- On the Environment theme, EcoVadis assesses three layers: Policies, Measures, Reporting. Reporting is what is missing most.
- The useful evidence: a recent, dated footprint, a quantified reduction target, an action plan and indicators tracked from one year to the next.
- On EcoVadis, a carbon footprint is a results-type piece of evidence valid for two years: beyond that, it no longer counts.
- You prioritize by sector weighting: tackle first the criteria that are both heavily weighted and weakly documented.
What is this article about?
Carbon within your overall EcoVadis score. EcoVadis assesses your company across four themes, Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement, and carbon falls under the Environment theme. That is the side this article covers. It does not deal with the carbon rating, the separate climate assessment, whose differences are set out in our article on carbon and EcoVadis. Both draw on the same data.
How do you improve your score on the Environment theme?
By documenting the three layers the assessment expects, for each criterion. EcoVadis calls them Policies, Measures and Reporting. In plain terms: what you write, what you do, and what you achieve. Four other indicators complete the scoring of each theme: Endorsements, Certifications, the Coverage of policies and actions, and 360° Watch Findings. A company that brings only policies stays stuck low, whatever the ambition of the text.
On carbon, the translation is direct. Policies are your formalized climate commitment. Measures are the reduction actions actually undertaken. Reporting is your measured emissions, your indicators and how they change over time. For the general mechanics of the scoring, see the EcoVadis score and the criteria assessed.
Which carbon evidence is the most useful?
Dated, quantified documents that can be tied to your boundary. In order of usefulness:
- a recent emissions footprint, stating the scopes covered, the reference year and the methodology;
- a quantified and dated reduction target, approved at the right level of the company;
- a carbon action plan, with the measures undertaken and the results achieved;
- tracking indicators comparable from one year to the next (total emissions, carbon intensity).
A climate policy without an associated footprint is seen as a declaration. A footprint without an action plan is seen as a diagnosis with no follow-up.
One notch above, a carbon footprint audited by a third party bears directly on the perceived quality of your reporting, and can raise the score of the Reporting category of the Environment pillar. It is a real lever, but reserved for those who are already solid on the rest: when you are starting out on carbon, you are not there yet, and you score far more points by producing a first documented footprint than by seeking to have it verified.
Do you need a reduction target?
Yes, as soon as you want to go beyond the first points. Without a target, your file shows a company that measures; with a quantified and dated target, it shows a company that steers. It is this shift from measuring to managing that the methodology rewards. The target is all the more solid when it is consistent with a science-based pathway, like those framed by the SBTi. Building a credible target is detailed in our article on reducing your carbon footprint.
Avoid, on the other hand, poorly substantiated neutrality claims: they add nothing to the score and open you up to greenwashing, a point covered in our article on carbon neutrality, net zero and offsetting.
Do you have to cover scope 3?
As soon as it is significant, yes. For most companies, scope 3 concentrates the bulk of the footprint. A footprint limited to scopes 1 and 2 leaves an impression of a partial inventory, and deprives your file of the evidence expected on purchasing and the value chain, which also touches the Sustainable Procurement theme.
How do you prioritize carbon, energy, waste and purchasing?
By looking at the materiality of your sector. EcoVadis weights the criteria according to your business, your size and your location: the issues that matter for a manufacturer are not those of a services company. Carbon and energy are often a priority when the business is energy- or transport-intensive; waste and materials become so in manufacturing; sustainable procurement gains weight as soon as the supply chain is extended.
The right method: start from the real weight of each criterion in your assessment, then tackle those where you are both heavily weighted and weakly documented. The general levers are covered in our article on how to improve your EcoVadis score.
Prepare your carbon evidence with Ditto
Ditto structures your carbon data once and turns it into usable evidence: an up-to-date and documented footprint, a quantified target, a tracked action plan, indicators comparable from one year to the next. A dedicated coach helps you identify the heavily weighted criteria where your file is weak, and present the right documents.
For the carbon side of EcoVadis, Ditto offers dedicated support, deliberately tight: you produce what matters for the assessment, without spending weeks on an ultra-precise emissions inventory whose effect on the score would be the same as a quick, well-built footprint. The effort goes where it pays off.
Ditto has been an EcoVadis training partner since 2023 and holds an EcoVadis Platinum rating on its own assessment; the support therefore rests on hands-on practice with the framework. What moves a score forward is solid evidence and an approach kept up over time.
Prepare your carbon evidence for EcoVadis
A Ditto expert works with you to identify the documents that are missing and those that will move your Environment theme forward.
Improving your EcoVadis score on carbon: key takeaways
| Item | Summary |
|---|---|
| Scope of the article | The Environment theme of the sustainability score, not the carbon rating |
| The 3 layers | Policies, Measures, Reporting; Reporting is what is missing most |
| Key evidence | Recent dated footprint, quantified target, action plan, tracking indicators |
| Going further | Audited footprint: strengthens the quality of Reporting, but after the basics |
| Target | Moves you from "measuring" to "steering"; ideally science-aligned |
| Scope 3 | To be covered as soon as it is significant |
| Prioritization | Based on sector weighting: target heavily weighted and weakly documented |
| To avoid | Unsubstantiated neutrality claims |
Frequently asked questions
How do you improve your EcoVadis Environment score?
By documenting, for each criterion, a written policy, actions actually put in place and quantified results. On carbon, that means a climate policy, a reduction action plan and an emissions footprint with indicators tracked over time.
Which carbon evidence should you provide to EcoVadis?
A recent emissions footprint (scopes covered, reference year, methodology), a quantified and dated reduction target, an action plan with its results, and indicators comparable from one year to the next. To go further, a footprint audited by a third party strengthens the perceived quality of reporting and can raise the Reporting category of the Environment pillar, but it is a refinement lever: when you are starting out, a first documented footprint pays off far more.
Do you need a reduction target for EcoVadis?
Yes, as soon as you want to go beyond the first points. Without a target, your file shows a company that measures; with a quantified and dated target, it shows a company that steers, and it is all the more solid when it aligns with a science-based pathway. Conversely, an unsubstantiated neutrality claim adds nothing and opens you up to greenwashing claims.
How do you prioritize between carbon, energy, waste and purchasing?
By starting from the sector weighting applied to your assessment. Tackle first the criteria that are both heavily weighted for your business and weakly documented in your file, rather than those where you are already solid.
