EcoVadis' 2025 Global Supply Chain Sustainability Risk & Performance Index analyzes nearly 89,000 companies across 250 industries and 150 countries, revealing significant progress in sustainability adoption while highlighting persistent gaps in first-time rated organizations. The comprehensive dataset, based on 159,000 ratings conducted between 2020-2024, demonstrates how structured engagement drives measurable improvements in supply chain sustainability performance.
The 2025 index shows an average EcoVadis score of 53.4, placing most companies within the "Good" performance category using the organization's 0-100 scoring system. This achievement reflects growing adoption of foundational sustainability practices and clear commitment to improvement, particularly among companies undergoing multiple evaluation cycles.
"In our network and beyond, we're seeing companies respond to growing volatility by doubling down on sustainability programmes and investments," explains Sylvain Guyoton, Chief Rating Officer at EcoVadis. This trend demonstrates how organizations gain deeper transparency into sustainability risks throughout their supply chains while forging stronger trading partner relationships.
Despite overall progress, more than one-third of companies rated for the first time in 2024 scored below 45, placing them in high to medium risk categories. The challenge proves most pronounced outside Europe, with 62% of first-time rated Chinese companies and 45% of U.S. organizations falling into these risk bands, compared to just 12% in the UK.
Companies lacking structured sustainability programs face increasing regulatory compliance risks and potential supply chain disruptions as ESG requirements expand globally.
Companies participating in multiple rating cycles demonstrate significant improvements, with 86% scoring above 45 and 27% achieving Advanced status. These organizations embed sustainability best practices while extending influence across their extended supplier networks, creating positive cascading effects throughout supply chain ecosystems.
The data reveals clear correlation between continuous engagement and performance advancement, suggesting that structured sustainability programs with regular assessment cycles deliver measurable results. This finding supports investment in long-term sustainability infrastructure rather than one-time compliance initiatives.
Europe maintains sustainability leadership with an average score of 57.8, driven by strong performance in Environmental and Labour & Human Rights themes. Countries including Finland, Sweden, and France lead regional rankings, with over 25% of European firms achieving Advanced status across multiple sustainability dimensions.
Asia-Pacific recorded the strongest improvement trajectory in 2024, increasing average scores by 3 points to 47.3. China and South Korea emerged as standout performers, with broad-based gains particularly notable in Environmental and Sustainable Procurement categories. This regional momentum reflects increasing regulatory pressure and market demands for sustainability transparency.
Despite showing the highest improvement rate in 2024 (+1.9 points), Sustainable Procurement remains the weakest-performing theme with a global average of 43.1. Notably, 75% of first-time rated companies scored below 45 in this category, indicating limited supplier engagement on ESG issues across many organizations.
The gap suggests significant opportunity for improvement through enhanced supplier codes of conduct, sustainability risk analysis, and targeted training programs.
Managing sustainability assessments across thousands of suppliers requires sophisticated data management and analysis capabilities. Organizations achieving Advanced status typically deploy integrated platforms that streamline data collection, normalize performance metrics, and provide actionable insights for supplier development programs.
The complexity of tracking sustainability performance across global supply chains mirrors challenges faced in freight audit and compliance management, where automated systems become essential for processing large volumes of supplier data efficiently and accurately.
As regulatory demands intensify and decarbonization deadlines approach, supply chain sustainability becomes increasingly critical for competitive positioning. The EcoVadis data demonstrates that leaders achieve superior performance through transparent, structured programs rather than ad-hoc compliance initiatives.
Companies committed to data-driven sustainability programs build long-term resilience and value while shaping the future of global commerce through ethical and sustainable supply chain practices.
Organizations seeking to improve sustainability performance across extended supplier networks need comprehensive data management capabilities and structured assessment frameworks. Success requires integrated platforms that combine performance monitoring with actionable improvement strategies.
Download our Supply Chain Sustainability Assessment to benchmark your current capabilities against industry leaders, or contact Trax Technologies to discover how our AI-powered audit and data management solutions provide the visibility and intelligence essential for managing complex supplier sustainability programs at enterprise scale.