It makes total business sense to select EcoVadis-certified partners if your company prioritizes sustainability and social responsibility. Learn what an EcoVadis rating actually means, as well as  the advantages of working with a certified promo products distributor.

Heard of EcoVadis and wondering what it means for your business? You’re in the right place, as Perfect Promotions is EcoVadis certified and we can share some great insights! Whether you want to work with an EcoVadis-certified company like ours or become one yourself, we’ll answer the top questions we hear about EcoVadis.

  1. So, What’s EcoVadis Anyway?

EcoVadis is a cloud-based SaaS sustainability rating platform that offers assessments and ratings of companies’ environmental, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement performance. EcoVadis is designed to help companies better manage and communicate their sustainability performance to employees, customers, stakeholders and partners in a clear, actionable way.

Drilling down a little further, EcoVadis uses a methodology combining human expertise and technology to rate companies based on 21 sustainability criteria, including labor practices, greenhouse gas emission and anti-corruption measures. Stakeholders, like company management, employees, customers, suppliers and investors, can use these assessments to measure and improve that company’s sustainability performance. You, too, can evaluate vendor partners like Perfect Promotions by their EcoVadis rating.

  1. Where Did the EcoVadis Certification Originate?

Frederic Trinel and Pierre-Francois Thaler founded EcoVadis in 2007 in France. They wanted to help companies improve their sustainability practices, and saw technology as a way to assess and rate companies’ environmental and social performance.  Trinel and Thaler developed their methodology with international sustainability experts, basing it on international sustainability standards like Global Reporting Initiative, United Nations Global Compact and ISO 26000. Today, EcoVadis is one of the world’s leading sustainability rating platforms, with a database of more than 75,000 rated companies and 600,000 suppliers.

  1. How Do You Obtain an EcoVadis Certification?

The EcoVadis sustainability assessment is a paid service to rate your company’s sustainability impacts based on documented evidence that you provide to EcoVadis. The fee can vary depending on the size of your company and the level of assessment you require. The assessment process itself is organized in four stages: registration, questionnaire, expert analysis and results. You should know that EcoVadis certification isn’t a simple “pass or fail” process.

 

To get started on your EcoVadis certification, you’ll sign up for an assessment and provide information about your sustainability practices, policies and procedures. You’ll need to provide evidence of your sustainability practices, like policies, reports and data. The assessment is typically conducted online. At the end of EcoVadis’ assessment, you’ll receive a rating on a scale of 0 to 100, with feedback on areas you can improve. You can also see where your score falls among other companies in your industry.

  1. Why Should You Work With an EcoVadis-Certified Promo Products Company Like Perfect Promotions?
    Working with an EcoVadis-rated vendor can raise your company’s standing among employees, customers, prospects and stakeholders:
  • Eco-consciousness: When you work with an EcoVadis-certified promo products distributor, that shows you’re prioritizing the environment, sustainable company practices and reducing your carbon footprint.
  • Corporate social responsibility: When you work with an EcoVadis-certified promo products distributor like Perfect Promotions, it shows you’re committed to ethically sourcing and producing the promo products you use in your business. You take social responsibility and fair labor practices seriously, and that’s important.
  • Reputation: Partnering with a certified promo products distributor can enhance your company’s credibility and standing in the marketplace. Share with your customers that you’re committed to sustainability and corporate social responsibility by sourcing your promo items from an EcoVadis-rated vendor.
  • Risk reduction: When you work with a certified promo products distributor, you can help reduce the risk of non-compliance with environmental and social regulations. By choosing a distributor like Perfect Promotions that prioritizes sustainability and ethical practices, you improve your chances of getting sustainable products that are produced ethically.
  1. What Can the EcoVadis Certification Do For Your Company?

Good question! Here are a few ways an EcoVadis rating can benefit your business:

  • Better sustainability performance: Your EcoVadis assessment will give you a comprehensive, third-party review of your sustainability practices and show you areas for improvement. This review can guide you to identify gaps and create an action plan to improve your performance over time.
  • Better transparency and credibility: Since EcoVadis ratings are widely respected as a credible third-party measure of a company’s sustainability performance, obtaining this rating can help show your commitment to sustainability for your employees, customers, stakeholders, investors, partners and so on.
  • Competitive advantage: If your business receives a high EcoVadis rating, you can use that as a differentiating factor from your competitors in your marketing. Many customers want to work with companies committed to sustainability. You may also be able to access new markets and business opportunities.
  • Reduced risk: When you discover gaps, or areas to work on in the areas of sustainability, labor practices, human rights and environmental impact, you can mitigate them and reduce the risk of financial or reputational impacts.

Getting Started
As you’ve learned, when you work with an EcoVadis-certified promotional products distributor, that can  help your business show your employees and customers that you take sustainability seriously—and it can help you stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Let us help you be more responsible by sourcing the right eco products! Reach out to us today at  perfectpromo.net!