Background:
EcoVadis, recognized globally as the standard for sustainable supply chain intelligence, built its reputation on the rigor and integrity of its ESG assessments and as a leading voice on sustainability topics. As Global Brand Marketing Director, I was responsible for strengthening, protecting, and building trust in the EcoVadis brand.

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Activities:
Two key areas of focus to enhance and safeguard EcoVadis’ reputation

1.      Medals: The company’s most visible brand asset was the EcoVadis Medal, awarded to top-performing suppliers. These medals were a key driver for subscription upgrades, as only companies with premium subscriptions were authorized to publicly promote their status. However, as EcoVadis scaled, unauthorized use of medals became increasingly widespread. This posed risks to both brand trust and revenue from upsells.

2.      Public statements and endorsements: EcoVadis often received requests (from both internal and external sources) to take public positions, which carried reputational risks if not carefully managed.

To address these challenges, I led several initiatives:

   

Medal Protection:

• Assigned an intern to audit unauthorized medal use, identifying the scale of the risk and providing data to secure resources for enforcement.

• Partnered with an external vendor to systematically identify unauthorized online use via AI.

• Designed and implemented a streamlined workflow, from legal intervention (cease-and-desist letters) to sales-led upsell, cutting case resolution time by more than 50%.

• Introduced an incentive structure for the sales team, which motivated them to prioritize upsell opportunities.

• Rewrote the Customer Communication Toolkit showing proper medal usage to encourage sharing, increasing EcoVadis brand presence

Reputation & ESG Leadership:

• Formalized an approval process for sustainability endorsements and public statements securing cooperation from C-Suite and senior leadership

• Ensured all endorsements aligned with company values, avoided hypocrisy, and mitigated conflict with customer or partner positions.

• Reduced the evaluation and approval cycle to one week or less, enabling more timely responses and greater participation in relevant conversations.

• Communicated policy company-wide to ensure compliance and reduce possibility of unauthorized statements

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Results:

• Protected the integrity of the medal program, reducing reputational risk while safeguarding a key revenue driver, increased upsell success rates by 35%, delivering incremental revenue growth.

• Cut legal case resolution times by more than half, improving efficiency and risk management.

• Enhanced EcoVadis’ reputation as a trusted sustainability leader by enabling faster, values-aligned endorsements, expanding opportunities for earned media coverage and brand visibility while reducing risk