With more and more companies starting to engage their suppliers on sustainability, your suppliers are drowning in ESG questionnaires.
We've heard some suppliers even getting audited up to 60x per year on the same topics(!).
This is not about being "nice". If you want a response, it will increasingly be imperative to offer a decent supplier experience.
But what can you do?
1️⃣ Tailor the engagement to the supplier. Don't ask about "child labor" or "emissions" if these are not "material" or "at risk" with the supplier.
The amount of times I've been asked by investors about the efforts I'm taking to calculate and reduce emissions in my impact-focused, high-growth, digital start-up... 🤦♂️
I'm glad they're pushing the perspective, but ask about the things that matter for a company in our stage/industry/geo e.g. diversity in management/ownership.
You can use things like size, spend, industry and geographical risk data to dynamically help you determine what to work with different suppliers on.
2️⃣ Be pragmatic. Don't ask for data you will not actually use.
Sustainability covers A LOT of topics, and the granularity you can go into is endless. Don't over-engineer a questionnaire that asks for a lot of detailed responses and data points that you will never actually use.
E.g. if you're decarbonizing, maybe just ask for scope 1-3 emissions + targets as a starting point.
3️⃣ Do your homework.
It's so annoying being on the other end of a questionnaire, and knowing the answer to that questionnaire sits prominently on your website... Especially if you're drowning in 100x different questionnaires.
Use AI to prefill the questionnaires by leveraging the suppliers communication on their website, in their reporting, and so on.
4️⃣ Recognise existing efforts.
Just because YOU only understand audit provider A, or certificate B, or target setting standard C, make an effort to understand accredited data the supplier has, even if it goes by other standards. AI can help.
5️⃣ Segment your suppliers on maturity.
Some suppliers will need guidance.
Some know exactly what to do.
E.g. Microsoft segments suppliers according to maturity level. High maturity, high priority suppliers are picked for strategic collaborations on sustainability. Low maturity, high priority suppliers are supported and educated on sustainability.
6️⃣ Don't charge them!
I shouldn't have to say this but unfortunately I do...
7️⃣ Offer something of value.
E.g. education, a chance to get better payment terms, showcasing/PR, etc.
8️⃣ Don't expect the supplier to speak your ESG language.
E.g. a Heineken supplier once responded "We don't have any greenhouses". to a question about Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
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What do you think, any best practices on how to best engage your suppliers on sustainability?
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