Why is it important?
We acknowledge that the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact of our business is closely linked to the business practices of our partners. By encouraging our suppliers to conduct an ESG assessment, we unlock mutual opportunities.
Engaging in an ESG assessment provides proof of responsible business practices, builds credibility with existing customers and helps access new business. ESG assessments help suppliers avoid hidden operational risks, noncompliance penalties, and reputational damage, while strengthening our collective commitment to responsible business conduct.
Additionally, ESG assessments provide a platform for continuous improvement and innovation, allowing us to identify and address areas that require long-term focus. This proactive approach ensures that our entire value chain contributes to a more sustainable future.
To support our efforts, Atlas Copco Group has chosen the EcoVadis platform as a tool. This enables us to monitor progress effectively and enhances our suppliers’ ESG performance, ultimately leading to stronger, more resilient partnerships and a more responsible supply chain.
Message from our global supply chain management team
Message from our global supply chain management team
- Filename
- Atlas Copco Group - Letter to EcoVadis suppliers.pdf
- Size
- 87 KB
- Format
Atlas Copco Group holds an EcoVadis rating, listed as Atlas Copco AB. All our subsidiaries and entities fall under this scope. See the dedicated page here: Group Sustainability ratings
What is EcoVadis?
EcoVadis is a global provider of business sustainability ratings and intelligence. They manage value chain risk, compliance, and performance for net-zero and sustainability goals.
Key features
- Universal sustainability ratings
- Performance improvement
- Actionable intelligence
What's in it for you?
Pre-assessment information
We encourage you to watch the EcoVadis 5-minute introduction video (see below). It covers corporate sustainability, its importance and the EcoVadis assessment process.
We also recommend that you consult EcoVadis website for more information or watch any of their informative webinars. These normally last approximately 60 minutes, are hosted in various languages, and demonstrate how the platform works.
What you need to do
You will receive an invitation through the EcoVadis platform with further registration instructions. Creating a company profile will take 5-10 minutes and will safeguard that the survey questionnarie is optimized based on your industry, size and location.
The registration is open for 10 days
After your registration is completed, you will receive the personalized questionnaire. The survey is secure, confidential and available in 13 languages. The EcoVadis support team is ready to help with any questions.
Providing supporting documents as evidence is a key part of the assessment.
Once the questionnaire is completed and all supporting documents are added, you will submit it. At this point you need to select a subscription plan. You can find more information about the annual subscription on the EcoVadis website, linked below. The “Basic” subscription is sufficient.
Link to subscription options: https://ecovadis.com/plans-pricing/
The questionnaire is open for 30 working days
Once the invoice for the annual subscription is paid, the document audit, evaluation and analysis by the ESG experts at EcoVadis starts. EcoVadis then distills the answers into an easy-to-read scorecard.
The expert analysis is ready within 6-8 weeks
After the assessment, you will receive online access to your company's scorecard. This scorecard can be shared with other customers or stakeholders. You will also be able to consult the Corrective Action Plan for your company, to know which areas to focus on for improvement.
For suppliers scoring below 45, Atlas Copco Group requires a new assessment the following year. For suppliers scoring 45 or above, renewal is needed in three years.
The EcoVadis scorecard is automatically valid for one year
Frequently asked questions
EcoVadis is an independent company that assesses a company’s sustainability performance. This service comes at a cost, as it includes a tailored questionnaire based on your company’s size, industry, and location, followed by expert analysis.
More information on pricing is found here, the basic package is sufficient for Atlas Copco Group requirements.
The EcoVadis scorecard can be shared with unlimited stakeholders. While Atlas Copco Group may be the first to request it, other customers will likely follow as ESG compliance becomes mandatory by 2029. Compared to other ESG certifications and audits, EcoVadis is relatively affordable.
What is included in this price?
- Assessment performed by a team of sustainability analysts
- Access to the EcoVadis platform, including the scorecard and improvement tools (e.g. Corrective Action Plan)
- Additional useful resources including educational videos, e-learning, glossary and more
- Ability to share your company's performance with all your requesting customers
Note: The EcoVadis assessment is less expensive than many other certifications and ESG audits. The assessment delivers actionable insights into how a company can improve their management systems in ethical, environmental, labor/human rights and sustainable procurement.
A headquarter or Group rating covers all entities within that Group.
Are you part of a corporate Group and you don’t have a rating yet? Our recommendation is to get rated on Group level.
Is your headquarter already rated on EcoVadis? Please reach out to your procurement responsible to enable the link between your entity and the Group scorecard.
Understand your ESG performance
- Scorecard gives a score out of 100 points and highlights strengths and improvement areas.
- Benchmark against your industry to visualize how you perform compared to competitors (based on the EcoVadis package you choose)
Improve your ESG performance
- Scorecard highlights improvement areas
- Access to a corrective action plan to collaborate on improvements with your customers
- Useful resources available to support you in your improvements
Communicate
- Customers are increasingly interested in their suppliers’ ESG performance
- Share your scorecard online with all your customers using EcoVadis
- Differentiate from your competitors who do not hold an EcoVadis assessment
ISO certification
ISO certification can be submitted in the assessment to improve your score but is not a sufficient alternative to the EcoVadis rating. The EcoVadis assessment covers a broader selection of topics that are material to companies in your industry.
Annual Sustainability Report
An annual report may help you complete the assessment and improve your score, but it is not a sufficient alternative.
The EcoVadis assessment streamlines gathering the relevant information and provides a clear action plan to improve the way the supplier works.
Alternative rating
Atlas Copco Group prefer our suppliers to be rated on EcoVadis, since we can easily compare, analyze and process the information in this tool.
If your company has an equivalent rating, this can be reviewed by our Responsible Sourcing team, please discuss with your procurement contact.
The EcoVadis assessment questionnaire is adapted to each company, based on their size, industry and location so only relevant information is considered.
The questionnaire for extra small (XS) companies (< 25 employees) consists of +/- 10 questions. This goes up to 65 questions for large companies (1000+ employees).
For XS companies EcoVadis welcomes informal documentation, for example:
- Action plans for your future CSR projects
- Proof of employee training
- Internal emails regarding employee awareness
- Invoices for purchasing eco-labeled products
More information and document guide available here.
CSRD = Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in Europe
True. EcoVadis certification isn't a requirement for the CSRD regulation in Europe. However, Atlas Copco Group also need to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD or CS3D). To be compliant, we are obliged to screen our entire supply chain on sustainability risks and mitigate where risks are present. To do this as efficiently as possible (for us, and our suppliers), we have decided to use EcoVadis as our support tool. Company ratings can be shared with all and any customers, suppliers, stakeholders and shareholders.
