:

Not a certification scheme, quality mark or sustainability label: It is not a certification scheme, quality mark, or sustainability label within the meaning of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/825.
Not a product or service label: It does not certify, approve, or verify any individual product, service, or packaging. It shall not be used to make any product-level environmental or sustainability claims.
Not a permanent rating: It represents performance at a specific point in time and is valid for 12 months from publication.
Not an endorsement: It does not constitute an endorsement of your products or services by EcoVadis.

Mandatory Wording Rules

When describing your EcoVadis recognition in any written, verbal, or marketing content, you must follow these strict language standards:

Approved terms: Describe your recognition only as "rated" or "assessed" by EcoVadis (for example: "rated by EcoVadis" or "assessed by EcoVadis").
Prohibited terms: Never use "certified", "certification", "seal", "label", "verified", or equivalents in any language when referencing your medal or badge.

How You Can Use Your Medal or Badge

Permitted B2B and Professional Uses

You may share your medal or badge in business-to-business (B2B) and professional contexts, provided you include the link to your Recognition Page:

Tender submissions and RFP responses;
Direct buyer communications and supplier portals;
Investor and ESG reporting;
Email signatures in B2B correspondence;
Internal communications to employees and stakeholders;
Corporate presentations, proposals, and company profile sheets.

Consumer-Facing Placements (Recommended Pause)

Public digital channels and consumer-oriented media are subject to the new regulatory notice under Directive (EU) 2024/825:

Public website pages (such as sustainability, About Us, or corporate responsibility pages);
Social media channels (including Instagram, Facebook, X, and similar platforms).

Note: Regulators may treat public digital channels, including professional networks such as LinkedIn, as addressing consumers. We recommend reviewing these placements with your legal counsel and pausing consumer-facing use where compliance cannot be confirmed.

Best practice for digital placements: If you embed your medal or badge image on your website or other digital platforms, add a short line of text such as “Click to view further details and methodology information about our EcoVadis recognition” to make it clear that the image links to additional information.

Offline, Printed, and Formal Documentation Uses

When using medals or badges in printed or offline materials:

Permitted B2B documentation: Tender packages, capability statements, business cards, and corporate presentations remain permitted, provided they include a QR code linking directly to your Recognition Page.
Consumer-facing printed formats: Public event displays, brochures, flyers, or public booth materials are covered by the regulatory notice recommendation and should be reviewed prior to display.

Required Context: Where to Find Your Recognition Page

All external sharing of your EcoVadis medal or badge requires including your Recognition Page link (or QR code for printed materials).

Important distinction: The Recognition Page is an ESGR transparency measure; it does not address, and should not be relied on to satisfy, the requirements applying to sustainability labels under Directive (EU) 2024/825.

Your Recognition Page is available directly in the EcoVadis platform. To access it:

Log in to your EcoVadis account.
Go to Useful Resources or the Share My Performance tab.
Under the EcoVadis Medal / EcoVadis Badge section, click on Sharing options.
Choose the appropriate option (direct link, QR code, or embed code) for your needs.

[image: Screenshot of the EcoVadis platform interface displaying the Share My Performance tab with the EcoVadis Medal sharing options highlighted]

Note: The Recognition Page and its sharing options are only available to active Premium, Select, or Corporate subscribers.

Prohibited Uses

To protect the integrity of the rating and ensure compliance, the following practices are strictly prohibited:

Using the medal or badge for product-, brand-, or service-level marketing;
Displaying the medal or badge on products or product packaging;
Using certification language, including "certified", "certification", "seal", "label", "verified", or equivalents in any language near the medal or badge;
Presenting the medal or badge in any context where an average EU consumer could reasonably understand it as an official environmental or social certification of products, services, or the business;
Altering the design, colors, or text of the medal or badge, or creating your own version;
Sharing or displaying the medal or badge without linking to the official Recognition Page;
Implying that EcoVadis endorses or guarantees your products or services;
Using superlative or otherwise misleading claims;
Violating EcoVadis Terms and Conditions or any use that could harm or disparage EcoVadis's reputation.

Group vs. Subsidiary Recognition

Medals or badges are awarded only to the specific assessed entity, even in the case of a Group assessment scope. If a subsidiary or affiliated entity wishes to reference the recognition, they must include a clear disclaimer that the medal or badge was awarded to a different entity.

Validity and Previous Recognitions

Your medal or badge is valid for 12 months from the scorecard publication date. You may continue to display previous medals or badges as long as:

They are unmodified, unaltered, and unrevoked;
You maintain an active Premium, Select, or Corporate subscription;
The validity period and assessment year are clearly indicated so as not to be misleading.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Directive (EU) 2024/825 (Empowering Consumers Directive) affect my medal or badge?

Directive (EU) 2024/825 restricts the display of sustainability labels not based on certification schemes or established by public authorities. How EcoVadis medals and badges are treated under these rules is assessed case by case by regulators. EcoVadis cannot guarantee that external display complies with consumer-protection law in every Member State. We recommend reviewing any external use — in particular consumer-facing placements — with your legal counsel, and pausing consumer-facing use where compliance cannot be confirmed.

Why is EcoVadis introducing the Recognition Page requirement?

All external sharing of your EcoVadis medal or badge requires the inclusion of your Recognition Page link to provide essential context about what the medal or badge represents, including methodology references, validity information, and required disclosures. This transparency measure supports alignment with regulations governing ESG ratings.

Which medal or badge result does the Recognition Page reflect?

The Recognition Page is dynamically updated to reflect the medal or badge status associated with the most recent published scorecard. This helps ensure that external stakeholders always see current and accurate information, including validity details.

Does this requirement apply to medals or badges shared before 2026?

No, the Recognition Page requirement applies to external communications made from 2026 onward. Medals or badges shared externally before 2026 do not need to be updated retrospectively. However, any new external communication from 2026 onward that references a medal or badge requires the inclusion of the Recognition Page link.

Does this requirement apply to printed materials?

Yes, it applies to all external sharing. When using medals or badges in printed or offline materials, include the QR code that links directly to your Recognition Page so viewers can access the required context and disclosures.

Does the requirement apply if we only mention our medal or badge in text (without using the image)?

Yes. Whether referencing your recognition through an image or in text, the same guidelines apply, including mandatory wording rules and the Recognition Page link requirement. All external communications that reference a medal or badge require the inclusion of the Recognition Page link.

What should we do if we have already shared a medal or badge externally?

If you have already shared a medal or badge externally, you may update those communications to include the link, if possible. Please ensure that all future external sharing includes the Recognition Page link.

Disclaimer and Legal Notice

EcoVadis provides these guidelines for general information only; they do not constitute legal advice, and EcoVadis makes no representation that any particular use complies with consumer-protection law in any jurisdiction. Customers are responsible for their own external communications and should seek independent legal advice. EcoVadis cannot be held responsible for unauthorized or non-compliant use.