A self-assessment questionnaire arrives — from a buyer you have supplied for years, or from a procurement platform you have never logged into. It spans environmental practice, labor conditions, governance, and your own suppliers. There is a deadline and no sustainability team.
| First question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is an SAQ? | A structured form you complete yourself. No external auditor at this stage; the buyer may follow up for documents. |
| How does it differ from EcoVadis or SMETA? | Those involve external scoring or on-site audit. An SAQ is self-reported, which is faster and carries more reputational weight. |
| What are the sections? | Environment, social and labor, governance, supply chain. |
| What if my customer is in electronics? | "SAQ" then almost certainly means the RBA Self-Assessment Questionnaire, a different instrument. |
| What if I lack data? | Write "not currently tracked" with a date. Do not leave blanks. |
What an SAQ is
A structured form buyers use to check whether suppliers meet minimum sustainability standards. You fill it in. There is no external auditor reviewing operations before submission. The buyer receives the answers, may request documentation, and uses the results to qualify, rank, or retain suppliers.
SAQs differ from third-party assessments such as EcoVadis, CDP, or Sedex SMETA, where external teams or auditors verify the data. Self-reporting is faster; it also means the answers carry more reputational weight, because the buyer knows you wrote them without oversight.
Many large buyers use SAQs as a first filter. Below a threshold, you may be asked to complete a third-party assessment, remediate gaps, or, in some cases, lose preferred-supplier status.
Why buyers send them
Regulation, mostly. Under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, large companies assess and report the sustainability performance of their supply chains. One questionnaire to hundreds of suppliers costs far less than an audit of each. Buyers also use SAQ data for internal risk scoring, procurement policy, and investor reporting.
The four sections
SAQs vary by buyer and sector; almost all follow the same structure. For a read on whether the deadline is realistic, the free time estimator gives the hours involved.
Environment
Energy and emissions. Electricity and fuel consumption by source; greenhouse gas emissions in metric tons CO2e — Scope 1 (direct combustion), Scope 2 (purchased electricity), a Scope 3 summary if available. Many SAQs accept estimates flagged as such. The free carbon calculator turns energy bills into Scope 1 and 2 figures.
Water. Withdrawal by source (municipal, groundwater, surface). Some ask about water-stressed regions.
Waste. Total generated, hazardous versus non-hazardous, disposal methods (landfill, recycling, incineration, composting), diversion rate if tracked.
Certifications and targets. ISO 14001 or similar; reduction targets for emissions, energy, waste. Buyers look for systematic environmental management.
For missing figures, responding without all your ESG data covers the wording.
Social and labor
Often the most sensitive section, particularly for manufacturers.
Working conditions. Contracted hours, overtime policy, compliance with local labor law; by site or employment category where there are shift workers.
Wages. At or above national minimum. Some ask about living wage alignment, a higher bar.
Health and safety. Total recordable injury rate or lost-time injury frequency rate; a formal management system; ISO 45001 counts.
Diversity and inclusion. Gender split at management and board level. Pay equity, parental leave, and similar appear more in enterprise buyer questionnaires than SME-focused ones.
Forced and child labor. A binary policy question. Not optional in any serious SAQ. If there is no written policy, write one before submitting. The ESG policy template guide covers what it needs to contain.
Grievance mechanisms. How workers raise concerns anonymously: a whistleblower line, anonymous suggestion box, or third-party hotline. The requirement is a documented mechanism.
Governance
Anti-bribery and corruption. A written policy; employee training in the last 12 months. On virtually every SAQ.
Code of conduct. Behavioral standards for employees and, ideally, suppliers. Buyers ask whether requirements flow down your own chain.
Data privacy. GDPR compliance for EU operations or customers: a privacy policy, a data protection officer where required.
Business ethics. Political contributions, lobbying, tax transparency. Usually optional or lower-weighted outside regulated sectors.
Supply chain
Buyers are increasingly required to assess their suppliers' suppliers. Typical questions: do you assess your own suppliers' ESG performance; do you have a supplier code of conduct; what share of procurement spend is covered by assessment.
If formal supplier assessment does not exist, say so. Buyers using SAQs expect smaller suppliers to be at the start. A credible plan is more useful than an inflated claim.
How SAQs differ from EcoVadis, CDP, and Sedex
EcoVadis scores against 21 criteria in four themes, with trained analysts examining uploaded documentation against the answers. A strong score requires evidence — policies, certificates, monitoring data — not answers alone. The EcoVadis vs CDP vs Sedex guide compares the platforms.
CDP is a disclosure platform, not an assessment. You report carbon, water, or deforestation data; buyers look at strategy and trajectory, not only the current footprint.
Sedex SMETA involves on-site inspection by accredited auditors. The Sedex self-assessment (SAQ) is the precursor; the auditor verifies the claims in person.
Electronics. If the customer is in electronics, "SAQ" almost certainly means the RBA Self-Assessment Questionnaire, the sector's standardized form, which can lead to an on-site VAP audit.
A buyer's own SAQ is lower-friction than any of these and more variable: a 10-question form from one customer, a 90-item workbook from another. The underlying data is largely the same.
Completing an SAQ efficiently
Read the scoring notes first. If environment is 40% of the score and governance 10%, prioritize accordingly.
Do not skip questions. A blank signals avoidance. Write "not currently tracked" or "in scope for [year] data collection".
Keep answers factual. SAQs are read by procurement, not sustainability specialists. "We consumed 450 MWh of electricity in 2025 from the national grid" is more credible than a qualitative claim.
Attach documents where permitted. Even when not required, an environmental policy or safety statistics move the answer from self-reported to evidenced.
Version and date the response. Buyers repeat SAQs annually. A record of what was submitted and when makes comparison faster and protects against a queried discrepancy.
For several customers at once, managing multiple ESG questionnaires covers one data set serving all of them.
A foundation for any SAQ
Most SAQ questions draw on the same data: energy, headcount, injury rates, policies, waste, emissions. Collected and organized once, it answers new SAQs in hours.
The bottleneck is data availability, not knowledge. Electricity by site never tracked, an anti-bribery policy never written — those gaps take time. The ESG response checklist lists the data points that appear most often, so collection can be prioritized.
Start with what exists. Estimate what must be estimated and label it. Document the method. Commit to better collection next cycle. Buyers who send SAQs regularly know small suppliers are at different stages; they look for honesty and direction.