Consultant resource library
Make client ESG requests less work
A curated, client-ready library: the email to send before the first session, the triage method to scope the work, and the exact links to forward for each situation. Free, no signup walls, built to be forwarded rather than studied.
1. The email to send before the first session
Swap in the client’s name and your own. It gets the client gathering what they have, so the session starts from something real.
Subject: A practical starting point for the ESG request Hi [name], Ahead of our session, here are a few free resources worth a look first. They will save us both time — you can gather what you have, and we can spend the session on the parts that need judgement rather than the basics. 1. Start from your situation — https://esgforsuppliers.com/guides Find the guide that matches what you have actually been asked for. 2. Organise your data — https://esgforsuppliers.com/app A free browser workspace. No account, and nothing leaves your computer. 3. Triage the request — https://esgforsuppliers.com/guides/supplier-sustainability-assessment-checklist A checklist that sorts questions into what is ready, what needs data, and what needs a decision. If it turns out you will be answering questionnaires like this regularly, there is a one-time tool (ESG Passport, €499) that reuses your answers so you are not starting from scratch each time. No need to look at that yet. Bring whatever you can gather and we will take it from there. [your name]
2. The four-bucket triage method
Sort every question in a request into one of four buckets. It turns an intimidating questionnaire into a short list of concrete next actions — and shows exactly where your time is worth spending. It also makes a clean scoping structure for a proposal.
Ready
You already have the answer or the evidence on hand.
Needs data
The answer exists, but someone has to go find or calculate it.
Needs decision
A policy or position has to be decided before it can be answered.
Not tracked
It is not currently measured — and "unknown" is not the same as zero.
3. What to send, by client situation
The pick-list. Each situation has the two or three links worth forwarding — enough to orient the client, not enough to drown them.
Client got an EcoVadis invitation
Orient them, check readiness, then the step-by-step response.
Client got a VSME questionnaire
Why it arrived, where they stand, and safe wording to adapt.
Customer asked for carbon data
From "what are Scopes?" to a first defensible number.
First questionnaire, client has no idea where to start
The gentle on-ramp plus the triage checklist.
Client is worried about a regulation (CBAM, CSDDD, LkSG, EUDR)
Current as of mid-2026 — much of what clients have heard is outdated.
Client keeps getting questionnaires and wants a system
The build-once conversation — and where the paid tools fit.
4. Whether you bill the groundwork or skip it
Some consultants use these resources to skip the explainer hours entirely and start at the judgement calls. Others walk clients through the groundwork as a structured, billed onboarding — using the triage method and the guides as the session material. Both are legitimate; where the billable line sits is your business model, not ours. The point of the library is that either way, you arrive with a method instead of a blank page — and an SME client’s budget goes further when the basics are efficient.
5. When the client asks “should we buy something?”
The honest answer, per situation — so you can relay it rather than research it. Clients buy directly; prices are one-time, not subscriptions.
Usually: nothing yet — Free, €0
The free workspace covers gathering and structuring data and seeing the gaps. Most clients should start (and many can stay) here.
Excel Toolkit — €347
When the client would rather work offline in Excel, or wants templates, trackers and policy examples they keep as files.
ESG Passport — €499
When questionnaires keep coming and the client needs a reusable system. It generates buyer-ready draft answers from their data and documents. It drafts and organises — it does not guarantee a score or certify compliance, and it does not replace your judgement.
6. What you’re forwarding (the trust note)
ESG for Suppliers is a self-service resource for SME suppliers facing questionnaires, platform invitations and customer data requests: plain-language guides, free calculators, a free browser workspace, and two one-time paid products. No signup walls on the free resources, and the workspace runs in the client’s browser — their data stays with them; neither you nor we get a window into it. It is not a consultancy and not a certification — the judgement stays with you and your client.
7. Co-branding and referrals
There is no formal referral or affiliate programme yet, and no white-label version. If a co-branded pack or a referral arrangement would be useful to you, register your interest at contact@esgforsuppliers.com. Early input genuinely shapes what gets built.