Spanish companies excel in environmental performance and in labour and human rights, as well as being ahead of the average figures for Europe and the United States. This is revealed in the ninth edition of the Global Supply Chain Sustainability Risk & Performance Index, compiled by the French consultancy EcoVadis, which has analysed over 89,000 companies worldwide.

Spanish companies achieved an average score of 58.1 points, above the European average of 57.9 and well ahead of the 50.1 recorded in the United States. Of the four pillars analysed, Spanish companies especially excel in environmental performance, with 61.7 points, and in labour and human rights, with 60.6. In third place was ethics with 52.6 and lastly responsible purchasing with 45.6.

Room for improvement
While EcoVadis points out that there is room for improvement for Spanish companies in the area of responsible purchasing, it also highlights that this is a major challenge on a global scale. In fact, this is the worst performing area worldwide, with 60% of the companies assessed, and 75% of those analysed for the first time in this edition, at medium or high risk levels.

The report measures the quality of each company’s sustainability management system through its policies, actions and results. With Spain above the European average (57.9 points), the European continent leads the world ranking, ahead of North America (50.2 points), Asia-Pacific (47.3), Latin America and the Caribbean (46.7), and Africa and the Middle East (45.4).

Global progress
The report’s findings indicate steady progress in corporate sustainability around the world. The overall average score in 2024 was 53.4 points out of 100, which EcoVadis considers a good sustainability performance. This means that, on average, the companies assessed have structured sustainability management systems in place and are making good progress in implementing these.

EcoVadis’ Chief Rating Officer, Sylvain Guyoton, said that, in the current political environment, “the sustainability performance of supply chains speaks for itself,” and went on to explain, “The index data indicate that companies maintaining their commitment and working consistently with their suppliers are now starting to see concrete results: reduced exposure to risk, greater resilience and improved global performance”.

^{Photo: EcoVadis}