Four out of five (80%) companies rated by the EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings Index have no documented process for identifying or managing sustainability risks within their own supply chains.
In fact, 73% have no Scope 3 upstream emissions reporting and 77% have no downstream tracking.
Only 2% have an external grievance mechanism that workers deeper in the supply chain can actually use to flag human rights violations. And, fewer than 1% reporting granular, decision-grade sustainability data to buyer organizations.
"Organizations have built sophisticated tools to analyze supplier sustainability data. The suppliers either don't have that data or can't report it in a form the tools can use," says Sylvain Guyoton, chief rating officer at EcoVadis. "Better software does not close that gap. The measurement problem lives in the supply base itself, and closing it requires sustained engagement over time: structured assessment, scored performance, and documented follow-through."
Key takeaways:
· Climate is a focus area, with 46% of rated suppliers purchasing or generating renewable energy and 38% running climate training for employees. However, 78% of rated companies have no science-based carbon reduction targets.
· Environmental scores saw the largest gain of any theme evaluated, rising 9.6 points on average over four years. The share of companies reaching Advanced+ status (scores of 65 or above on the EcoVadis 0-100 scoring scale) more than doubled from 17% in 2021 to 38% in 2025. Rated companies are performing best on the labor and human rights theme, with an average global score of 59.5. And, 80% have formal DEI policies and 78% have employee health and safety policies in place.
· 42% of companies still rely on unverified supplier questionnaires, and just 46% require suppliers to sign a sustainability code of conduct. Only 20% conduct on-site audits, a number that has barely moved in four years.
· 68% of corporate buyers have deployed AI tools in their sustainable procurement programs, with carbon data validation cited as a top application by 62% of those buyers. However, the supply base is largely unequipped to support these systems: 30% of suppliers provide no carbon data and 26% supply only aggregated estimates.
· More suppliers are improving their sustainability practices and reporting decision-grade data up the chain.
