EcoVadis questionnaire and documents

The EcoVadis questionnaire is an online questionnaire that EcoVadis compiles per company, based on industry, size and country. For almost every question, you upload a document as evidence. Only answers that you support with a document count towards your score. A “yes” without evidence therefore earns nothing. The EcoVadis methodology states this explicitly.

Below, you can see per theme which evidence to upload. For what the EcoVadis score does with that evidence, see a separate page. If you already have an ISO 14001 environmental manual or ISO 9001 documentation, part of the work is already done.

What requirements must an EcoVadis document meet?

EcoVadis checks every document before it counts. A document must meet six requirements. If it does not, the analyst ignores it, even if the content is good.

Requirement	What it means	Example of what goes wrong
Formalised	The document already existed and is part of how you work	A policy written the day before submission
Complete	The whole text is visible	Only the first page of a manual
Recognisable	Clearly from your company	A template without a company name or logo
Dated	Has an issue or revision date	A policy without a date
Right format	PDF, DOCX, XLSX, JPG or PNG, under 30 MB	A link to a shared folder
Machine-readable	Digital text, not a scan or photo	A scanned, signed declaration

Documents do not stay valid forever. Policies and descriptions of actions count for eight years. Reports with figures count for two years. Certificates count until their own expiry date.

EcoVadis actively looks for documents that were made only for the assessment, including with plagiarism software. A policy copied from the internet earns no points and can appear as an improvement point on your scorecard.

Which documents do you upload per EcoVadis theme?

The tables below are a practical overview, not an official EcoVadis list. The exact questions you receive depend on your industry and size. Companies with up to 25 employees are assessed more lightly: for example, they do not have to report figures on ethics and procurement.

Environment

Topic	Evidence you upload	Example
Policy	Environmental policy with concrete targets	”Gas use down 20% in 2028 compared with 2024”
Energy and CO2	Energy and CO2 overview, list of actions	CO2 footprint covering scope 1 and 2
Waste and materials	Waste contracts, waste separation instructions	Annual overview from the waste collector
Certificates	Valid ISO 14001 or ISO 50001 certificate	Certificate from an accredited body
Reporting	Annual figures for energy, CO2, waste and water	Table of consumption per year

Labour and human rights

Topic	Evidence you upload	Example
Policy	Personnel or HR policy, code of conduct	Policy on health, safety and non-discrimination
Health and safety	RI&E (risk inventory and evaluation) with action plan, instructions	Toolbox talk records
Terms of employment	Collective labour agreement (cao, Dutch collective labour agreement) or terms of employment scheme	Scheme for working hours and leave
Development	Training plan, performance reviews	Training overview for the past year
Certificates	ISO 45001, VCA, SA8000	Valid VCA certificate
Reporting	Sickness absence, accidents, training hours	Absence rate and number of accidents per year

Ethics

Topic	Evidence you upload	Example
Policy	Code of conduct covering corruption, fraud and competition	Rules on gifts and invitations
Whistleblowing	Whistleblower scheme	Reporting procedure with a confidential adviser
Information security	Information security and privacy policy	Information security policy
Actions	Training, checks, risk analysis	Attendance list for integrity training
Certificates	ISO 27001, ISO 37001	Valid ISO 27001 certificate

Sustainable procurement

Topic	Evidence you upload	Example
Policy	Procurement policy with environmental and social requirements	”Suppliers sign our code of conduct”
Supplier code of conduct	Code of conduct for suppliers	Signed code from the five largest suppliers
Assessment	Supplier assessment with sustainability questions	Supplier assessment with extra questions
Reporting	Share of assessed suppliers	”70% of purchasing value has been assessed”

What figures does EcoVadis expect in your reporting?

Reports with figures carry a lot of weight. EcoVadis does set requirements: your figures must cover at least 80% of the assessed company. For energy and greenhouse gases, it is even 95%.

For example, a company with three sites reports only the energy use of its head office, which accounts for 60% of the total. That report does not count. So include all sites, even if you have to estimate some meter readings and state that you have done so.

Figures that an external party has checked score higher than figures you prepare yourself. A verified CO2 footprint or an auditor’s statement therefore helps.

Completing the EcoVadis questionnaire in five steps

Accept the invitation and choose a subscription

Your client invites you through the platform, or you register yourself. Choose the subscription that matches what your client asks for. See EcoVadis costs.

Complete the company profile

You enter your industry, number of employees and countries. EcoVadis uses this to decide which questions and themes apply to you. A mistake here leads to the wrong questionnaire.

Gather documents

Create a folder per theme and fill in the tables above. Note what is missing and who will provide it.

Answer the questions and link the evidence

Link the correct document to each answer. Refer to the page or paragraph where the answer appears. That helps the analyst.

Submit and wait for the scorecard

The analyst reviews your file and looks at external sources. According to EcoVadis, it usually takes 6 to 8 weeks before your scorecard is published (indication).

Common mistakes with the EcoVadis questionnaire

Answering yes without a document. Every answer without evidence counts as “not in place”. If you cannot demonstrate something, answer honestly and put it on your improvement list.

Uploading scanned documents. A scanned PDF is not machine-readable. Upload the digital original.

Policy without targets. “We think sustainability is important” scores very little. A policy with measurable targets and a date does score.

One document for everything. A 40-page sustainability report is fine, but refer to the correct page for each question.

Filling in the profile too quickly. A wrong industry code leads to heavier or irrelevant questions.