Help with your sustainability assessment questionnaire

Companies are increasingly facing requests for sustainability assessments carried out by their buyers through commissioned third parties. To do this, the company concerned must register on an online platform and already provide important information about its industry, size and location.

The subsequent evaluation is based on this particular questionnaire. The assessment scope usually comprises four topics relating to sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR), with the weighting of the individual topics possibly varying, which depends on the industry segment:

1. Environment
2. Labor & Human Rights (LHR)
3. Ethics
4. Sustainable Procurement

The evaluation of the questionnaire is often document-based. It is important that you supplement your answers with supporting documents; this is because answers without relevant supporting documents will not be considered or assessed. It is also of crucial importance to upload the correct document to obtain the most accurate score.

In order to be accepted for an optimal sustainability assessment, the documents usually need to reflect your company’s sustainability management system, applicable policies and measures, as well as the approach to the results analysis. It should be noted that each document must be attached to the correct answer in order to be considered. Accepted documents that are required or must be prepared for sustainability reports are the following:

• Action plans
• Sustainability plans and reports
• Code of Ethics
• Code of Conduct (CoC)
• Certificates

Smaller companies in particular may have less formal guidelines and run into difficulties if you can neither answer sustainability assessment questionnaires nor provide the necessary documents to do so. Even larger companies often have problems in this regard. This is where trade-e-bility steps in. We take over sustainability management for you in the event of a sustainability assessment and offer you the following measures, which can be scaled as required:

• Recording of the actual situation of operating procedures, supply chains, internal guidelines and the documentation situation
• Preparation of a risk analysis or a risk management system
• Setting up a sustainability management system
• Procurement/preparation of the verification documents
• Support in answering the questionnaire
• For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): You can have our consulting services subsidised, because trade-e-bility is a registered management consultant with the BAFA (Federal Office of Economics and Export Control). We will help you with the preparation of the application documents.

A good scorecard will not only give your company a good rating in the sustainability assessment; as a rule, you will also benefit from a positive assessment of your company by your buyers when competing with other suppliers.