ESG Guides
Practical guides to help you navigate ESG requirements and respond to customer requests. Start with your situation, or filter by the platform or topic you already have in mind.
Your Bank Asked for ESG Data: What Lenders Actually Want From SMEs
Why your bank is asking an SME for ESG data, what lenders actually want and do not, how it affects your financing, and how to respond without over-investing.
ESG for Electronics Suppliers: RBA, Conflict Minerals & Customer Audits
What ESG means for electronics suppliers — the RBA Code, conflict-minerals reporting (CMRT), customer audits and carbon data — and how to prepare one evidence base.
ESG Questionnaires for Logistics & Transport Suppliers
What ESG questionnaires ask logistics and transport suppliers — fleet emissions, fuel data, safety and labor — and how to calculate and evidence what customers want.
ESG Questionnaires for Textile & Apparel Suppliers: What to Expect
What ESG questionnaires ask textile and apparel suppliers — chemicals, water, labor, the Higg modules and restricted-substance lists — and how to prepare your evidence.
ESG Requirements by Industry: What Suppliers in Each Sector Face
ESG requirements vary by industry — chemicals face TfS and REACH, textiles face Higg, electronics face RBA and conflict minerals. What each sector's customers ask for, and the one evidence base that answers all of them.
IntegrityNext vs Sedex vs EcoVadis Compared
IntegrityNext, Sedex and EcoVadis compared for suppliers: who pays, what you do, what your customer sees, and what one can and cannot replace.
amfori BSCI Audit: How Suppliers Prepare
What an amfori BSCI audit checks, how the A-to-E rating works, the records auditors want on site, and how to close findings.
EcoVadis for Manufacturing Suppliers: What to Expect
What manufacturers specifically face in an EcoVadis assessment — the heavier Environment theme, the site-level data and certificates to prepare, and how to score well.
Achilles Prequalification: A Supplier's Guide
How Achilles prequalification works for suppliers: communities such as UVDB, the annual subscription, the questionnaire, Verify audits, and how to prepare.
Avetta Requirements: What Suppliers Need
What Avetta asks suppliers for: safety programs, insurance, OSHA logs and safety statistics. What the flags mean, the cost, and staying compliant.
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF): A Supplier's Guide
What a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is, why customers ask suppliers for it, how to calculate one, and how it differs from your company-level footprint.
Customer Wants Your Carbon Footprint or Scope 3 Data: What They Actually Need
A customer asked for your carbon footprint or Scope 3 data. What they need, why your Scope 1 and 2 becomes their Category 1, what format works, how to present the numbers, and what to send if you have never tracked emissions.
How to Set Up ESG Data Tracking in 20 Minutes
The eight metrics that answer most ESG questionnaires, where each one lives, and a step-by-step setup you can complete in one sitting with last month's bills to hand.
ESG Policy Template for SMEs: What Small Companies Actually Need
Which ESG policies customers ask for, what makes one credible, a downloadable environmental policy template, and how to write the rest in a day without corporate bloat.
GHG Reporting for Suppliers: Scope 1, 2 and 3 Explained and What to Report
Scope 1, 2 and 3 in plain English with small-business examples, why your emissions are your customer's Scope 3, what to report (Scope 1+2 minimum), how to collect activity data and emission factors, and when verification matters.
CSDDD for Small Suppliers: What Actually Applies to You
The EU scaled back CSDDD in March 2026. What the due diligence directive now means for small suppliers, what your big customers will ask, and when.
How to Talk About Your ESG Progress Without Greenwashing
What suppliers can and cannot claim about environmental progress under the EU, UK, and US rules, the five claims that cause trouble, and the pattern that keeps marketing defensible.
ESG Response vs ISO 14001 Certification for Suppliers
ISO 14001 certifies an environmental management system, not ESG performance. Where the certification earns points in a customer questionnaire, where it leaves gaps, and how to build the strongest supplier response.
ESG Consultant vs DIY: Costs and Fit
Hire an ESG consultant or do it yourself? Indicative costs, the effort each path takes, when each makes sense, and the hybrid most SMEs end up with.
ESG for Startups: What Investors Actually Check
What investors check on ESG at each stage from seed to Series B, the minimum package to have ready, how the due diligence questionnaire works, and why the same data wins enterprise deals.