EcoVadis: Supply Chain Data Gaps Are Threatening ESG Goals

The ability of businesses to track and manage the environmental and social impacts within their supplier networks could determine whether corporate sustainability targets remain theoretical commitments or become measurable outcomes.

According to EcoVadis, 80% of companies assessed have no documented process for identifying or managing sustainability risks within their supply chains.

This data point could mean that even as organisations publicly commit to net zero targets and responsible sourcing principles, the operational infrastructure to deliver on those promises remains absent.

According to McKinsey, supply chains hold the biggest opportunities for breakthroughs in sustainability performance.

Data gaps threaten reporting accuracy

EcoVadis found that 73% of companies have no Scope 3 upstream emissions reporting and 77% have no downstream tracking.

This absence of measurement could undermine the integrity of carbon accounting at the corporate level, as Scope 3 emissions typically represent the majority of an organisation's total carbon footprint.

The figures come from the latest edition of the EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings Index, drawn from nearly 200,000 scorecards of the more than 100,000 companies rated globally between 2021 and 2025.

The data shows less than 1% of suppliers report granular, decision-grade sustainability data to buyer organisations.

According to EcoVadis, only 2% of companies have an external grievance mechanism that workers deeper in the supply chain can actually use to flag human rights violations.

This could indicate a structural barrier to accountability in multi-tier supplier networks.

As companies shift to an AI-first strategy for supply chain management and sustainability reporting, EcoVadis also found that issues have arisen in the supplier base which threaten the efficiency of technology and software rollouts.

Verification methods lag operational needs

Much verification of supplier performance still concentrates on paperwork.

According to EcoVadis, 42% of companies still rely on unverified supplier questionnaires and just 46% require suppliers to sign a sustainability code of conduct.

Only 20% conduct on-site audits, a number that has barely moved in four years.

This could suggest that remote assessment methods have not been supplemented by direct verification practices.

Sylvain Guyoton, Chief Rating Officer at EcoVadis, says: "Organisations have built sophisticated tools to analyse supplier sustainability data. The suppliers either don't have that data or can't report it in a form the tools can use."

Companies integrating AI apparently found a similar hurdle in data-readiness.

EcoVadis data shows 68% of corporate buyers have deployed AI tools in their sustainable procurement programmes, with carbon data validation cited as a top application by 62% of those buyers.

Technology adoption meets data constraints

The supplier base could be largely unequipped to support these systems.

According to EcoVadis, 30% of suppliers provide no carbon data and 26% supply only aggregated estimates.

The Boston Consulting Group found that AI adoption is significant in supply chain management.

A BCG survey found that 44% of companies are deploying AI in supply chain management, more than in finance, HR and procurement.

As companies deploy AI tools to deal with issues in sustainability reporting, it is not just the companies deploying the technology who need to have shifted towards a digital-first strategy.

The suppliers must do the same to ensure data accuracy.

Sylvain adds: "Better software does not close that gap. The measurement problem lives in the supply base itself, and closing it requires sustained engagement over time: structured assessment, scored performance and documented follow-through."

Supplier engagement as process

The gap between procurement policy and verifiable outcomes could be closed through sustained engagement rather than episodic compliance exercises.

This approach would require buyers to invest in supplier capability building and standardised reporting frameworks.

Sylvain says: "Companies willing to treat supplier engagement as an ongoing process, rather than a one-time compliance exercise, close the distance between what they intend and what they can actually verify."

The data from EcoVadis suggests that transparency in supply chains remains a structural challenge rather than a technical one.

Without documented processes and consistent measurement protocols, corporate sustainability commitments could remain difficult to validate at the operational level where environmental and social impacts occur.