For procurement and supplier teams

Give smaller suppliers a practical starting point for your ESG requests

A neutral, self-serve resource you can point suppliers to — free guides, a checklist, and a browser workspace. It reduces confusion and incomplete responses, without adding a tool for your team to run.

See the Supplier Starter PackBrowse the guide library
Share the starter pack with a supplier:EmailLinkedIn

Why smaller suppliers find these requests hard

It is rarely a lack of willingness. The friction is structural:

  • The questions were built for large corporatesMost ESG questionnaires and platforms were designed around big reporting teams, not a supplier where one person wears several hats.
  • The platforms are unfamiliarA first EcoVadis, Sedex or CDP invitation arrives with no context on what it is or what a good answer looks like.
  • There is no dedicated sustainability personThe work lands on operations, finance or the owner — alongside their actual job.
  • The data is scatteredEnergy, waste and workforce numbers exist, but not in one place or in the form the questionnaire wants.

A clear, neutral starting point removes most of that friction — which means fewer confused emails and more complete, accurate responses back to you.

What you can send a supplier

A practical starter pack

A plain-language pack explaining why they are getting ESG questions and what to do first.

The four-bucket checklist

A 78-question checklist that sorts a request into ready, needs-data and needs-decision.

The free workspace

A no-account browser workspace where they organise their data — nothing leaves their computer.

The guide library

Plain-language guides sorted by situation, for whatever platform or topic they have been asked about.

The starter sequence a supplier follows

  1. 1Read the request and note the deadlineIf they need more time, most buyers grant a reasonable extension when asked early.
  2. 2Triage the questions into four bucketsReady, needs-data, needs-decision, not-tracked — so the task becomes a short list, not a wall.
  3. 3Gather the easy evidence firstUtility bills, existing policies, headcount — the things already on hand.
  4. 4Answer honestly, flag the gapsGive the real numbers, and say plainly where something is not yet tracked.

Free resources

All free for the supplier. Nothing here requires them to buy anything.

Guide libraryFree calculatorsAssessment checklistFree workspace

A ready-written email to send suppliers

Respectful, non-salesy, and clear that the resources are free and independent. Swap in the names and send alongside your request.

Ready to copy
Subject: ESG information request — a starting point to help

Hi [supplier name],

We recently sent you a request for ESG / sustainability information. These requests can be unfamiliar, so here are some free, independent resources that make them more manageable. You do not need to buy anything, and there is no wrong place to start.

- Start from your situation: https://esgforsuppliers.com/guides
- Organise what you have: https://esgforsuppliers.com/app (free, runs in your browser, your data stays with you)
- Triage the questions: https://esgforsuppliers.com/guides/supplier-sustainability-assessment-checklist

What helps us most: give the numbers you actually have, tell us plainly where you do not yet track something, and please do not feel you need to invent data to fill a gap. Accurate and partial beats complete and guessed.

If anything is unclear, just ask.

Thanks,
[your name]

Data and privacy, stated plainly

  • The supplier controls their dataThe free workspace runs in the supplier’s own browser and their data stays on their machine.
  • You do not get a back doorThese resources give you no visibility into a supplier’s workspace or data. Suppliers send you answers through whatever channel you already use — that is separate from this.
  • It is independentESG for Suppliers is a neutral third-party resource. It does not act on your behalf and does not represent your organisation.

Thinking about branded or cohort support?

There is no cohort-management or supplier-monitoring product today — no dashboards, no tracking of supplier progress, no access to their data. If a branded supplier onboarding or a cohort would help your programme, register your interest and help shape it.

Register interest

Questions procurement teams ask

Does this give us a dashboard of supplier progress?

No. There is no supplier-monitoring or reporting dashboard, and no visibility into a supplier’s data. The resources are self-serve for the supplier.

Is there a cohort or branded version we can run?

Not today. You can register interest and we will keep you posted as options develop.

Does ESG for Suppliers represent our organisation?

No. It is an independent resource. It does not act on your behalf and does not speak for you to your suppliers.

Will using it guarantee suppliers pass our questionnaire?

No. It helps suppliers prepare and respond accurately; whether a response meets your requirements is your assessment to make.

Does it cost suppliers anything?

The guides, checklist, calculators and workspace are free. There are optional one-time paid products a supplier can choose to buy directly — nothing is required.