# One buyer wants EcoVadis, another Sedex. What is the difference for a supplier?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/ecovadis-vs-sedex-difference

EcoVadis rates you: its analysts score your documents against 21 criteria in four themes and publish a scorecard valid for 12 months. Sedex is a yearly membership, priced per site, where you fill a self-assessment questionnaire, share it with any number of customers, and add a SMETA audit only if a customer asks.

## Side by side

- What you get: EcoVadis gives a scored rating, 0 to 100, with a medal or badge if you qualify. Sedex gives your customers your questionnaire answers, any audit reports you share, and a benchmark of your management controls against peers in your industry and region.
- Who judges: on EcoVadis, analysts review your answers and supporting documents, and check public news about you. On Sedex, you self-assess; independent judgement comes from a SMETA audit at your site, when a customer requires one.
- What is covered: EcoVadis covers Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. Sedex covers labour standards, health and safety, the environment and business ethics, with a separate Environment Self-Assessment Questionnaire.
- Unit: EcoVadis rates a group, a legal entity or a single site. Sedex membership is priced per site.
- Fees: EcoVadis subscriptions are priced by company size, plan and country. Sedex lists a yearly fee per site, at two levels. Both publish their current prices.
- Validity: an EcoVadis scorecard lasts 12 months from publication. Sedex membership lasts 12 months from joining; renew to keep your data visible.

## Where your carbon figures go

EcoVadis scores energy use and greenhouse gas emissions as one of its environment criteria, and wants your figures backed by documents. Sedex's Environment Self-Assessment Questionnaire asks for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions alongside energy, waste, water and chemicals. The same twelve months of fuel and electricity records answer both, so build them once and enter identical numbers in each.

## Doing both without doing everything twice

1. Write down each buyer's exact ask: an EcoVadis scorecard, a minimum score or medal, Sedex membership, a completed questionnaire, or a SMETA audit.
2. Do not book a SMETA audit until a customer names it. Sedex itself says audits are needed only when a customer requests one.
3. Collect the documents once: policies, certificates, permits, training records, and your energy and emissions record. Both ask for the same kind of evidence.
4. Start with whichever buyer's date comes first. An EcoVadis scorecard takes about 6 to 8 weeks after you submit; Sedex onboarding takes most suppliers a few hours.

## A two-site garment exporter in Tiruppur

- A UK retailer asks for Sedex; an EU brand asks for an EcoVadis scorecard.
- Sedex: membership is priced per site, so two units means two fees, and a SMETA audit only at a site the retailer names.
- EcoVadis: one assessment of the legal entity can cover both units, so one scorecard serves the brand.
- Carbon: Scope 1 and 2 for each site from the same bills, entered per site on Sedex and as a company total on EcoVadis.

The exporter is invented; the rules are from EcoVadis and Sedex.

## What Senseible does here

One record behind both answers: Senseible reads your fuel and electricity bills into Scope 1 and 2 figures, each tied to its bill, so what you enter on Sedex matches what you enter on EcoVadis. It does not fill in either questionnaire for you.

- [Build your carbon record once](https://senseible.earth/msme-carbon-number)
- [Sedex environment questionnaire](https://senseible.earth/answers/sedex-environment-saq-ghg-questions)
- [What SMETA checks on carbon](https://senseible.earth/answers/sedex-smeta-environment-carbon-questions)
- [Do I have to pay for EcoVadis?](https://senseible.earth/answers/do-i-have-to-pay-for-ecovadis)
- [Questionnaire support](https://senseible.earth/esg-ratings)

Sources: [EcoVadis, Sustainability Rating methodology disclosure (April 2026)](https://ecovadis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/EcoVadis-Sustainability-Rating-Methodology-disclosure-document-for-the-public-rating-users-and-rated-items.pdf), [EcoVadis Help Center, What is the EcoVadis assessment process?](https://support.ecovadis.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002653188-What-is-the-EcoVadis-assessment-process), [EcoVadis Help Center, EcoVadis subscription costs](https://support.ecovadis.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011788959-EcoVadis-Subscription-Costs), [Sedex, supplier membership](https://www.sedex.com/become-a-member/supplier-membership/), [Sedex, Environment Self-Assessment Questionnaire](https://www.sedex.com/blog/elevate-your-environmental-performance-with-sedexs-environment-self-assessment-questionnaire/)

Last reviewed 2026-10-30.