Your company just got asked to complete an EcoVadis assessment. Maybe it’s a key client requirement, or perhaps you want to prove your sustainability credentials to a wider audience. Either way, you know this isn’t something you can wing. The question now is: who should manage this process? Getting the right person or team can mean the difference between a great score that opens doors and a poor result.
What makes EcoVadis assessments different from other sustainability reporting
EcoVadis is not just another sustainability questionnaire. This assessment uses a specific method that evaluates your company across four distinct themes: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Each theme contains multiple indicators that are scored from 0 to 100 in increments of 25, weighted according to your industry, company size, and location.
What makes this challenging is that EcoVadis doesn’t just want your answers—they want specific evidence to back up every claim. Mention supplier audits? They’ll expect recent audit reports. Say you provide ethics training? You’ll need training records. The assessment is evidence based and digital, meaning everything needs to be documented, dated, and presented in an accepted format.
Unlike frameworks such as CSRD or CDP, EcoVadis digs deep into your actual management systems and operational practices. It’s built on international standards including the Global Reporting Initiative and the United Nations Global Compact, but applies them through its own unique scoring method. This means someone who’s brilliant at CSRD reporting might struggle with EcoVadis if they don’t understand the platform’s specific requirements.
Key qualifications and expertise to look for in an EcoVadis consultant
When evaluating potential consultants, consider these essential qualifications:
- Direct EcoVadis assessment experience – Someone who has successfully guided companies through multiple assessments will understand the scoring methodology, know exactly what documentation reviewers expect, and can anticipate where companies typically stumble
- Industry-specific knowledge – The assessment is tailored to your sector, so someone familiar with your industry’s challenges will be far more effective than a generalist
- Strong data collection and documentation skills – Much of the work involves gathering evidence from across your organisation and presenting it clearly in formats that meet EcoVadis’s requirements
- Understanding of international sustainability standards – Your consultant should be well-versed in frameworks like GRI and the UN Global Compact, as EcoVadis builds upon these foundations
- Platform-specific expertise – They need to know how to structure policies, label documents correctly, and present information in ways that maximize your scores
EcoVadis consultants are quite specialized within the broader sustainability field. This specialization matters because the skills needed for EcoVadis rating improvement are distinct from those required for other sustainability projects. The right consultant brings a combination of technical knowledge, practical experience, and strategic insight that transforms the assessment from a compliance exercise into an opportunity for genuine improvement.
In-house team vs. external expert: making the right choice for your organisation
Should you build internal capacity or bring in external support? If your company faces EcoVadis assessments regularly, investing in training an internal team might make sense long term. But if this is your first assessment or you’re working against tight deadlines, an external consultant can get you results much faster.
Company size and sustainability maturity also play a role. Smaller organisations or those earlier in their sustainability journey often lack the bandwidth to manage extensive documentation requirements alone. Larger companies with established sustainability functions might have the resources, but still benefit from specialized expertise to maximize scores.
There’s also a middle ground worth considering: bringing in an external expert to work alongside your internal team. This hybrid approach offers several advantages:
- Immediate results with knowledge transfer – The external consultant delivers a strong assessment outcome while simultaneously training your team on the process
- Specialized expertise where it matters most – The consultant handles complex parts like scoring nuances and documentation requirements, while your team focuses on gathering internal information
- Long-term capacity building – Your team learns the process and maintains knowledge within the organisation, creating institutional memory that improves with each cycle
- Cost efficiency over time – While you invest in external expertise initially, you reduce dependency and costs in subsequent years
- Continuous improvement mindset – Rather than just chasing a score, you’re building a sustainable approach that integrates with your broader sustainability strategy
This collaborative approach recognizes that EcoVadis assessments aren’t one-off events but part of an ongoing journey. By combining external expertise with internal development, you gain both the immediate advantage of specialist knowledge and the long-term benefit of organizational capability.
Ready to tackle your EcoVadis assessment with expert support?
Choosing the right person to manage your EcoVadis assessment comes down to finding someone with specialized experience, understanding your timing and resource constraints, and deciding whether you need external expertise or can develop it internally.
At Dazzle, we’ve built our platform specifically to connect you with pre screened EcoVadis experts who can start working with you within 48 hours. Whether you need someone for the full assessment journey or just specific guidance on documentation and scoring strategy, we offer the flexibility to work on a project basis or interim arrangement that suits your needs. Our team can match you with sustainability freelancers who have proven EcoVadis experience and understand your industry’s particular challenges.
Reach out to our team. We’ll help you find an EcoVadis specialist who can turn your assessment from a daunting requirement into a genuine opportunity to showcase your sustainability performance.
