Put Your Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment to Work With EcoVadis

Organizations with a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) can use it to pay for EcoVadis solutions. EcoVadis offers its solutions through Microsoft Azure Marketplace, and those purchases count toward your organization’s MACC. For procurement and sustainability teams, that opens another way to fund supplier sustainability programs, using spend your company has already committed to Microsoft.

This article covers how the partnership works, how to check whether your company has a MACC, and how to use it to build support for your supplier sustainability program.

What is a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC)?

A Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment is an agreement to spend a set amount on Microsoft Azure over a period of time. In return, organizations typically get discounted pricing. When you buy eligible solutions on Azure Marketplace, including EcoVadis, that spend counts toward your commitment.

EcoVadis is a Microsoft partner, and the EcoVadis platform is hosted on Azure. For Microsoft’s full explanation of how the program works, see the Azure Consumption Commitment benefit page.

Why Pay for EcoVadis With Your MACC?

Paying with your MACC helps your organization get more value from an existing Azure commitment and makes buying EcoVadis solutions simpler.

1. Apply Committed Spend to Supplier Sustainability

Your organization has already agreed to spend a set amount on Azure. Under many MACC agreements, any commitment left unused at the end of the term can result in penalties, so that money delivers little or no return. Applying part of your commitment to EcoVadis directs that spend toward supplier sustainability work, including sustainability ratings, supplier risk monitoring, and carbon data management. 

Your sustainability program draws on money your company has already committed, and your IT team moves closer to meeting its commitment.

2. Simplify Procurement

Purchasing through Azure Marketplace runs through your existing Microsoft agreement, with a single invoice and standard terms. Your finance and procurement teams manage one billing process rather than setting up another, which can shorten the path from decision to purchase.

3. Access Potential Volume Incentives

Some MACC agreements include tiered discounts or other incentives when an organization exceeds its commitment. If yours does, adding EcoVadis to your Azure spend could help your company reach the next tier and lower its overall Azure costs. Every agreement is different, so ask the team that manages your MACC what yours includes.

How to Find Out If Your Company Has a MACC

MACCs are typically negotiated and managed by IT or cloud leadership, while supplier sustainability programs usually sit with procurement or sustainability teams. As a result, teams exploring supplier sustainability solutions often don’t know their company has a MACC or how much of the commitment remains.

Start with your IT leadership. Whoever manages your organization’s Microsoft relationship can answer the questions that shape your next step:

• Does our company have a MACC with Microsoft?
• How much of the commitment remains, and when does the term end?
• Are we on track to use the full commitment before the term ends?
• Does our agreement include discounts or incentives for exceeding the commitment?

If you’re not sure who to ask, your EcoVadis account executive can help look into your company’s MACC status.

How to Use Your MACC to Build Your Business Case

Supplier sustainability programs often stall at the budget conversation. With a MACC, the budget question becomes an allocation question: where should your company’s committed Azure spend go?

The case is strongest in two situations. First, when your company expects to underspend its commitment, directing part of it to EcoVadis puts money to work that might otherwise go unused or trigger penalties. Second, when your agreement includes volume incentives, additional Azure spend can help lower your company’s overall costs. The answers from your IT team will tell you which applies.

Finance and Executive Leadership

Lead with the numbers. Share how much commitment remains, when the term ends, and what unused commitment could cost the company. If your agreement includes incentives, show how additional spend could reduce overall Azure costs. Then connect the funding to outcomes: visibility into supplier ESG risk, support for regulatory and reporting requirements, and supplier emissions data for Scope 3 reporting.

IT Leadership

IT teams typically own the MACC and are accountable for using it well. Applying part of the commitment to EcoVadis helps them meet it through a purchase that stays within the existing Microsoft agreement. Bring IT in early. Their support adds weight when you take the proposal to other decision-makers.

Your EcoVadis account executive can help you prepare for each conversation, from confirming eligibility to walking stakeholders through the purchase process.

How to Purchase EcoVadis Through Azure Marketplace

Paying with your MACC doesn’t change how you work with EcoVadis. You still agree on terms directly with your EcoVadis account executive. The MACC only changes how you pay.

1. Confirm your MACC. Check with your IT team that your company has a MACC with Microsoft. Your EcoVadis account executive can also help look into your eligibility.
2. Finalize your contract. Agree on solutions and terms with EcoVadis, as you would for any purchase.
3. Share your billing account ID. Provide EcoVadis with your MACC billing account ID.
4. Receive your private offer. EcoVadis creates a private offer in Azure Marketplace, unique to your contract, and sends you a link.
5. Accept and pay. Accept the private offer in Azure Marketplace. The purchase is applied against your MACC.

Customer Story: Zürcher Kantonalbank

Zürcher Kantonalbank, a Swiss bank with about 6,000 employees and roughly 2,000 suppliers, wanted clearer visibility into its suppliers’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk exposure. The bank also aimed to reduce the workload of complying with Switzerland’s Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency in relation to minerals and metals from conflict-affected areas and child labor, and to begin collecting primary Scope 3 emissions data from suppliers.

The bank selected EcoVadis IQ Plus, EcoVadis Ratings, and Carbon Action Manager. Purchasing through Azure Marketplace helped accelerate the buying process, and working alongside Microsoft as a partner gave stakeholders added confidence in the decision.

Make Your Microsoft Azure Commitment Count

Supplier sustainability programs compete for budget like any other initiative. For organizations with a MACC, part of that funding may already be committed, managed by a team that isn’t yet part of the sustainability conversation. Bringing IT in can turn an existing Azure commitment into clearer supplier risk visibility, better supplier data, and ongoing improvement across your supply chain.

Start by confirming whether your company has a MACC and what remains in it. Then bring those details to your decision-makers. You can also reach out to our team to find out whether your organization is eligible and how to get started.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I purchase any EcoVadis solution with my MACC?
Yes. Any EcoVadis solution can be purchased through Azure Marketplace. Your private offer is unique to your organization and reflects the solutions in your EcoVadis contract.

Do I have to use my MACC to pay for EcoVadis?
No. Paying with your MACC is an optional payment method that may offer financial benefits for some organizations. Standard payment options remain available.

Does paying through Azure Marketplace change my EcoVadis contract?
No. You finalize terms directly with EcoVadis as usual. The MACC only affects how payment is processed.

Can I use my MACC for an EcoVadis renewal?
Yes. MACC payment applies to renewals as well as new purchases.

How do I find out if my company has a MACC?
Ask your IT leadership, since MACCs are usually managed within IT. Your EcoVadis account executive may also be able to research this for you.