ESG Questionnaire for Suppliers: How to Respond in 2026

A customer has sent you a spreadsheet or invited you to a supplier portal.

Now they want information about energy, emissions, employees, policies, safety, ethics, suppliers and possibly quite a few things you have never been asked for before.

You probably already have some of the information. The problem is finding it, checking it and putting it into the format your customer wants.

You do not need to become an ESG expert before you reply.

You need to:

• understand what the customer is actually asking for
• find information your company already has
• reuse answers that are still accurate
• support important claims with evidence
• be clear about anything you cannot answer

This guide walks you through that process. It is written for suppliers that may not have a sustainability team, a carbon footprint or a perfectly organized folder full of ESG documents.

On this page

• Start with the questionnaire in front of you
• Work out what kind of information each question needs
• Find the right person or record
• Be ready for whatever they ask
• Reuse previous answers safely
• Collect only the evidence you actually need
• Answer clearly without overstating
• Prioritize when the deadline is close
• Handle spreadsheets, PDFs and supplier portals
• Check everything before you send it
• Make the next questionnaire easier

Start with the questionnaire in front of you

Do not begin by trying to build an ESG program.

Do not start collecting every sustainability figure your company has ever produced.

Start with the questionnaire and the deadline.

First, check five things:

1. Who sent it? Note the customer, procurement contact or platform.

2. When is it due? Check the deadline and whether someone inside your company needs to approve the response first.

3. Where do you have to complete it? It might be an Excel file, Word document, PDF or online supplier portal.

4. Which questions are mandatory? Separate required questions from optional ones.

5. What period and part of the business does it cover? For example, does the customer want figures for the calendar year or financial year? Are they asking about one site, one legal entity or the whole company?

Then scan the whole questionnaire before you start answering.

Look for:

• repeated topics
• questions that only apply in certain situations
• required attachments
• instructions hidden on other sheets or tabs
• questions that need input from someone else

Not every question will apply to your business.

For example, a small office-based company may have no hazardous production waste. A business operating from one location may not need to complete questions about overseas facilities.

If something does not apply, say so and briefly explain why.

Work out what kind of information each question needs

A long questionnaire becomes much easier when you stop treating every row as the same problem.

Some questions ask for a simple fact. Others require a number, a document, confirmation from a colleague or a decision from management.

Start with the straightforward facts.

Then mark anything that needs:

• another person
• a calculation
• a document
• further checking
• management approval

You now have a manageable list of gaps instead of one enormous questionnaire.

Find the right person or record

In a small company, ESG information is rarely owned by one person.

The person completing the questionnaire may coordinate the response, but they should not be expected to know or invent every answer.

Ask for exactly what you need.

Instead of:

Please send me our ESG data.

Try:

Please send our total electricity consumption for 2025, including the unit and which sites the figure covers.

And do not send a colleague the entire questionnaire if you only need one number from them.

A narrow request is easier to answer and avoids sharing unnecessary customer or company information.

Be ready for whatever they ask

ESG questionnaires can ask for everything from electricity bills to employee numbers, policies, certificates and supplier checks.

You do not need all 78 possible items for every questionnaire.

But knowing where that information would come from can save a lot of time when a customer suddenly asks for it.

Our free supplier sustainability checklist helps you identify:

• the information customers commonly request
• where you might already have it
• who inside your company may own it
• which documents could support your answers
• what you may still need to collect

Use it as a preparation tool, not a list of 78 things your company is required to have.

It stays on your computer and does not require an account.

Reuse previous answers safely

Before writing everything from scratch, look for questionnaires your company has already completed.

You might find useful answers in:

• previous customer questionnaires
• tenders
• certification submissions
• supplier portals
• audits
• internal company documents

Customers often ask the same basic question in different ways.

For example:

Do you have an environmental policy?

Has your organization documented its environmental commitments?

Provide evidence of an approved environmental policy.

These questions are related, but they are not identical.

The last one specifically asks for evidence.

A previous “yes” is only useful if the policy still exists, is still approved and actually meets the new request.

Before reusing an answer, check:

• Date: Is it still current?
• Period: Does the figure cover the year being requested?
• Company or sites: Does it cover the same part of the business?
• Unit: Is the number in the unit the customer wants?
• Evidence: Can you still find the source?
• Approval: Was this the final approved answer or just a draft?

Never copy an old number without checking what period and part of the business it covered.

And do not turn an old intention into something your company has actually done.

If you complete questionnaires regularly, keep the final submitted version of each one. Last year's approved answer is usually a much better starting point than a generic ESG template.

Collect only the evidence you actually need

You do not need to create a giant ESG document library before answering one customer.

Start with the questions they have actually asked.

Useful records often include:

• electricity, gas and fuel bills or annual summaries
• water bills, where relevant
• waste invoices or contractor summaries
• current employee numbers
• health and safety records
• training records
• current ISO or industry certificates
• approved company policies
• your Code of Conduct or supplier requirements, if you have them
• previous completed questionnaires

For numbers, keep four things together:

1. the value
2. the unit
3. the time period
4. the part of the business it covers

For example:

184,200 kWh

is difficult to interpret by itself.

This is much more useful:

184,200 kWh of purchased electricity from January to December 2025, covering the Berlin facility.

If you only have part of the requested period, say so.

Eight months of bills do not become a verified annual figure simply because the questionnaire asks for twelve months.

You may be able to provide the partial amount or calculate an estimate if the questionnaire allows it. If you estimate, explain how you calculated it.

And only share what the customer actually needs.

If they ask for total employee headcount, they probably do not need a payroll report containing names, salaries, bank details or other personal information.

Give them the requested figure. Keep sensitive source records internal unless there is a clear reason to provide them.

Say what you know, and be clear about what you don't

A good ESG response does not need to make your company look perfect.

It needs to be accurate.

When you have the evidence

State the figure clearly, including the period and what it covers.

Purchased electricity consumption was 184,200 kWh from January to December 2025 for our Berlin facility, based on supplier invoices.

When you do something, but it is not a formal system

Describe what actually happens.

Safety incidents are recorded by the operations manager and reviewed with management. We do not currently operate a certified occupational health and safety management system.

When you do not have a policy

Say so.

We do not currently have a formally approved standalone environmental policy.

Do not download a template, add your company name and treat it as an existing policy.

A policy should be reviewed and approved by your company before you claim to have one.

When you do not track the requested number

Do not enter zero unless the number really is zero.

Use something like:

We do not currently measure this figure for the requested reporting period.

“Not measured” and “zero” are not the same thing.

When something does not apply

Explain why.

Not applicable. The company provides office-based design services and does not operate manufacturing facilities or generate production waste.

When you are estimating

Say that it is an estimate and explain the basis.

Estimated using eight months of supplier invoices and annualised on a straight-line basis. This is not a complete measured annual total.

You do not need to make every gap sound positive.

Clear and accurate beats impressive and unsupported.

If the deadline is close, prioritize

Sometimes the questionnaire arrives late, the deadline is unreasonable, or you simply do not have time to chase every possible record.

Focus on producing a credible response.

First: answer what you already know

Complete:

• basic company information
• confirmed policies and certificates
• clearly irrelevant sections
• current answers you can safely reuse
• straightforward facts already available internally

Mark anything that still needs checking.

Next: ask for the most important missing information

Send focused requests to finance, HR, operations, purchasing or quality management in parallel.

Prioritize:

• mandatory questions
• numbers specifically requested by the customer
• evidence required before submission
• questions that could materially affect the assessment

Finally: be honest about the remaining gaps

Do not guess just to make the spreadsheet look complete.

If necessary, ask whether the customer will accept a partial response or a short extension.

For example:

We are completing the questionnaire and can provide confirmed company, workforce, policy and available operational information by the current deadline. A small number of requested figures require additional checking. Would you accept the confirmed response first, followed by those items on [date]?

If you are not sure how much work a questionnaire will involve, our questionnaire time estimator can help you assess it before agreeing to a deadline.

Handle spreadsheets, PDFs and supplier portals carefully

The format affects how you should work.

Excel or CSV

• Keep the customer's original sheets and structure.
• Check which columns are for answers, evidence, comments or status.
• Do not delete formulas, dropdowns or hidden instructions.
• Save a separate working copy.
• Return the questionnaire in the format the customer requested.

Word or editable PDF

• Check that you have captured all the questions.
• Look carefully at tables, headers, footnotes and form fields.
• Keep a copy of the exact version you submit.

Online supplier portals

• Export or save the questions if the platform allows it.
• Prepare longer answers separately before entering them into the portal.
• Save or export your final answers after submission.
• Be cautious about giving another tool access to your customer's supplier portal account.

We also have specific guides for IntegrityNext, Sedex and SMETA, EcoVadis, CDP Supply Chain and the RBA SAQ.

Before you send it

Read the completed questionnaire once more as a set of claims your company is making.

Check that:

• the company name and legal entity are consistent
• the correct sites or business units are covered
• reporting periods are clear
• every number has the correct unit
• estimates are labeled as estimates
• partial-year figures are clearly identified
• every policy or certificate you claim to have actually exists
• targets and future actions have really been approved
• “not applicable” answers explain why
• reused answers have been checked for changes
• confidential or personal information has not been included unnecessarily
• supporting documents are current and relevant
• one section does not contradict another
• sensitive claims have been reviewed by the right person
• you have saved the final version you submitted

One final check can prevent a surprising number of problems later.

Make the next questionnaire easier

Once the questionnaire is submitted, keep the useful work.

Save:

• the final questionnaire you sent
• approved standard answers
• important figures and their sources
• the period each figure covers
• current policies and certificates
• questions you could not answer
• corrections made during review
• expiry or annual update dates

You do not necessarily need specialist software for this.

For many smaller businesses, a controlled folder and a well-maintained spreadsheet are enough.

What matters is that you know:

• which answer was approved
• when it was last checked
• where the number came from
• which document supports it

Then, when the next questionnaire arrives, you can start from what you already know instead of rebuilding your company's history from bills, spreadsheets and old email attachments.

See what your questionnaire actually requires

Already have a questionnaire sitting in your inbox?

ESG Passport can analyze it and help you work out:

• what the customer is asking for
• which questions your existing information can support
• where evidence is available
• which answers still need information
• what wording you can prepare for review

Unsupported questions stay open rather than being filled with invented answers.

Your questionnaire and supporting documents are processed in your browser rather than uploaded to an ESG data platform.

See what your questionnaire requires