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How to improve your EcoVadis score: fix the evidence before you add anything new
To improve your EcoVadis score, start with the improvement areas on your current scorecard and close each one with evidence EcoVadis can credit: a policy, the actions that put it to work and the results you report. The new score arrives with your next assessment, because EcoVadis only considers new information at reassessment.
What does your EcoVadis score actually measure?
EcoVadis rates four themes: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement, covering 21 criteria between them. Each theme is scored out of 100, and your overall score is a weighted average of the four. A theme's weight runs from 1 to 4, depending on how material it is for your industry (EcoVadis Sustainability Rating Methodology, V10.0).
Inside each theme, EcoVadis publishes how the points split:
| Indicator | Weight in each theme | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Policies | 20% | Your written commitments and targets |
| Endorsements | 5% | Formal public commitments to outside sustainability initiatives |
| Actions | 40% | Measures you have put in place (60% of this) and certifications (40%), adjusted for coverage in companies of 1,000 or more staff |
| Reporting | 14% | The results you report |
| 360° Watch | 21% | What EcoVadis finds about you in outside sources |
Read that table as a promise and a receipt. The policy is the promise, worth 20%. The actions and the reported results that show you kept it are worth 54%. A supplier with a shelf of polished policies and no records behind them has collected the smaller share.
Where should you start?
With the scorecard you already have. Each theme has a Strengths and Improvement Areas section, and EcoVadis links each improvement area to a Corrective Action Plan you can build on the platform (EcoVadis: using your assessment results). Since July 2026, some environment improvement areas are more specific and name the missing practice outright (EcoVadis methodology updates, Q2 2026).
Then rank the gaps:
- Any theme under 30. One theme below 30 rules you out of a medal, whatever your overall score (EcoVadis Medals Methodology, V2.0).
- The heaviest themes for your industry. A point gained in a theme weighted 4 counts for more than one gained in a theme weighted 1.
- Gaps you can close with evidence you already have. They cost the least to fix.
Why does real work go uncredited?
Because EcoVadis credits only what a document proves. Its methodology says that only questionnaire answers supported by document evidence can be credited, and it doesn't fill gaps with estimates or industry averages. A missing document counts against you.
Think of an expenses claim. You may well have bought the train ticket, but without the receipt, finance can't pay you back.
EcoVadis's own guidance lists what it won't credit (EcoVadis: supporting documents):
- Documents without your company's name or logo, or without an issue or review date
- Documents created only for the questionnaire
- Content copied from elsewhere without reasonable evidence that it is in use
- Policies and actions more than eight years old, or KPI reporting more than two years old
- Links embedded in a document, instead of the evidence shown in the document itself
Most of these are quick to fix. Put your name and a date on the document, keep it under review, and show it in use.
What can you fix before the next assessment?
Make existing documents count
Collect every policy, procedure and record across HR, operations, finance and quality, and check each one against the list above. A health and safety policy with no date is a gap you can close in an afternoon.
Turn policies into records
Actions carry the most weight, so show each policy at work: training attendance, procedures in use, project records, supplier checks. Since April 2026, EcoVadis also accepts sustainability and certification audit reports as evidence for policies, actions and reporting (EcoVadis methodology updates, Q1 2026).
Report the numbers
Results need figures from the last two years: energy use, emissions, accident rates, training hours, the share of suppliers who have signed your code of conduct. If you don't measure something yet, start now, so there is data to show at the next assessment.
Finish certifications before you submit
Since April 2026, EcoVadis no longer accepts management system certificates, such as ISO 14001, marked as in progress. If a certificate is close, plan the assessment for after it is issued.
When will your EcoVadis score change?
At your next assessment. A rating is valid for 12 months from publication, and EcoVadis considers new information only during reassessments, except for severe or major controversies (EcoVadis methodology, V10.0).
Your annual subscription includes one assessment. EcoVadis recommends reassessing once a year, but you can reassess sooner, for example when you have new documents, by buying an additional assessment. Your customers can also request a reassessment from three months before your scorecard expires (EcoVadis: getting ready for a reassessment).
New policies take time to write, approve and use before there is any record of them in action. Plan backwards from the date the questionnaire opens and start three to six months ahead.
Can anyone guarantee a better EcoVadis score?
No. EcoVadis analysts set every score, and nobody outside EcoVadis can promise one, so be wary of anyone who does. Good preparation makes sure the analyst sees everything you already do. Nemetan is independent: we have no commercial tie to EcoVadis and sell no EcoVadis subscriptions.
What this could earn you. Gathering this evidence puts your energy, waste and purchasing records side by side, often for the first time. That is usually where cost savings show up, and where Sustainability Opportunity Discovery starts.
Common questions
How long does it take to improve an EcoVadis score?
Your score changes at your next assessment. Allow three to six months before the questionnaire opens to write any new policies and build a record of them in use.
Does a Corrective Action Plan improve my EcoVadis score?
Not directly. EcoVadis says Corrective Action Plans are not considered in scoring. They help you organise the work and share progress with your customers, and on Premium, Corporate and Select plans their updates carry over into the reassessment questionnaire.
What is a good EcoVadis score?
The one your customer asks for. EcoVadis calls 45 to 64 Good, 65 to 84 Advanced and 85 or more Outstanding. Medals depend on how your score ranks against every company rated in the past 12 months: Bronze is the top 35% and Platinum the top 1%.
A low score sits on the platform for 12 months, in front of every customer you share it with. Fix the evidence first. Book a call and we'll go through your scorecard with you, or see our EcoVadis consultant service and fixed fees.