A supplier of chemicals, ingredients, or materials to industrial and consumer-goods customers is pulled in three directions: an industry sustainability scheme (TfS), a regulatory regime (REACH and related rules), and each customer's own questionnaire. They draw on the same facts. Chemicals is one sector in the ESG requirements by industry overview.
| First question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What are the three streams? | TfS (shared assessment or audit), REACH and related compliance, and customer questionnaires and audits. |
| Is TfS a separate questionnaire? | The TfS Assessment runs on EcoVadis methodology and is shared with TfS members. |
| Is REACH an ESG question? | It is law, but customers fold compliance questions into ESG requests. |
| What is weighted heavily for chemicals? | Process and site safety, and hazardous substance management. |
| What is most often out of date? | The Safety Data Sheet library and substance register. |
Links checked 18 July 2026.
Stream 1: Together for Sustainability
TfS is a procurement initiative founded by major chemical companies on the principle "an audit for one is an audit for all". One TfS Assessment (desk-based, on EcoVadis methodology) or Audit (on site) is shared with the TfS member companies you supply.
The mechanics — the two tracks, the evidence, the scoring — are in the TfS guide for chemical suppliers. Because the assessment runs on EcoVadis methodology, the EcoVadis supplier guide applies, and the free EcoVadis readiness check shows where you stand against it.
Stream 2: REACH and regulatory compliance
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and related rules are law, not a questionnaire, but customers routinely include compliance questions in ESG requests because your regulatory standing is part of their supply chain risk. Expect to demonstrate:
- Registration status of substances you place on the market
- Safety Data Sheets — current, compliant, available to customers
- Substances of Very High Concern — awareness and communication obligations
- Restricted and authorized substances — nothing supplied that is banned or requires an authorization you do not hold
- CLP classification and labelling — correct hazard classification
Keep the SDS library and substance register current and accessible. It is the documentation customers ask for most and the easiest to let slip.
Stream 3: customer questionnaires and audits
Individual customers send their own ESG questionnaires covering:
- Environment — energy, emissions, water, waste, hazardous substance and chemicals management
- Process and site safety — process safety management, incident data, emergency preparedness; heavily weighted for chemicals
- Labor and human rights — working conditions, no forced or child labor, fair wages
- Ethics and governance — anti-corruption, supplier code of conduct, whistleblowing
- Sustainable procurement — how you assess your own upstream suppliers
Some customers add an on-site audit for physical verification, particularly for manufacturing sites.
One evidence base
The three streams ask for the same facts in different wrappers:
- Substance and regulatory documentation — REACH registrations, SDS library, substance register, SVHC communications
- Environmental data — energy, emissions, water, waste, hazardous waste handling
- Process safety — safety management system, incident records, training, emergency plans
- Certificates — ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 9001, Responsible Care
- Labor and HR — policies, payroll and hours evidence, training
- Governance — code of conduct, anti-corruption policy, supplier assessment process
With that in place, a TfS assessment, a customer questionnaire, and a REACH compliance request draw on the same source: the logic of a response system. For the environmental numbers, the free carbon calculator covers energy and emissions.
What not to do
- Do not let SDS or registrations lapse. Out-of-date regulatory documents are the fastest way to fail a compliance check.
- Do not invent emissions or safety figures. Chemical customers scrutinize safety data.
- Do not treat REACH and ESG as separate silos. Customers ask about them together.
- Do not repeat work. A current EcoVadis or TfS result may satisfy a customer request.
The bottom line
Chemical suppliers manage three streams — TfS, regulatory compliance, customer questionnaires — drawing on one set of facts about substances, safety, environment, labor, and governance. Build the evidence base once, keep the regulatory documents current, and let one foundation answer all three.