A customer sent you an ESG questionnaire. What now?

A supplier ESG questionnaire is a set of questions a customer sends to understand your environmental, social and governance practices, usually your carbon emissions, policies, treatment of staff and business ethics. It is normally routine, part of your customer measuring its own supply chain. You can answer most of it from what you already know, and an honest “not yet” is acceptable for the rest.

If one has just landed in your inbox and your stomach dropped a little, that is completely normal. Plenty of owners feel the same. Here is how to handle it calmly.

Why are customers sending these now?

Large companies are increasingly expected to report on emissions across their whole value chain, not just their own offices. Your business is part of their Scope 3 emissions. The only accurate way for them to get those figures is to ask you.

Several things are driving this. The UK published its own sustainability reporting standards in February 2026 (see our guide to UK SRS for SME suppliers). Customers selling into the EU have European rules to think about. Many big firms have public net zero targets they need to evidence. And their own investors and banks are asking.

None of this is aimed at catching you out. Often the person who sent it has a long spreadsheet of suppliers to fill and just needs your row completed.

Step 1: read it once, then breathe

Before you answer anything, read it through and note:

• The deadline. If it is tight, ask for more time now, not the day before.
• The format. A spreadsheet, a web form or a platform such as EcoVadis.
• What is mandatory. Many questionnaires mark some questions as optional.
• Who to ask. There is usually a contact for queries. Use them.

Then reply to acknowledge it. “Thanks, we have received this and will return it by the 24th” buys goodwill instantly.

Step 2: sort the questions into four piles

Almost every supplier questionnaire breaks down the same way:

1. Company basics. Size, sector, locations, turnover band. Easy.
2. Environment. Carbon emissions in tonnes, energy use, renewable electricity, waste, targets. This is the part that needs work.
3. Social. Pay, health and safety, training, diversity, modern slavery, data protection.
4. Governance. Policies, who is responsible for ESG, anti-bribery, supplier checks.

Piles 1, 3 and 4 are largely yes or no, or a short description of what you already do. You can probably finish them in an hour.

Step 3: gather what you already have

You likely have more than you think:

• electricity and gas bills (or your office floor area, if you rent part of a building)
• fuel receipts or mileage for any company vehicles
• a rough count of business trains and flights last year
• your staff handbook, health and safety policy and any written policies
• headcount and basic HR information

Estimates are fine where you do not have exact figures, as long as you say they are estimates.

How long will yours take?

Pick the option that sounds most like your business. You will see a realistic time, what to have nearby and a head start on the questions.

Which sounds most like you?

Sole trader working from homeConsultants, designers, developers, coaches10 to 15 minSole trader or freelancer in a co-working spaceA desk at a WeWork, Regus or local hub10 to 15 minSmall team in a co-working or serviced officeStartups and agencies with 2 to 25 people15 to 20 minSME with its own office and no vehiclesProfessional services, tech firms, studios20 to 30 minSME with vans, cars or regular staff travelTrades, field services, consultancies on the road30 to 45 minShop, cafe, workshop or product businessRetail, hospitality, makers and manufacturers30 to 45 min

Your estimate

Pick the option closest to your business and we will tell you how long it takes and what to have ready.

Most small businesses finish in under 30 minutes. Sole traders are often done in 10.

Step 4: work out your carbon footprint

This is the section that worries people most, because it asks for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in tCO2e. It sounds technical, but the calculation is simply your activity (kWh of electricity, litres of fuel, miles travelled) multiplied by official UK Government conversion factors.

ESG Now does this for you. You answer plain-English questions about your energy, vehicles, travel, waste and water, and get a footprint calculated using the GHG Protocol, with every line of working shown. If you do not have a figure, the questionnaire offers a sensible estimate, such as office energy from floor area. You can start your free report, leave and come back later, because your answers save as you go.

The report covers the main sources a small business controls, plus estimates of employee commuting, homeworking and, if you choose, purchased goods from your spend. It does not include inbound freight paid for by your suppliers or the use and disposal of products you sell. If your customer asks about those, you can say they are not yet measured.

Step 5: answer honestly, including the gaps

For every question, one of three answers is usually right:

• Yes, with evidence. “Yes, see attached environmental policy, approved March 2026.”
• Partly, with detail. “We do not have a formal diversity policy, but we monitor gender balance and report it in our ESG report.”
• Not yet, with a plan. “We have not set a carbon reduction target yet. We expect to set one by the end of 2026 now that we have a baseline.”

Never guess a number or tick yes to something you do not do. Buyers increasingly ask for evidence, and a wrong answer is worse than a gap. Our guide on how to answer a supplier sustainability questionnaire has example wording for common questions.

Step 6: fill the easy gaps quickly

Some gaps are quick to close. If you have no environmental policy or code of conduct, writing a short one of each is a good place to start, and your ESG Now action plan shows which policies are worth adding next. Having them signed and dated before you submit turns several “no” answers into “yes”.

Bigger gaps, such as setting a target or a supplier code, can go in your action plan with a date.

Step 7: keep a master answer file

Once you have done this once, save everything: your answers, the figures, the report and the policies. The next questionnaire will ask most of the same things in slightly different words. Many suppliers find the second one takes a fraction of the time.

It also helps to send a short covering note with your response. Two or three sentences saying what you have measured, what is estimated, and what you plan to improve next show the customer you have taken it seriously, and they often answer follow-up questions before they are asked.

Update your footprint each year so your figures stay current.

You are in better shape than you think

Most small businesses that go through this find they are already doing plenty of good things, such as recycling, flexible working, paying fairly and choosing local suppliers. They just have not written them down. A questionnaire is a nudge to do that, and the result is useful well beyond this one customer. See our supplier questionnaires hub for more help.