EcoVadis & Ulula Boost Human Rights Data in Supply Chains

EcoVadis, a leading global sustainability intelligence platform, has announced its acquisition of Ulula, a technology and analytics company specialising in improving working conditions across supply chains.

The move is designed to bolster EcoVadis’ capabilities in supply chain labour and human rights data collection, in response to increasing regulatory demands.

EcoVadis, founded with a mission to provide sustainability intelligence, serves over 130,000 businesses in 220 industries across 180 countries and offers tools for sustainability ratings, risk management, carbon tracking and e-learning, supporting organisations in their journey towards more responsible growth.

Meanwhile, Ulula, a certified B-Corporation, has been a key player in human rights data collection since its founding in 2015. The company has worked with over 150 businesses in nearly 70 countries, reaching more than four million workers. 

A changing regulatory landscape

The acquisition is timely, as the regulatory environment surrounding human rights and labour practices in supply chains is rapidly evolving.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 63% of the 28 million people trapped in forced labour globally are in the private sector, particularly within business supply chains. This stark reality has spurred governments to introduce stricter regulations around human rights due diligence.

Among these regulations are:

• The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
• The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
• Various modern slavery acts
• The EU Forced Labour Regulation
• The US Tariff Act of 1930, Section 307

These laws require companies to implement robust grievance mechanisms and provide verifiable details about sustainability practices across their supply chains. Failure to comply can lead to severe penalties, such as fines of up to 5% of global turnover under the CSDDD.

This regulatory pressure has created an urgent need for comprehensive solutions like those EcoVadis and Ulula aim to provide.

Co-CEO of EcoVadis, Pierre-François Thaler, highlights the significance of the acquisition: “With the acquisition of Ulula, EcoVadis will be well positioned to integrate and scale up supply chain labour and human rights risk due diligence, meeting customer demands for on-the-ground, verifiable data.

"This complements our in-depth ratings expertise and bolsters our offering to help companies around the world comply with new regulations.”

Enhancing EcoVadis' offering

Ulula’s platform focuses on collecting direct, recurring feedback from workers and communities about labour and human rights conditions.

By acquiring Ulula, EcoVadis will significantly enhance its ability to provide on-the-ground data, closing critical information gaps in traditional monitoring systems. This is a key differentiator, as many legacy mechanisms fail to capture recurring insights from workers themselves.

Ulula's platform offers several standout features, including:

• Recurring surveys and expanded workforce sampling at scale
• An anonymous third-party system to ensure user confidentiality
• Access from any device, anywhere, with a focus on cultural and language-specific needs

This expanded data collection will feed into EcoVadis' existing analytics dashboards and grievance management systems, providing businesses with a more accurate picture of their supply chain practices.

Antoine Heuty, Founder of Ulula, sees the partnership as a crucial step in advancing human rights: “Ulula and EcoVadis share an ambition to confront and accelerate progress on the devastating scope of threats to human rights.

"Joining forces will enable us to combine Ulula’s direct labour and human rights data collection and reliable insights with EcoVadis’ global reach and expertise.”

Looking ahead

With this acquisition, EcoVadis and Ulula plan to introduce a consolidated product offering that aligns with new regulatory requirements. The combined solution will help businesses not only identify human rights risks within their supply chains but also offer actionable insights and access to remediation.

By delivering enhanced visibility on workforce practices, the joint platform aims to support companies in managing risks more effectively, especially in light of the upcoming regulatory frameworks.

As Heuty and Thaler both note, the collaboration is about leveraging each company’s strengths to drive greater transparency and accountability in global supply chains.

The acquisition marks a significant step forward in the ongoing fight for human rights and fair labour practices.

By combining EcoVadis' broad sustainability reach with Ulula's in-depth data collection, the partnership will offer businesses a powerful tool to navigate the complexities of regulatory compliance and sustainable supply chain management.

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