EcoVadis: Purpose-Driven Sustainability Software Solutions

Since EcoVadis was founded in 2007, it has worked to support companies in becoming more sustainable. 

Now it is formally a purpose-driven organisation. 

The purpose in question: to guide all companies toward a sustainable world.

EcoVadis is an assessment platform that rates businesses’ sustainability holistically in four categories: 

• Environmental impact
• Labour and human rights standards 
• Ethics 
• Procurement practices. 

The company has screened more than two million companies across 220 industries – with such a wide impact, EcoVadis is able to make a huge difference in enabling companies to take sustainable action.

How EcoVadis supports sustainability goals

EcoVadis uses a range of tools to provide companies with ESG insights and actionable goals. 

The company’s AI risk mapping ‘IQ Plus’ leverages intelligence from the world’s largest sustainability performance database and companies’ procurement data to screen for risk factors.

This allows companies to address the transparency requirements of supply chain laws.

EcoVadis Ratings allow buyers to survey suppliers with one simple questionnaire, receiving actionable ratings across 21 sustainability criteria based on leading standards.

What does it mean to be a purpose-driven organisation?

A purpose-driven company is an organisation with a clean purpose or defining statement that guides its strategy and decision making. 

Purpose seems to have become a management trend, but EcoVadis isn’t just saying it has a purpose – it really has been following it.

Co-CEOs Pierre-Francois Thaler and Frederic Trinel say: “Becoming a purpose-driven company shall act as a North Star to keep the company focused and grounded in our development journey, ensuring that our growth is accompanied by commensurate positive impact on our planet and society.”

EcoVadis formalised its commitment to being a sustainable guide through French law (Loi PACTE).

To do this, it has the purpose registered in its bylaws along with the specific social and environmental objectives, an appointed Purpose Committee, and periodically releases ‘purpose reports’ audited by an independent third party.

The company doesn’t just have the purpose itself – it has four purpose objectives to operationalise its commitments and set targets. 

How EcoVadis achieves its purpose

The company provides all team members with comprehensive training on the principles of being a purpose-driven organisation and provides incentives for success. 

EcoVadis’ Purpose Committee is an independent governance body that holds the company to its commitments.

The Purpose Committee is responsible for advising on and reviewing implementation of EcoVadis’ purpose, challenging and validating annual targets and validating the annual report illustrating progress efforts.

The EcoVadis Purpose Committee Report says: “The formalisation of EcoVadis’ purpose has consolidated a shift in its business identity from being a neutral provider of ratings toward being a catalyst for change.”

EcoVadis’ sustainable successes: Nestlé and Air France

EcoVadis supports Nestlé to rate more than 3,000 suppliers and sets a clear score threshold for suppliers to reduce Nestlé’s Scope 3 emissions. 

“We have found EcoVadis to be extremely efficient and useful,” says Taylor Miller, Responsible Sourcing Manager for Nestlé.

“Aligned with Nestlé Responsible Sourcing, EcoVadis gives suppliers a unique way to demonstrate their sustainability performance by building on what they already have.”

Air France also works with EcoVadis to make sustainable developments in the aviation industry.

Its sustainability efforts have led to major overhauls including new cabin layouts for long-haul flights and significant changes to medium-haul flights.

Christine Maginot, Procurement Process and Performance Senior Manager for Air France, says: “We chose EcoVadis because we believe that we should work with subject matter experts.

“We do not have the resources in-house and because EcoVadis has made it possible for us to have a procedure, a network of suppliers and a structured method for the evaluation of suppliers.”

It’s not just food and aviation – EcoVadis works with customers across finance, procurement and towards regulation and compliance goals. 

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