EcoVadis Methodology Update October 2026: What Changed and How It Can Lower Your Score

From 14 October 2026, every quantitative target you declare under the Policies indicator must state three things: the target value, the target year and the baseline year. According to EcoVadis’s update notes, if no baseline year is documented, the declaration is rejected and does not contribute to the Policy indicator score. This applies to relative reduction targets, absolute targets and zero-incident commitments alike.

Two details catch companies out:

• The baseline must be in the evidence, not just the questionnaire. Writing the baseline year in your answer is not enough; the policy, target register or report you upload must show it.
• Consistency matters. If your environmental policy says 2022, your sustainability report says 2023 and your GHG inventory uses 2021, the analyst cannot credit the target with confidence. Pick one baseline per target and use it everywhere.

A target written to the new standard looks like this: “Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 from a 2023 baseline.” Targets EcoVadis has already accepted remain valid until they expire, but anything you submit or resubmit now must follow the new rule.

This matters more than it looks, because EcoVadis expects small, medium and large companies to have quantitative targets for at least half of their key Environment and Labour & Human Rights criteria. A company that loses several targets at once can see its Policy scores fall across two themes. If you are setting a GHG baseline for the first time, our UAE GHG reporting guide explains how to choose a base year.