The Most Important EcoVadis Methodology Updates
This page focuses on developments that affect evidence
acceptance, sustainability policies and targets,
reporting, questionnaire requirements and
assessment preparation.
In effect
14 October 2026
All company sizes and themes
1. Quantitative Sustainability Targets
Now Need a Baseline Year
A reduction target only tells you something when you
know what you are measuring against. A baseline year
provides that starting point, so a company can
measure its progress.
For questionnaires submitted on or after
14 October 2026, EcoVadis requires quantitative
sustainability targets submitted under the Policy
indicator to include a baseline year, alongside
the target value and target year.
Without a documented baseline year, EcoVadis will
not accept the quantitative target for scoring.
This applies to percentage reductions, absolute
targets and zero-incident commitments.
Example:
A target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
30% by 2030 should also specify the baseline year,
such as a 30% reduction by 2030 compared with 2024.
What should your company check?
Review quantitative targets in your sustainability
policies and supporting documents. Make sure each
includes a baseline year, target value and target
year, with historical data supporting the baseline.
A shared list of sustainability objectives and
targets can help you assign responsibilities,
check progress and keep targets consistent
across your organisation.
Source:
EcoVadis Methodology Updates Q3 2026, release 34.4
.
In effect
15 April 2026
Policies, Endorsements and Reporting
2. Turnover No Longer Counts Towards
Site-Level Evidence Coverage
EcoVadis looks at how much of a company's operations
its evidence represents. This is called
operational coverage.
If a business has ten factories but reports
environmental data for only three, the figures
cover just part of the business.
EcoVadis has changed how it calculates the operational
coverage of site-level evidence.
Previously, companies could use the proportion of
turnover represented by their sites to demonstrate
sufficient coverage. Since 15 April 2026, companies
must base the calculation on employee numbers
or the number of sites.
Depending on the evidence, coverage requirements
can be 80% or 95%. EcoVadis applies the higher
threshold to reporting on energy consumption
and greenhouse gas emissions.
Example:
If environmental reporting covers eight of ten
sites, that represents 80% coverage by site count.
It would not meet a 95% requirement, even if
those sites generate nearly all the company's
revenue. Smaller sites can therefore matter
even when their business contribution seems limited.
What should your company check?
Analyse which sites and employees your policies,
endorsements and reporting data cover.
Calculate coverage using an accepted basis and
check the threshold applicable to each document
or metric.
Keep a record of which sites are covered by
your policies, supporting documents and reported
key performance indicators (KPIs), such as
energy consumption or waste generation.
This can help identify gaps and check whether
your evidence meets the required operational
coverage.
Source:
EcoVadis Methodology Updates Q1 2026, release 32.2
.
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In effect
15 April 2026
Audit and certification evidence
3. More Ways to Use Audit Reports
and Certification Evidence
A certificate shows that a company has been
certified against a standard. An audit report
can go further by documenting what auditors
examined, including relevant practices, findings
and corrective actions. That detail may help
demonstrate what the company actually does.
EcoVadis has expanded the types of supporting
evidence accepted for certifications and the
ways audit reports can be used in an assessment.
External sustainability audits and certification
audit reports can now support relevant Policy,
Action and Reporting declarations, provided
they contain suitable evidence of the practices
being claimed and meet the applicable requirements.
Alternative proof of certification may also
be accepted when the relevant standard has an
appropriate public verification database.
Depending on the conditions, this can include
database screenshots or official correspondence
with a certification body.
At the same time, management-system certificates
marked as in progress are no
longer accepted as certification evidence.
What should your company check?
Review your existing certification and audit
records. Confirm that certificates are valid
and that supporting documents match your
questionnaire responses.
Check whether completed audit reports provide
additional evidence for specific policies,
actions or reporting declarations. An audit
report is not automatically valid for every
questionnaire option. Track audit findings,
corrective actions and implementation progress.
Source:
EcoVadis Methodology Updates Q1 2026,
releases 32.3 and 32.4
.
In effect
14 October 2026
26–49,999 employees
4. New Sustainability Reporting Metrics
and Questionnaire Changes
Reporting gives EcoVadis a way to assess measured
sustainability performance alongside policies
and actions. Companies may track KPIs such as
energy consumption, waste generation or employee
turnover. The question is whether the figures
are relevant, reliable and supported by evidence.
EcoVadis has updated the Reporting section
of its assessment questionnaire, introducing
additional standardised metrics and
reorganising existing questions.
Reporting options are now more closely linked
to the sustainability topics relevant to a company.
New metrics also reflect established reporting
frameworks, including GRI, the
European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
,
the Voluntary Standard (VS/VSME) and standards
developed by the
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
.
Examples include employee turnover rates,
collective bargaining coverage and certain
biodiversity-related metrics.
The update applies to companies with 26 to
49,999 employees. The available questions
depend on the sustainability criteria
activated for the company's assessment.
From assessment experience:
In a recent EcoVadis assessment I supported,
the company had relatively good documentation
for energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions. However, evidence for other
environmental topics, including water and waste,
was incomplete.
It is an example of why companies should
review which relevant topics their reporting
covers. The revised questionnaire makes it
particularly important to check the reporting
options that apply to your company's assessment.
What should your company check?
Be aware that the Reporting questions in your
next questionnaire may be different from
those in your previous assessment.
Identify which relevant KPIs your company
already tracks and where information is missing.
Check that the reporting period, organisational
coverage and supporting evidence are clear.
Agree with the responsible departments who
will provide each figure and its supporting
documentation, and by when. A shared reporting
register can help you track outstanding
information and avoid gathering everything
again before the next assessment.
Source:
EcoVadis Methodology Updates Q3 2026, release 34.2
.
In effect
2025–2026
Reporting indicator
5. Greater Recognition of
Sustainability Reporting Standards
The previous update concerns the individual
sustainability metrics companies can report
in the EcoVadis questionnaire. A related set
of changes concerns the sustainability reports
companies prepare using established
reporting standards.
Sustainability reporting standards help
companies decide which environmental, social
and governance information to disclose and
how to present it consistently. A structured
report can make existing performance information
easier for EcoVadis to assess.
During 2025 and 2026, EcoVadis introduced
several developments affecting how it recognises
sustainability reports prepared using
established reporting standards.
These include recognition of the earlier
Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard
for SMEs (VSME), a framework developed to
help smaller businesses report sustainability
information.
The newer
Voluntary Standard (VS)
,
published in September 2026, builds on the
earlier VSME. It supports voluntary sustainability
reporting by companies outside mandatory reporting
requirements. On 14 October 2026, EcoVadis
updated its terminology to VS/VSME and
revised its reporting guidance.
On 14 April 2026, EcoVadis also revised the
scoring of reports prepared with
reference to the
GRI Universal Standards
.
Such reports can now qualify for a
reporting-quality score of 75 when all
other applicable quality criteria are met.
This does not automatically mean an overall
Reporting indicator score of 75.
Existing VSME reports covering FY2026
and earlier reporting cycles remain accepted
under the relevant EcoVadis guidance.
A report prepared using a recognised framework
can help organise disclosures, but companies
should still check whether it contains the
relevant quantitative information. Using a
reporting standard does not automatically
resolve gaps in individual KPIs.
What should your company check?
If you already prepare a sustainability report,
review whether it follows a recognised standard
and contains the topics and KPIs relevant
to your EcoVadis assessment.
Check whether reported figures have clear
definitions, reporting boundaries and supporting
methodologies. This is particularly important
if your report contains broad sustainability
statements but relatively little quantitative data.
Rather than preparing a separate report
solely for EcoVadis, build a reporting process
that also supports customer requests,
internal reviews and other disclosures.
Sources:
EcoVadis release 32.5
and
EcoVadis release 34.3
.
Not Sure Whether Your Evidence Is Ready for EcoVadis?
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and aren't sure where to focus, we can discuss
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Upcoming EcoVadis Changes for 2027
Further EcoVadis methodology changes are expected
in January 2027, including adjustments to Reporting
scoring and medal recognition. These developments
could affect assessment preparation and the scores
needed to qualify for medals.
Upcoming
Changes to Reporting Scoring
A revision to the Reporting indicator is expected
for January 2027. The calculation is expected to
place greater emphasis on the proportion of relevant
predefined reporting metrics disclosed.
The planned approach also indicates that Small and
Medium companies with fewer than 1,000 employees
may face less demanding requirements for achieving
the highest reporting-quality score. This would
involve meeting two of three conditions relating
to materiality assessment, reporting standards
and independent verification.
What to do now:
Review the quality, completeness and coverage
of the sustainability information you already
collect. Focus on relevant KPIs, reliable data
and clear reporting processes rather than
introducing new exercises solely to anticipate
a higher EcoVadis score.
Upcoming
Medal Thresholds by Company Size
EcoVadis is expected to introduce medal score
thresholds calculated separately for different
company-size groups: Extra Small, Small,
Medium and Large.
The existing percentile categories are expected
to remain the same, while the score needed to
reach each category may differ by company size.
This could affect a company's medal prospects
even if its overall score remains unchanged.
For now, use the existing published thresholds
to understand your position, while recognising
that the relevant benchmark may change before
your next scorecard is published.
See the
latest EcoVadis medal thresholds
for current scores and historical changes.
