Driving Sustainability in Our Supply Chain
Food manufacturer reaches supplier sustainability target ahead of schedule
Griffith Foods has confirmed that 80% of its direct supplier spend now comes from companies with an EcoVadis sustainability score of 50 or above. The manufacturer set this target in 2020 with a 2025 deadline, making the announcement an early completion of a five-year commitment.
This milestone matters because it ties sustainability performance to actual procurement spending, not just supplier participation rates. Therefore, it represents a commercial decision about where money flows, rather than a count of how many suppliers have signed up to a scheme.
EcoVadis is a third-party platform that scores companies on environmental management, labor practices, human rights, ethics, and procurement standards. Analysts review submitted evidence before issuing ratings. Consequently, the scores are intended to reflect verified performance across multiple risk areas.
Griffith Foods reports that its suppliers score an average of six points higher than typical food and beverage sector suppliers, and nearly ten points above the overall EcoVadis network average. This suggests the company has either selected higher-performing suppliers or supported improvement among existing partners.
How spend-based targets differ from participation metrics
Many supplier sustainability programs track how many companies have completed an assessment or joined a scheme. However, this approach can overstate progress if participating suppliers represent a small portion of total spend.
A spend-weighted target changes the calculation. For example, a business might have 200 suppliers, but if 20 of them account for 80% of expenditure, then focusing effort on those 20 delivers more impact than enrolling all 200 at lower performance levels.
Griffith Foods structured its target around spend concentration. As a result, the 80% threshold reflects where the company directs the majority of its procurement budget, not simply how many suppliers have engaged with the platform.
This approach aligns with broader procurement practice. Meanwhile, buyers increasingly use spend analysis to prioritize risk management, contract negotiations, and supplier development programs. Sustainability targets built the same way fit existing commercial disciplines.
EcoVadis scoring and supplier assessment process
EcoVadis evaluates companies across four themes. Environmental performance covers emissions, resource use, pollution, and biodiversity. Labor and human rights includes working conditions, social dialogue, and child or forced labor risks. Ethics covers corruption, anti-competitive practices, and responsible information management. Sustainable procurement examines how companies manage sustainability in their own supply chains.
Suppliers submit documentation, policies, and performance data. Analysts then review the evidence and assign scores from 0 to 100. A score of 50 or above places a supplier in the mid-to-upper performance range, indicating established processes and some evidence of results.
Scores are reassessed periodically, typically every 12 to 24 months. This creates a dynamic system where performance can improve or decline over time. Griffith Foods uses these reassessments to track progress and identify suppliers needing additional support.
The platform also provides scorecards and improvement tools. Suppliers can see where they score poorly and access guidance on closing gaps. For buyers, this creates a structured way to engage suppliers on specific issues without building bespoke programs from scratch.
Supply chain sustainability adoption across sectors
EcoVadis reports that over 175,000 companies in more than 180 countries now use its platform. Furthermore, buyers governing more than $2.5 trillion in global spend rely on EcoVadis ratings to inform procurement decisions. This scale reflects growing corporate demand for standardized supplier risk data.
The expansion follows regulatory and commercial pressure on large businesses to understand and manage sustainability risks beyond their own operations. For instance, upcoming European supply chain due diligence rules will require companies to identify and address environmental and human rights risks among suppliers and subcontractors.
Similarly, public procurement frameworks in the UK increasingly reference sustainability standards. Suppliers bidding for government contracts must often demonstrate carbon reporting, modern slavery policies, or environmental management systems. Third-party ratings offer a way to evidence compliance without reinventing assessment processes for each tender.
EcoVadis describes this as a cascading effect. One large buyer sets expectations, prompting suppliers to improve performance. Those suppliers then apply similar standards to their own supply base, extending the influence further down the chain. Griffith Foods' milestone illustrates this mechanism at work within the food manufacturing sector.
Challenges beyond tier-one suppliers
Griffith Foods focused its target on direct suppliers, also called tier-one partners. These are the companies it contracts with and pays directly. However, most supply chains extend several tiers deeper, involving raw material producers, component manufacturers, logistics providers, and subcontractors.
EcoVadis has noted that many tier-one suppliers still lack formal processes for managing sustainability risks in their own supply chains. Consequently, strong performance at the first tier does not guarantee similar standards further down. This gap poses a risk for buyers seeking comprehensive supply chain assurance.
Addressing deeper tiers requires different approaches. Direct contractual leverage weakens beyond tier one, making it harder to mandate assessments or set minimum standards. Instead, businesses often rely on supplier collaboration, industry initiatives, or targeted audits in high-risk categories.
Griffith Foods has not detailed plans for extending its program beyond direct suppliers. Nevertheless, the tier-one milestone provides a foundation. Suppliers with established sustainability processes are better positioned to manage their own supply base, even without direct buyer intervention.
What UK businesses should know about supplier sustainability ratings
- Griffith Foods achieved 80% of direct supplier spend from companies with EcoVadis scores of 50 or higher, meeting a target set in 2020 ahead of its 2025 deadline.
- The target was structured around procurement spend, not simply the number of suppliers participating, making it a more commercially relevant measure of supply chain performance.
- EcoVadis scores cover environmental management, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement, with analyst review backing the ratings.
- Over 175,000 companies globally now use the EcoVadis platform, with more than $2.5 trillion in spend governed through its network, reflecting widespread adoption of third-party supplier ratings.
- Tier-one supplier performance does not automatically extend to deeper supply chain tiers, where many companies still lack formal sustainability risk management processes.
- UK businesses facing public sector procurement requirements or supply chain due diligence rules may find third-party ratings useful for evidencing compliance and managing supplier risk.
Using supplier ratings in procurement strategy
Supplier sustainability ratings serve multiple functions in procurement. They provide a screening tool during supplier selection, helping buyers identify and avoid high-risk partners. They also create a baseline for ongoing supplier management, enabling performance tracking over time.
For UK SMEs, this trend has two implications. First, companies selling to large buyers may face requests to complete EcoVadis or similar assessments. Refusing or scoring poorly can affect contract renewals or disqualify bids. Second, SMEs managing their own supply chains may need to consider how they assess and manage supplier sustainability risks, particularly if they supply public sector clients or operate in regulated industries.
Third-party platforms offer standardization, which reduces duplication. Instead of completing different questionnaires for each customer, suppliers submit one assessment accepted by multiple buyers. This efficiency benefits smaller businesses with limited resources for sustainability reporting.
However, ratings also create new costs and administrative demands. Initial assessments require documentation, policy development, and sometimes external support. Scores below buyer thresholds may trigger improvement plans, audits, or additional reporting. Consequently, businesses should weigh these demands against the commercial value of maintaining or winning contracts.
Griffith Foods' approach shows how large buyers are embedding sustainability criteria into commercial relationships. For suppliers, this means sustainability performance is becoming a procurement factor alongside price, quality, and delivery. For buyers, it means supply chain sustainability is shifting from aspiration to operational discipline.
The broader question is whether spend-weighted targets like Griffith Foods' will become standard practice across sectors. If so, UK businesses should expect sustainability ratings to feature more prominently in contract negotiations, supplier audits, and tender evaluation criteria. Preparation now may avoid rushed compliance later.
Where to find further information
EcoVadis publishes an annual sustainability ratings report covering performance trends across its network. The report is available on the EcoVadis website and includes sector-specific benchmarking data.
UK businesses seeking guidance on sustainable procurement can refer to resources from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, which offers standards, training, and policy guidance on responsible sourcing.
For companies required to report on supply chain sustainability under UK regulations, the government's business and industry section provides information on modern slavery statements, due diligence obligations, and environmental reporting requirements.
Companies looking for structured support with carbon reporting, supply chain assessments, or sustainability compliance can explore our compliance services, which help SMEs meet regulatory and commercial sustainability expectations.