A short email from a customer can easily turn into a project lasting several weeks. Completing the EcoVadis questionnaire is only the visible part of the process: the scope of the assessment must first be clarified, the supporting evidence collected, and several functions within the organisation brought together.

The email is usually brief. An important customer or prospective business partner requests an EcoVadis scorecard, and the response deadline is already on the calendar. The obvious step may seem to be forwarding the questionnaire to the person responsible for sustainability or compliance. A few days later, it often becomes clear that much of the required information sits with HR, procurement, finance, operations or the parent company.

An EcoVadis assessment can carry considerably more business weight than a routine request for information. The business partner may use the result for supplier qualification, tender evaluations, annual partner reviews or risk-related decisions. A strong scorecard can create an advantage in new business situations, while a weaker result may lead to a request for corrective action. The first step in preparing for the assessment is therefore to clarify what the partner expects, how it intends to use the result and when it needs it.

First, clarify which part of the company is being assessed

EcoVadis assessments can cover a group, a legal entity or a site. The selected scope determines which operations, employees, processes and documents must be supported by evidence. A group-level sustainability policy can be a useful starting point, but it supports the answers of the Hungarian subsidiary only if its scope and local implementation can be clearly demonstrated.

The questionnaire is not the same for every company. The system takes into account the size, activity and operating location of the organisation and uses these factors to identify the material sustainability issues. The environmental exposure of a manufacturing company, for example, will receive a different emphasis from that of an office-based service provider. The information provided during registration therefore directly affects the subsequent work.

One person will not have all the answers

EcoVadis assesses four themes: environment, labour and human rights, business ethics and sustainable procurement. Preparing for the assessment therefore requires knowledge from several functions within the company. HR understands workforce processes and training, procurement knows the supplier requirements, compliance oversees ethical controls, while operations or the EHS function manages environmental data and measures. The project still needs a clear owner: someone who coordinates the answers, tracks the gaps and manages the documents consistently.

Map the requirements before collecting documents

One of the surest ways to create unnecessary pressure is to start searching for files immediately. It is more effective to begin by reviewing what the questionnaire asks, which commitments, actions or results need to be demonstrated, and who may hold the related evidence. This quickly reveals where suitable policies, training records, certificates, performance data or supplier processes are already available and where genuine gaps remain.

This matters because a policy prepared during the final week rarely solves the problem. EcoVadis expects pre-existing documents that genuinely form part of the company’s management system. A newly written procedure that has not yet been applied in practice has limited evidentiary value. If the gap analysis is completed in time, there is still an opportunity to improve processes, approve the necessary documents and collect the first measurable results.

A review before submission can prevent significant point losses

When completing the questionnaire, every statement must be linked to appropriate evidence. Before submission, it is therefore worth checking whether each document genuinely relates to the organisation being assessed, is up to date, clearly identifies the company and supports the selected answer. Consistency is equally important: if a policy sets out a corporate objective, the related actions and reported data should also align with that objective.

According to EcoVadis’ own guidance, completing the questionnaire may take anywhere from a few hours to several days, depending on the company’s size, sustainability maturity and the accessibility of the required information. The overall preparation process may take considerably longer if documents are held by several organisational units or if gaps need to be addressed before submission.

By the end of a well-organised preparation process, the company will also have a clearer view of its own sustainability practices. It will know which practices are strong, where supporting evidence is lacking and which improvements should be prioritised. In the next article in this series, we examine why an EcoVadis score may still fall short of expectations even when a company has already introduced numerous ESG measures.

As part of our EcoVadis assessment preparation service, we evaluate the company’s current level of readiness, identify gaps and support the organisation in structuring the processes, documents and evidence required for the questionnaire.