EcoVadis Index 2020 – Gain insights from Global Supply Chain ratings of more than 40,000 companies worldwide
The supplier rating platform EcoVadis has published this year´s Sustainability Risk and Performance Index – The EcoVadis Index 2020. It illustrates EcoVadis ratings of over 40,000 companies worldwide which have been rated by the platform between 2015 and 2020.
EcoVadis 2020 Index: insightful information for current sustainability challenges
The report differentiates sustainability topics such as Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement, as well as between industries and five regions. These regions include Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa/Middle East/Asia and China, which is regarded as a separate unit. This year´s report takes the environmental topic of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon reporting into special consideration.
In addition, it contains two subreports – one evaluates the health crisis and risk preparedness of supply chains during the COVID-19 crisis and the other evaluates a specific grouping of supplier ratings from the categories of chemical manufacturing which has been published in partnership with the industry initiative “Together for Sustainability”.
The following blogpost will at first provide a worldwide overview on the 2020 index. Subsequently it focuses on the European region and major German industries such as manufacturing and chemicals.
EcoVadis index at a glance: average score of 46.4/100
The Sustainability Risk and Performance Index illustrates key findings concerning the global scores:
- About five percent of organizations score above 64 which represents “advanced” to “outstanding” performance
- The average score of CSR performance of large companies is 40.6/100
- SMEs score 43.1/100 on average
- Companies continue to perform best in the Labor & Human Rights theme whereas Sustainable Procurement is the theme where performance is at the lowest end
- Analyzing the score distribution over the years show that companies´ sustainability performance is improving
Fig. 1: Key Global Scores at a Glance (Source: EcoVadis Index Report, p. 8)
Fig. 2: Sustainability Performance Ranges and Benchmarks (Source: EcoVadis Index Report, p.9)
Focusing on Europe: EcoVadis highlights its top performance
- Europe remains the undisputed leader in sustainability performance with an over 10-point advantage compared to North America, which comes second
- Larger European companies score more EcoVadis points than SMEs, however SMEs are gradually reducing the gap
Fig. 3: Sustainability Performance per Region (Large Companies and SMEs) (Source: Source: EcoVadis Index Report, p. 13)
Taking a special glance at leading German industries: manufacturing and chemicals
- Sustainability performance varies greatly between industries
- Companies in the Chemicals and Chemical Products sector have substantially improved their sustainability practices, particularly in the SME size group
- Highly regulated sectors (e.g., chemicals, electronics, and food manufacture) display better sustainability performance in both sized groups
- The industry divisions with the best EcoVadis score (44 points) are all manufacturing divisions (light, heavy and advanced (includes automotive sector)) as well as the Food and Beverage Industry
Fig. 4: Weighted Score by Industry: Large (Source: EcoVadis Index Report, p.23)
DFGE is happy to see that EcoVadis performances are improving. It shows that companies are further structuring their sustainability management systems, leading them to addressing their key sustainability impacts. DFGE, as an EcoVadis training partner since 2015, has been supporting companies in improving their practices and thus their EcoVadis performances. If you want to know more, don’t hesitate to contact us by mail or by phone: +49 8192 99733-20. We wish all the companies best of luck in implementing new practices and answering the EcoVadis Questionnaire.
