Smulders
x Sunhat
4
min
How Smulders Achieved EcoVadis Silver with Sunhat
Published on
21 Sep 2026
In conversation with the
team
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Smulders is a multidisciplinary construction company with experience in engineering, producing, delivering, and assembling heavy, technically complex steel structures. Additionally, they serve as a system integrator for offshore wind farms. With a team of over 2,500 employees across Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, France, and the UK, they are building a more sustainable world.
Industry
Construction / Heavy steel fabrication / Offshore wind & civil structure
Company size
> 2,500
FTE
Headquarters
Arendonk, Belgium
Revenue
> 700 M Euro
Table of Contents
Case name
What
Smulders
achieved with Sunhat:
60%
time saved compared to previous manual approach answering EcoVadis & customer requests
280+
documents in Sunhat’s document management system
+11 points
at EcoVadis, moving from Bronze to Silver
Challenge
The EcoVadis process was time-intensive and difficult to manage. A two-person team handled all documentation, frequently encountering duplicate work, version control issues, and uncertainty about document compliance and accuracy. Multiple rounds of checking were required from start to finish, consuming valuable time and resources.
Solution
Sunhat helps Smulders to systematically collect data across the company and transform it into ready-to-use collaborative proof for several use cases.
The Situation
Sustainability at Smulders
Sustainability is at the core of Smulders’ operations. As a leader in steel structures and offshore wind, their mission is clear: building a sustainable future.
At Smulders, innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. The company actively seeks to improve processes and transparency related to ESG performance, integrating sustainable practices across projects and internal operations.
They accelerate the energy transition through safe, environmentally conscious production, precise CO₂ management, and 100% green, locally produced electricity.
Managing sustainability reporting efficiently is critical, especially for assessments like EcoVadis.
The Challenge
How to Simplify Sustainability Reporting while keeping up the Daily Impact Work
Smulders needed a structured approach to manage sustainability data and documentation. The existing manual process was slow, error-prone, and required repeated verification. Achieving a higher EcoVadis rating was challenging due to inefficiencies in data handling, document management, and internal coordination.
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The Solution
The Sunhat Moment
Sunhat was exactly what Smulders was looking for: a Collaborative Proof Platform to streamline the process for sustainability reporting with clear document management and compliance tracking. By leveraging Sunhat's centralized documentation resources for EcoVadis and GRI, they achieved standardized workflows and ensured data became fully traceable and auditable for compliance.
Sunhat’s Customer Success team provided crucial support, guiding the Smulders team through a gap analysis and coaching them on EcoVadis’ proper question responses. This enabled the team to manage documentation efficiently, reduce duplicate work, and gain confidence that their submissions were accurate and compliant.
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The Results
Efficient ESG Reporting and Improved EcoVadis Performance
With Sunhat, Smulders achieved significant improvements in their sustainability reporting process:
Silver EcoVadis Medal
Smulders improved by 11 points, moving from Bronze to Silver.
Streamlined documentation management
Clear, centralized control of all sustainability proof and responses. This saves 60% of time spent on EcoVadis process and answering questionnaires.
Expert support and guidance
Coaching from Sunhat ensured proper handling of EcoVadis questions and compliance requirements.
Maintain transparency, efficiency, and accuracy in ESG reporting
By using Sunhats Collaborative Proof Platform.
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“Sunhat immediately addressed a critical need for our operations. It streamlined the complex, repetitive demands of the EcoVadis process into a highly structured and efficient workflow. This has optimized the management of documentation and regulatory compliance, making the process demonstrably faster and simpler.”
“The EcoVadis process can feel overwhelming with endless document referencing and uncertainty on the documentation format. Thanks to Sunhat, we now have a centralized place for all the references, and a clear documentations format which is making the process much smoother.”
This Could Be Your Success
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Customer success story
The People behind This Story
These people from the
Smulders
team walked us through the project.
It's Time to Prove What You Already Do
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With Sunhat, you verify your evidence once, then reuse it everywhere.
See how you can get there.
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