A useful first week
Turn an Uncertain Start Into a Focused First Week
The purpose of the first week is to replace some of the early uncertainty with useful evidence, decisions and action. The Start Pack gives you a guided place to check your starting position, choose one preparation priority, take focused action and review what changed.
Useful progress can include:
You do not need to resolve every gap in seven days. The day labels inside the pack are suggested pacing, not deadlines. The goal is to get the assessment moving with a clearer working position and enough information to make better next decisions.
Inside the free Start Pack
A Guided Workspace With Practical Support Tools
The on-screen workspace guides you through the process. Use the workbook, request templates, document map and Four-Theme Document Checklist only where they help. You do not need to maintain the same information in more than one place.
Main experience
Guided Start Pack Workspace
This is the core of the pack. Work through CHECK, CHOOSE, ACT, REVIEW and YOUR NEXT STEP with prompts, examples and practical guidance inside a private workspace.
Use the workspace for guidance.
It helps you decide what to look at and what to do next.
Keep retained work where it belongs.
Use the workbook, supporting files or your own approved company record for anything you want to save.
Printable working record
Assessment Start Pack Workbook
Use the workbook if you want a printable or offline place to capture your CHECK answers, first-week outcome, actions and review. If you already have an approved working record, keep using that instead.
Editable requests
Internal Stakeholder Request Templates
Ready-to-edit messages for requesting specific information, strong current examples or a short conversation from the people who can help.
Ongoing tracker
EcoVadis First Document Map
Keep a working record of the first materials you find, what they relate to, who owns them and what still needs follow-up.
Four-theme working copy
Four-Theme Document Checklist
Use Environment, Labour and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement as a second lens for investigating useful materials, checking gaps and refining the priorities you already chose.
The Start Pack process
How the Start Pack moves from uncertainty to a practical next step
01
Check
Review five preparation areas and identify what is clear, partly in place, missing or still unknown.
02
Choose
Select one primary gap and define what useful progress would look like.
03
Act
Use suggested first-week tasks to confirm context, involve the right people, map early materials and complete one useful action.
04
Review
Take stock of what changed, what is still unresolved and which one to three priorities matter next.
05
Your Next Step
Use the four EcoVadis themes to investigate relevant materials and refine the same priority list.
Five preparation areas
Check the Areas Most Likely to Affect How You Start
The Start Pack helps you review:
The purpose is not to convert your answers into a score. Use them to recognise where preparation is weakest and choose the issue that deserves attention first.
Already have access to your EcoVadis questionnaire?
Use it alongside the pack. The questionnaire helps you confirm the topics and evidence requests that apply to the assessed organisation. The Start Pack helps you organise the people, questions and first materials around that company-specific context. If something is still unknown, record the question rather than making an assumption.
Who it is for
Useful When You Need a Clearer Starting Point
- a customer has asked your company to complete EcoVadis;
- you are preparing for a first assessment;
- you are preparing for a reassessment but the work still feels scattered;
- you are unsure who should be involved;
- you need a focused way to decide what to do first and start making progress.
Clear boundaries
What the Pack Covers, and Where It Stops
The Start Pack helps you organise and work through the beginning of the preparation process. Your EcoVadis assessment remains specific to the assessed organisation.
- Use your current questionnaire to confirm the topics and evidence requests that apply.
- Treat document examples as prompts for investigation rather than a universal upload list.
- Apply company-specific judgement when deciding what evidence is relevant and credible.
- The pack does not predict your EcoVadis score or medal.
About Double Your Sustainability
Practical Guidance From EcoVadis Experience
The Assessment Start Pack was created by Rutger Verkouw, a certified EcoVadis Solutions Practitioner with 15 years of corporate sustainability experience. It draws on direct lessons learned from achieving EcoVadis Platinum medals and practical client work helping companies prepare submissions, review evidence and understand scorecards. The pack applies that experience to the beginning of the process, helping coordinators establish their starting position, choose the gap that deserves attention first and work through a focused first week of preparation.
Frequently asked questions
EcoVadis Assessment Start Pack FAQ
Is this only for a first EcoVadis assessment?
No. It is particularly useful for first-time coordinators, but it can also help reassessment teams whose preparation still lacks clear ownership, structure or priorities.
Do I need to have opened the EcoVadis questionnaire?
No. You can use the pack to clarify scope, ownership and existing materials before the questionnaire becomes the centre of the work. If your questionnaire is already open, use it alongside the pack to confirm the company-specific topics and evidence requests.
Will it tell me exactly which documents EcoVadis requires?
No universal checklist can do that accurately. Your assessment depends on the assessed organisation and its activated criteria. The pack helps you recognise useful types of material, find what already exists and identify questions that still need to be answered.
How long does the pack take?
Allow about 20 to 30 minutes to get started with CHECK and CHOOSE. ACT then gives you suggested first-week tasks, but the day labels are guidance rather than deadlines. Continue at the pace that fits your organisation and assessment timing.
Are my answers and selections saved inside the Start Pack?
No. The on-screen workspace is designed to guide the work, not store company-specific answers or records. Use the printable workbook, the First Document Map or your own approved working file for anything you want to retain. You do not need to keep the same information in more than one place.
What happens after I sign up?
After you confirm your email address, you will receive private access to the guided Start Pack workspace and its supporting downloads. Start with CHECK → CHOOSE, use the ACT guidance as you work, REVIEW what changed, then use YOUR NEXT STEP and the Four-Theme Document Checklist to refine what deserves attention next.
Is the Assessment Start Pack free?
Yes. There is no charge for the pack.
Start with one useful priority
Get the Free EcoVadis Assessment Start Pack
Use the short sign-up above to get private access to the guided workspace, workbook and supporting tools.
Go to the sign-up →