A key customer sends a questionnaire on environment, working conditions and governance. The deadline: two weeks. Nobody in the company is responsible for it. This is how it goes for many SMEs. In our 2026 interview study, the SMEs surveyed received 12 to 15 such requests a year; 5 of 8 had no system for them (8 cases, not representative).
The good news: most questions repeat. If you answer them cleanly once, you save time with every further request.
1. Clarify before you fill in
- What does the customer need the information for? For its sustainability report, for supplier selection, for a product regulation such as the EU Packaging Regulation, or for a contract. The purpose determines what you have to deliver.
- What is mandatory, what is voluntary? Ask which information the customer really needs. Many questionnaires are generic templates.
- By when, in which format, who signs? Clarify early whether the customer's portal, an Excel file or a PDF counts.
From financial year 2027, there is also a cap: companies subject to the CSRD may only request the information of the voluntary standard from suppliers with up to 1,000 employees for their report. More on this in the article Value-chain cap: what your key customer may still ask from 2027.
2. Sort the questions
Almost every questionnaire consists of three types of question:
- Yes or no, with evidence: is there an environmental policy, a supplier code of conduct, a certification?
- Key figures: energy consumption, emissions by Scope 1 and 2, waste, employees, workplace accidents.
- Descriptions: how do you handle risks in your own supply chain?
For each question, note where the answer lies: accounting, HR, a certificate or management. That way you quickly see whom you need to ask.
3. Collect data once, not per questionnaire
Set up a basic dataset instead of starting every request from scratch:
- Master data: UID, sites, number of employees, sector
- Energy and fuels from one year's invoices
- Certificates with expiry dates
- Policies, code of conduct and responsibilities
- Personnel figures
Organise the dataset according to the VSME, the voluntary standard for SMEs. Your customers will refer to it from 2027 anyway, and the basic module covers the most frequent questions.
4. Name gaps openly
"Not available" is a valid answer. Better still: "Not available. Planned by June, responsibility lies with management." Do not invent anything. Incorrect information will come to light at the latest in the next request or in an audit, and can have contractual consequences.
If a document such as a code of conduct is missing, use a template and adapt it to your company.
5. Provide evidence and release selectively
Store the evidence for each answer: invoice, certificate, policy. And consider what this particular customer really needs to see. Not every customer needs everything, and you do not have to send your entire filing cabinet.
6. Prepare for the next request
- Save the answers with a date, so that next time you know what you sent to whom.
- Set reminders for expiring certificates.
- Turn every gap into a measure with a person and a date. Then the answer will be better next year.
How ZEROvia helps
- Customer requests with AI: upload the questionnaire as Excel, Word or PDF, the AI suggests answers with a source, export into the original (from Climate & Compliance Basis).
- Baseline assessment: shows where you stand, with recommendations for each gap, from Free.
- Profile and sharing: one dataset, shared per customer and per section.
- Action management: turn gaps into tasks for the team.
- Notes, a glossary with over 400 terms, templates at the question and the AI assistant ZAIA help you fill in the answers.