EcoVadis is deepening its use of artificial intelligence through a new partnership with Google Cloud, as the sustainability ratings provider looks to speed up internal workflows and sharpen the intelligence it delivers to corporate clients.
The company will adopt Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise platform to support what it describes as an agentic AI strategy, with automated systems taking on defined tasks across functions such as sales support, human resources and internal request handling. EcoVadis says the aim is to cut administrative burden and free staff for more specialised work, while also creating room for employees to build new applications around the company’s operational needs.
The move comes as ESG data providers face rising pressure to process larger volumes of supplier information more quickly and with greater consistency. EcoVadis sits at a crucial point in that market, helping businesses assess supplier risk and sustainability performance across complex global supply chains. Faster analysis, stronger knowledge management and more scalable operations are becoming increasingly important as customers seek clearer visibility into their vendors.
According to EcoVadis, 89% of its employees already use Gemini tools in Google Workspace on a daily basis. The company is now expanding that usage with formal training designed to broaden access to no-code and low-code agent development, while still keeping engineering support available for more advanced work.
Frank Soetebeer, EcoVadis’s chief technology officer, said the company sees responsible generative AI as central to its ability to grow and meet customer expectations, adding that the technology can strengthen internal efficiency and improve alignment with client needs.
EcoVadis has also stressed that its AI deployment will remain subject to human oversight and governance controls. That is a significant point in an area where the use of automated systems in ESG reporting and supplier assessment is attracting growing scrutiny from regulators, investors and customers. The company says privacy and security are being treated as core requirements, particularly because its platform handles sensitive supplier data and disclosure information.
Google Cloud framed the deal as evidence of demand for AI tools that can be adapted to specific business problems. Anthony Cirot, vice president for EMEA South at Google Cloud, described EcoVadis as a practical early adopter of agentic AI that is using the technology to boost both internal efficiency and customer value.
EcoVadis has already been using AI in parts of its own platform. On its website, the company says automated tools help review and verify supplier documents, generate risk scores within minutes and support a multilingual assistant that summarises scorecards and extracts insights from large datasets. Even so, the company says every rating still goes through human review, with assessments examined by at least two analysts.
The latest partnership reflects a wider trend in the ESG sector, where data providers are increasingly turning to automation to cope with fragmented inputs, evolving standards and demand for faster decision-making in procurement and compliance. For companies relying on supplier assessments, the appeal is not only speed but also the prospect of more granular and more reliable insight across multi-tier supply chains.
For EcoVadis, the challenge will be to scale those benefits without weakening the trust that underpins its ratings business. The company’s emphasis on governance suggests it is aware that, in ESG as in other data-heavy markets, the credibility of the system matters as much as the efficiency gains.
Source: Noah Wire Services