How to respond to sustainability requirements as a supplier
Sustainability requirements from customers are no longer something that only affects large companies. More and more small and medium-sized businesses come across them in their day-to-day work. And the requirements are only going to increase.
This guide explains what the requirements mean and how you, as a supplier, can handle them efficiently.
Why are your customers asking for this?
The background is often the CSRD, the EU's directive on sustainability reporting, which applies to the very largest companies. When a large company reports its emissions, it also has to account for its value chain, which means its suppliers' emissions. So your carbon footprint may end up in your customer's report.
But the CSRD isn't the only reason. Sustainability has become a requirement across the whole business chain. Public procurement, retail chains, industrial companies and banks all set their own requirements for suppliers. These include requirements on goods and products, transport and energy use. What they all have in common is that they end up on your desk, whether you have five employees or fifty.
What requirements will you come across in practice?
Many suppliers feel the questions come out of nowhere and that it's hard to know where to start. The most common form is a supplier questionnaire, where the customer asks about energy use, modes of transport and whether you run a sustainable business. Then there are requests for climate data in tonnes of CO₂e for the customer's Scope 3 reporting under the GHG Protocol, as well as requests for a simple environmental policy or code of conduct.
The underlying question is almost always the same: do you know how big your emissions are, and are you working to reduce them?
Can't answer that yet? With GoClimate, you get your carbon footprint straight from your invoices, ready to send to your customer.
VS (formerly VSME): the standard that opens doors
Beyond climate data, more and more customers are asking for structured information in the form of a sustainability report. This is where the VS comes in: the voluntary EU standard for sustainability reporting, developed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
The voluntary EU standard covers climate, social issues and governance in a format that a small business can realistically manage. It's not the same as the heavy CSRD reporting that applies to the very largest companies. It's a proportionate version made for your reality. And with sustainability requirements in supply chains set to tighten, it's also a good way to stay one step ahead.
With GoClimate, VS reporting is built into the platform. You don't have to fill in a complicated spreadsheet or hire a consultant. You work in a system that guides you through what's needed, collects data automatically wherever possible, and produces a report you can actually use with customers, banks or in tenders.
Create your VS report with GoClimate, ready to send to customers, banks and procurers.
From reactive to proactive
There are two ways to approach sustainability requirements. One is to deal with them as they come in. The other is to have your answer ready in advance.
The difference shows in practice. A buyer evaluating suppliers would rather pick the one that can quickly present climate data and a structured sustainability overview than the one that needs a few weeks. It's not about being top of the class. It's about being ready when the question comes. Not being able to answer at all is a common mistake that can, at worst, cost you the deal.
Sustainability requirements also act as a natural filter. Suppliers who can't answer at all drop out of the running. Those who can answer automatically end up in a smaller, more competitive group, among the sustainable options the customer is actually considering.
There's also a practical reason to set up the structure early: you do the work once and reuse the results. The same climate data and the same report can go to the next customer, the next tender and the next meeting with your bank. Instead of starting from scratch every time, you build up an asset you can use again and again.
The solution: automated sustainability reporting
The hardest part of responding to sustainability requirements is rarely the will. It's gathering the data. Energy use, transport, purchases: it's all spread across different systems and takes time to add up manually.
GoClimate does it automatically. The platform pulls data straight from your invoices and receipts and calculates your carbon footprint without you having to enter figures by hand. You get an up-to-date picture of your business's emissions at all times, ready to show whenever a customer asks.
That means the next time you get a supplier questionnaire, you don't have to start from zero. The data is already there.
Get started – it's easier than you think
You don't need to have everything in place at once. But you do need a system that does the work for you, so you don't have to start over every time.
That's exactly what GoClimate is built for: automatic data collection from your existing invoices, continuous carbon footprint calculations, and VS reporting, all in one platform that doesn't require you to be a sustainability expert.
Try GoClimate for free and have your first sustainability overview ready within a week.
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