How much detail should you provide in EcoVadis answers? Start with your size

Last updated: July 11, 2025

EcoVadis doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach — especially when it comes to company size. Whether your company is extra small or a multinational with thousands of employees, the level of detail you need to provide when answering questions (like energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) commitments) depends heavily on your size bracket.

So when faced with a question like:

“Can you provide evidence of your company’s energy and GHG commitment?” (ENV300 – Environmental Policies)

…the depth of your answer should reflect your headcount — not just your ambition.

Here’s how to think about it.

Extra-small (XS) companies (1–25 employees)

What’s expected: A simple, focused answer with evidence of intent.

  • Policies: A brief written environmental policy or signed management statement showing awareness and basic commitment to reduce energy use or GHG emissions.

  • Targets: Optional but appreciated — a high-level goal (e.g. “we aim to reduce office energy use by 10%”).

  • Scope: No need to cover supply chain or regional variation — just your main site is enough.

Example document:

  • 1-page internal environmental policy signed by the CEO

  • Statement included in an employee handbook

What not to stress about: KPIs, multi-year targets, or applying policies across subsidiaries (you likely don’t have them).

Small (S) and Medium (M) companies (26–999 employees)

What’s expected: A clearly defined commitment that’s formalized and proportionate to your operations.

  • Policies: A document showing a company-wide commitment to energy and GHG reduction, ideally as part of a sustainability or environmental policy.

  • Targets: At this level, you’re expected to have time-bound, measurable targets for energy or GHG.

  • Scope: The commitment should cover your full operations — not just one office or team.

Example document:

  • Environmental policy with a target like “Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 20% by 2027 from a 2022 baseline”

  • Mention of who is responsible for tracking and implementing actions (e.g. Operations Director)

Pro tip: Make sure the target is realistic and matches your business type. Don’t promise Net Zero without a roadmap.

Large (L) companies (1,000+ employees)

What’s expected: Formal, detailed, and broadly deployed documentation.

  • Policies: A formal, organization-wide policy outlining energy and GHG reduction commitments — often part of a sustainability report or ESG roadmap.

  • Targets: Quantitative, time-bound, ideally aligned with science-based targets. Scope 1 and 2 emissions are a must. Scope 3 if you’re carbon-intensive.

  • Scope: The policy must apply across all operational sites. If it only covers HQ, it will be downgraded.

  • Governance: Analysts look for documented roles, responsibilities, and policy review mechanisms.

Example documents:

  • A climate policy embedded in a publicly available sustainability report

  • GHG reduction targets with baseline and tracking in line with GRI or CDP standards

  • Third-party validation or SBTi approval is a bonus

Tip: For large companies, EcoVadis expects documentation that demonstrates coverage of at least 80–95% of your operations for Environment questionsEcoVadis Document Guide.

How this affects your score

EcoVadis scores policy questions like ENV300 based on whether your documentation shows:

  • A qualitative objective (e.g. “we commit to reduce emissions”)

  • A quantitative target (e.g. “25% reduction by 2026”)

  • Whether those targets apply broadly across your company

  • Whether the policy is regularly reviewed and has clear governance in placeEcoVadis CSR Scoring Pr…

The larger the company, the higher the bar.

Final checklist for ENV300 (based on your size)

Company Size

Policy required?

Quantitative target?

Scope of application

Governance and structure

XS (1–25 employees)

Yes — short, high-level statement

Optional — can be general or aspirational

Main office or business unit only

Not expected

S (26–99 employees)

Yes — written and formalized

Encouraged — ideally time-bound and measurable

Should apply to the full company, even if single-site

Not required, but naming a responsible person helps

M (100–999 employees)

Yes — formal document or part of ESG strategy

Strongly recommended — target year and baseline expected

Must apply to all operational sites in scope

Recommended — include named owner, review frequency

L (1,000+ employees)

Yes — comprehensive, externally shareable

Required — ideally science-based or third-party aligned

Must cover 80–95% of total operations

Required — documented responsibilities and review process expected

Don’t forget the format

EcoVadis only accepts documents that are:

  • Formalized and dated (not just a Word doc typed last minute)

  • Clearly owned by your company (name/logo included)

  • Separate (not bundled with unrelated content)How To Meet the Documen…

Avoid uploading a 20-page “combo” file with three different topics. One file = one purpose.

If in doubt, start with what’s realistic — and build from there. Coolset’s EcoVadis module will guide you based on your size bracket and flag where more depth may be needed.