B Corp and EcoVadis are not equivalent. B Corp is a business certification built on B Lab's standards and on governance and impact requirements. EcoVadis is a rating of a company's sustainability management system, used mainly in supply chains. The right choice depends on who is asking for the evidence, what the company is trying to achieve, and its capacity to maintain policies, actions and results over time.
The essential difference
| Criterion | B Corp | EcoVadis |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome | Business certification | Rating and scorecard |
| Purpose | Business model built on impact and governance | Sustainability assessment for procurement and risk |
| Framework | B Lab standards | EcoVadis methodology |
| Audience | Customers, talent, investors and community | Buyers, suppliers and procurement teams |
| Evidence | Requirements and verification | Questionnaire, documents and analysis |
| Recognition | B Corp mark under conditions | Medal or badge if criteria are met |
A company should never be described as "EcoVadis certified." EcoVadis issues an assessment and, where applicable, recognition.
B Corp's 2026 changes
B Lab has introduced new V2/V2.1 standards. The approach moves away from relying solely on an overall score, requiring baseline requirements plus requirements across seven impact topics:
- Purpose and stakeholder governance.
- Climate action.
- Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
- Fair work.
- Human rights.
- Environmental management and circularity.
- Public affairs and collective action.
Companies should check the official version and its transition roadmap. Avoid relying on articles that still describe only the old 80-point threshold.
How EcoVadis works
EcoVadis tailors its questionnaire to company size, sector and location. It assesses four themes: environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.
Its methodology reviews the quality of the management system through policies, actions and results, alongside indicators such as coverage, certifications, reporting and 360° Watch findings.
Medals are based on percentiles relative to companies assessed over the previous twelve months, plus eligibility conditions. Thresholds can change and should be verified at the time of publication.
What evidence each approach requires
B Corp
- Purpose and governance.
- Corporate policies.
- Labor practices.
- Climate and environmental data.
- Human rights.
- Engagement and improvement.
- Legal changes where applicable.
- Evidence of meeting requirements per topic.
EcoVadis
- Formalized policies.
- Actions deployed.
- Certifications.
- Coverage.
- Indicators and reporting.
- Results.
- Evidence that is current and attributable to the assessed entity.
A policy without action and results has limited value under either approach.
Who B Corp fits
It usually makes sense when a company wants to:
- Integrate purpose and stakeholders.
- Transform its governance.
- Build corporate identity.
- Attract talent and customers.
- Join a community.
- Demonstrate improvement across several areas.
It requires leadership commitment and cross-cutting change. It should never be treated as a marketing campaign.
Who EcoVadis fits
It is especially useful when:
- Customers require it during vendor approval.
- The company sells to large supply chains.
- Procurement needs a comparable scorecard.
- The goal is to spot management gaps.
- The company responds to repeated ESG questionnaires.
The initial goal may be to retain or win contracts, but the evidence must reflect real practices.
Can they be combined?
Yes. They share data on climate, people, ethics, rights and the supply chain. A single evidence repository can be built, tagged with metadata:
- Owner.
- Entity and site.
- Period.
- Topic.
- Version.
- Approval.
- Indicator.
- Expiry date.
It is then mapped to each framework. Two parallel systems should never be built.
Initial diagnosis
- Identify the objective and stakeholders.
- Confirm the version and scope.
- Inventory policies, actions and results.
- Analyze gaps by topic.
- Prioritize disqualifying or high-impact requirements.
- Assign owners and deadlines.
- Review evidence before uploading.
Project governance
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Leadership | Objective, resources and decisions |
| Sustainability | Coordination and methodology |
| HR | Labor, diversity and data |
| Procurement | Suppliers and human rights |
| Operations | Environment and deployment |
| Legal/compliance | Ethics, governance and claims |
| Finance | Data, control and consistency |
The project coordinator cannot produce all the evidence alone.
Document quality
A document must:
- Belong to the assessed entity.
- Be approved.
- Have a date and version.
- Cover the topic.
- Show implementation.
- Contain consistent data.
- Protect sensitive information.
Policies should never be created retroactively just to "score points." They are implemented, and results are then collected.
Costs and effort
Consider:
- Fees or subscription.
- Internal team.
- Consultancy.
- Measurement and systems.
- Verification.
- Legal or governance changes.
- Maintenance and reassessment.
The comparison should never be limited to the access fee.
The risk of claims
A medal or certification does not authorize claiming that every product is sustainable. Communications must state the correct scope, date and designation. Absolute language should be avoided, and evidence must be kept on file.
120-day plan
Days 1-30
Objective, version, scope and gap.
Days 31-60
Priority policies and governance.
Days 61-90
Actions, data and evidence.
Days 91-120
Review, upload, interviews and improvement plan.
Actual timelines depend on the organization's maturity and each framework's official process.
Common mistakes
- Treating both as equivalent certifications.
- Using an outdated methodology.
- Chasing the medal without a system.
- Uploading generic documents.
- Not controlling entity and period.
- Creating policies without deployment.
- Ignoring procurement and human rights.
- Making absolute claims.
- Not maintaining the evidence.
- Duplicating repositories.
Decision checklist
- Stakeholder requesting it.
- Desired outcome.
- Official version.
- Scope and entity.
- Leadership commitment.
- Gaps and requirements.
- Evidence repository.
- Total cost.
- Correct communication.
- Maintenance plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is EcoVadis a certification?
Not in the same sense as B Corp or an ISO standard. It is a sustainability rating with a scorecard and possible medals or badges.
Does B Corp still use the 80-point threshold?
The new 2026 standards shift the approach toward baseline requirements and impact topics. Check the applicable official roadmap.
Which one helps more in tenders?
It depends on the requirement. If a client asks for EcoVadis, B Corp does not automatically replace it, and vice versa.
Can evidence be reused?
Yes, if it is relevant, current and covers the exact requirement.
Official sources consulted
- B Lab: new standards.
- B Lab: Certification Hub.
- B Impact.
- EcoVadis: methodology.
- EcoVadis: scoring principles.
- EcoVadis: medals and badges.
Summum Calidad can carry out a diagnostic assessment, an evidence map and an improvement plan for one or both frameworks.