Managing EcoVadis reporting across teams: How to stay organized and on track

Completing the EcoVadis questionnaire isn’t a solo task – it’s a cross-functional project that touches HR, procurement, operations, IT, and more. Mid-sized companies rarely struggle with the content itself. The challenge is internal: chasing documents, managing version chaos, and meeting tight deadlines.

One common frustration? Companies typically have just 30 days to collect evidence, align teams, and upload everything. Without a plan, that month goes fast.

This guide shows how to run the EcoVadis process efficiently across teams. It breaks down who to involve, what each team contributes, and how to avoid duplicate work or last-minute scrambles.

EcoVadis reporting is more than a checklist – it’s a reflection of how your company manages sustainability. That means backing up claims with formal, dated, and relevant documentation. With clear roles and a realistic timeline, the questionnaire becomes a manageable project – not a fire drill.

What the EcoVadis questionnaire is really assessing

EcoVadis isn’t just checking if you have sustainability policies – it’s assessing how well your company puts them into practice. The questionnaire acts as a documented audit of your management system. Each answer needs to be backed by formal, recent, and relevant evidence. Vague claims or generic policies won’t earn points.

The assessment is built around four themes: environment, labor & human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Within each theme, EcoVadis uses seven management indicators – including policies, actions, and results – to evaluate performance.

And it’s not evenly weighted. About 75% of your score comes from what you do (measures, certifications, reporting), not what you say. A signed policy is a good start. But training logs, audit outcomes, and KPI trends are what move the needle.

The bottom line: EcoVadis rewards proof of implementation – not just intent.

What’s inside the EcoVadis questionnaire

No two EcoVadis questionnaires are the same. The platform tailors questions based on your company’s profile – to keep things relevant and avoid asking what doesn’t apply.

Key factors include:

• Company size – Extra-small (XS), small, medium, or large. Smaller companies face fewer questions.
• Industry risk profile – Based on your ISIC code. A manufacturer may see questions on energy use and water management, while a consulting firm likely won’t.
• Geographic footprint – If you operate in higher-risk countries, expect more scrutiny on labor rights or corruption safeguards.
• Assessment history – Returning companies may be asked to show progress or provide updated evidence.

In total, the questionnaire draws from 21 sustainability criteria across the four main themes. But only the ones relevant to your size, sector, and footprint will be activated. EcoVadis shows this in your company’s Industry Risk Profile.

Each question is multiple-choice and evidence-based. You check a box only if the best-practice statement applies to you – and then prove it with documentation. No supporting evidence means no points.

That’s why many companies reuse verified materials like CSRD disclosures or ISO certificates. As long as they’re current and relevant, they can serve as strong supporting documents.

Which teams should be involved in completing the EcoVadis questionnaire

The EcoVadis questionnaire can’t be completed by one person. It draws on information from across the business – so getting the right teams involved early is essential. Each theme maps to specific departments, each with unique responsibilities and documents to contribute.

Here’s how to structure team involvement:

Sustainability or ESG team
Owns the process. Coordinates scope, maps existing disclosures (like CSRD reports, ISO certifications, GHG inventories), identifies gaps, and manages the final submission.

Procurement or supply chain
Covers the sustainable procurement theme. Shares supplier codes of conduct, ESG clauses in contracts, audit reports, and engagement records. Provides proof of supplier monitoring and follow-up.

HR team
Contributes to labor & human rights. Provides DEI policies, health and safety procedures, grievance logs, and training records. Evidence may include signed handbooks or attendance sheets.

Legal and compliance
Leads on ethics-related criteria. Reviews documentation for consistency and legal accuracy. Shares policies on anti-bribery, whistleblowing, and data privacy. Ensures documents are formatted and properly dated.

Operations and facilities
Brings environmental actions to life. Shares SOPs, site-level ISO certifications, energy usage, waste data, and audit results. Also supports health and safety evidence.

Finance or ESG reporting
Delivers the numbers. Shares GHG inventories, ESG metrics, audit statements, and ensures alignment with public reports.

IT and data security
Supports information security and data privacy evidence. Provides policies like ISO 27001, GDPR compliance measures, and breach response procedures.

Tip: Assign one owner per EcoVadis theme. HR handles labor & human rights, procurement takes sustainable procurement, and so on – with sustainability coordinating progress across teams. Use a shared folder with consistent file names and version tracking (e.g., Ethics_WhistleblowerPolicy_2024.pdf) to keep everyone aligned.

Need something more robust? A dedicated platform makes this process faster and easier – more on that below.

What are the four categories of EcoVadis?

EcoVadis organizes its assessment around four core themes. Each reflects a key area of sustainability performance, and all four contribute to your final score.

Environment
How your company manages its environmental impact. This includes emissions, energy use, water and waste, pollution control, product lifecycle, and eco-innovation. Strong scores come from combining policy with action – such as showing reduction initiatives, renewable energy use, or ISO 14001 certification.

Labor & human rights
Covers fair labor practices and human rights within your operations and supply chain. Focus areas include health and safety, fair wages, diversity and inclusion, grievance mechanisms, and avoiding forced or child labor. Common evidence includes codes of conduct, safety training records, and DEI statistics.

Ethics
Assesses how your company ensures ethical behavior. This includes anti-bribery policies, whistleblower protections, responsible data handling, and compliance with regulations. Evidence may include internal policies, incident reporting systems, and certifications like ISO 37001 or ISO 27001.

Sustainable procurement
Looks at how you manage ESG risks across your supplier base. That means codes of conduct for suppliers, ESG clauses in contracts, audit processes, and follow-up actions. The goal is to show not just expectations – but active oversight.

Each theme is scored separately, and all scores roll up to your final rating. But a low score in any one area (below 30) will disqualify your company from receiving a medal. Balanced performance matters.

Where mid-sized companies struggle – and how to avoid it

Even well-intentioned teams can run into trouble when tackling the EcoVadis questionnaire. These are the most common pitfalls – and how to sidestep them:

Siloed teams and unclear ownership
Without a clear plan, departments delay handoffs or duplicate work. Everyone scrambles at the end, and answers become inconsistent. Upfront coordination avoids confusion.

Duplicate or missing documents
It’s common for two teams to prepare the same file – or for no one to. A centralized evidence list and regular check-ins keep things on track.

Policies without proof
Strong-sounding policies won’t score unless they’re backed by action. EcoVadis gives more weight to implementation – about 75% of the score comes from what you do, not just what you say.

Too many files or combined documents
EcoVadis allows 55 documents per assessment. That’s plenty – if you prioritize. Don’t merge multiple documents into one PDF to get around the limit. Combined files are flagged or rejected.

Focusing on the wrong criteria
Not all 21 criteria apply to your business, and some are more heavily weighted than others. Spending time on deactivated or low-weight topics wastes effort. Start with what’s activated for your company.

How to stay ahead:
Treat EcoVadis like a mini project. Build a timeline. Assign owners per theme. Use a tracker for documents and progress. Set internal deadlines at least a week before the submission date. Companies that plan early, reuse quality evidence, and keep roles clear tend to submit with less stress – and get better results.

How Coolset simplifies the EcoVadis questionnaire

Managing EcoVadis reporting through emails and spreadsheets gets messy fast. Coolset replaces that chaos with a structured platform built for sustainability workflows – including EcoVadis.

Here’s how it helps teams stay organized and on track:

One place for all evidence
Coolset gives teams a shared workspace to upload policies, reports, and certificates – each linked to the relevant EcoVadis criteria. No more digging through folders or versioning chaos.

Smart mapping to questions
Upload a document once, and Coolset suggests where it fits. For example, a Code of Ethics can automatically populate ethics-related questions. This reduces manual input and helps spot gaps early.

Real-time collaboration and tracking
Assign questions to HR, procurement, or legal – and track progress with a clear dashboard. Everyone sees what’s done, what’s pending, and where evidence is missing.

Reuse across frameworks
Documents uploaded for EcoVadis can also be used for CSRD, EU Taxonomy, and carbon reporting. Enter once, apply many times – saving hours in repeat work.

By connecting data, documents, and task owners directly to each question, Coolset turns EcoVadis into a manageable workflow – not a last-minute scramble.

Ready to simplify your next assessment?
Start streamlining your EcoVadis reporting with a platform built for cross-team sustainability work.

FAQ – managing teams for the EcoVadis questionnaire

1. Who should be involved in completing the EcoVadis questionnaire?

At a minimum: sustainability or ESG leads, procurement, HR, legal/compliance, operations, and finance. Each team owns specific parts of the questionnaire. Bringing them in early ensures clear ownership and fewer gaps.

2. How do we assign responsibilities across teams?

Map the four EcoVadis themes to departments. HR handles labor & human rights, procurement takes sustainable procurement, legal manages ethics, and operations covers environment. Assign a lead per theme, with a central coordinator (often the ESG manager) to oversee the full submission.

3. What if different teams use different systems or formats?

Create a shared evidence folder – or use a platform like Coolset. Standardize file formats (e.g. PDF) and naming conventions (e.g. Policy_AntiBribery_2024.pdf). This keeps everything consistent and review-ready.

4. How do we avoid duplicating work across sustainability frameworks?

Reuse what’s already been validated. Many EcoVadis questions overlap with CSRD, GRI, CDP, or internal ESG reporting. Maintain a document map that links existing evidence to EcoVadis criteria. That way, teams aren’t starting from scratch.

5. What’s the best way to stay organized during the process?

Set a four-week internal timeline. Week 1: gather documents. Week 2: assign gaps. Week 3: draft responses. Week 4: final QA. Use a tracker that lists every question, who owns it, and the evidence attached. Aim to finish at least a week before the official deadline.

6. Who reviews the final submission?

Ideally someone who understands EcoVadis scoring – often an ESG manager or compliance lead. They should verify that every answer has evidence, that documents are formatted correctly, and that there are no inconsistencies. A second set of eyes from audit or risk can also help spot issues before submission.

Related guides:

• Coolset EcoVadis module: Streamline your ESG disclosures and supply chain due diligence

• EcoVadis questionnaire explained: Learn how to get a platinum score

Next steps

Tackling the EcoVadis questionnaire can feel complex – but with a clear strategy and the right tools, it becomes a manageable, even valuable, exercise. This guide has unpacked what the questionnaire really assesses, laid out step-by-step how to approach it, and flagged where mid-sized companies often stumble.

And you don’t have to do it alone. A platform like Coolset can cut the chaos – turning document sprawl into structured evidence, aligning teams, and giving you confidence in every answer.

Whether you're aiming for your first medal or a Platinum score, success starts with preparation and transparency. Show what you're doing, back it up with evidence, and use each assessment to keep raising the bar.

Ready to streamline your next submission? Book a demo and take the complexity out of EcoVadis.