EcoVadis: Global Supply Chain Sustainability Insights 2025

The EcoVadis Global Supply Chain Sustainability Risk & Performance Index 2025 delivers a comprehensive analysis of sustainability maturity levels in global supply chains.

With 159,000 ratings carried out between 2020 and 2024, including 49,000 in 2024, the report provides insights into nearly 89,000 companies spanning 250 industries and 150 countries.

"This year’s edition comes at a pivotal moment for global business," says Sylvain Guyoton, Chief Rating Officer at EcoVadis.

He adds: "Geopolitical conflicts, trade tensions and rising political polarisation – from ESG rollbacks in the US to regulatory flashpoints over CSRD and CSDDD in Europe – have created a level of disruption few saw coming.

"In the face of this uncertainty, some companies are pausing, scaling back, or even abandoning their sustainability efforts and commitments altogether."

Firms 'double down' on sustainability programmes

The report evaluates businesses across four key sustainability themes: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement.

It highlights both progress and ongoing gaps by comparing first-time ratings to multi-year performance.

EcoVadis uses a scoring system from 0-100, categorising performance into five bands: Insufficient, Partial, Good, Advanced and Outstanding.

In 2024, the average score reached 53.4, indicating that most companies fall within the Good performance range.

This showcases a growing adoption of sustainability practices and a commitment to improvement, especially among companies with repeated evaluations.

Sylvain says: "In our network and beyond, we’re seeing companies respond to growing volatility by doubling down on sustainability programmes and investments. They’re gaining deeper transparency into sustainability risks and impacts throughout their supply chains, forging stronger relationships with trading partners and laying the groundwork for long-term resilience and ROI."

The top five sustainability trends of 2024

EcoVadis' report outlines five major sustainability trends for 2024:

1. Sustainability ratings surge: There is increased global momentum around sustainability ratings. China has surpassed the US as the second most active country, and Africa and the Middle East lead regional growth with a 42% increase, underscoring a broader emphasis on transparency and ESG disclosure.
2. Persistent risk in first-time ratings: Over a third of companies rated for the first time in 2024 scored below 45, indicating high to medium risk. The risk is particularly significant outside Europe, with notable figures in China and the US.
3. Leaders emerging through continuous engagement: Companies with multiple rating cycles are making considerable progress, with 86% scoring above 45 and 27% achieving Advanced status. These companies are embedding best practices and exerting influence over their supply chains.
4. Asia-Pacific advances across all themes: The region has made substantial improvements across all themes, surpassing North America in Environment and narrowing gaps in Sustainable Procurement, though it still lags behind Europe and North America in Ethics and Labour & Human Rights.
5. Sustainable procurement sees most progress but lags behind: Despite improvements, Sustainable Procurement remains the weakest area, with a large percentage of companies scoring in the high to medium risk range.

Regional sustainability trends

Europe leads in sustainability maturity with an average score of 57.8, especially strong in Environment and Labour and Human Rights.

However, sustainable procurement is a weaker area, with only a small percentage of companies achieving advanced status.

North America has an average score of 50.2, with Canada's performance slightly ahead of the US.

While large companies often underperform compared to SMEs, they are more likely to reach Advanced status in key themes. Sustainable Procurement remains a challenge.

Asia-Pacific shows the strongest improvement, with a notable increase in average scores, especially in Environment and sustainable procurement.

However, many companies still face high or medium risks.

Latin America is the only region with a decline, primarily due to performance drops among SMEs in Mexico, though Chile shows improvement.

Africa and the Middle East have the fastest growth in ratings activity, though they rank lowest overall, with standout performers in environment.

Theme-by-theme performance

Environment: With a global average of 55.1, Environment leads with the largest gains over five years. Europe excels, while Asia-Pacific shows notable improvements, though gaps remain, particularly in environmental reporting practices.

Labour and human rights: This theme has the highest average across all categories, led by Europe. However, many companies still score in the risk range, highlighting areas for improvement like grievance mechanisms and human rights assessments.

Ethics: Ethics shows recovery from previous stagnation, with improvements led by Asia-Pacific. However, there is still a need for more comprehensive corruption risk assessments and whistleblower systems.

Sustainable procurement: Although the weakest theme, it shows the highest improvement in 2024. Europe leads, with Asia-Pacific catching up, but there remains a lack of supplier engagement on ESG issues, especially among larger companies.

Opportunity in the challenge

The EcoVadis 2025 Index highlights the dual nature of global supply chain sustainability.

While risks persist, particularly for first-time rated companies, ongoing engagement and collaboration are leading to significant progress.

Companies that commit to structured, data-driven programmes are building resilience and value.

With increasing regulatory demands and decarbonisation targets, the need for sustainable supply chains is clear.

Leaders are shaping the future through transparent, ethical and sustainable practices.