Guide · For procurement teams
Sustainable procurement supplier questionnaire
18 questions built around the supplier-facing Initial actions of the UN Global Compact Sustainable Procurement Framework for climate, forced labour and SME enablement, plus a governance baseline. Each mapped question names the framework action it serves (the rest are marked general baseline), and every question says whether an EcoDiligence Passport already answers it.
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An independent guide. EcoDiligence is not affiliated with or endorsed by the UN Global Compact, and using EcoDiligence does not mean you have implemented the framework.
- Copy the questions for the subtopics you selected in the framework's Action Plan Builder; drop the rest.
- Send it once, as one request, not one form per subtopic.
- Of the 18, 3 are on every completed EcoDiligence Passport, 5 are on it if the supplier answered them (they are optional), 6 are partly covered and 4 are not collected. If you ask suppliers for a Passport, follow up on everything else — including any optional answer a supplier left blank.
New to the framework? Read the implementation guide first. Looking for a broader ESG and operational risk question bank? Use the vendor risk assessment questionnaire template.
1. Who is answering, and for what period
Without an entity and a period, no answer below can be compared with another supplier's or with next year's.
Legal entity name and country.
Serves: General baseline
PartlyThe Passport shows the company name the supplier entered, which may be a trading name, and its country of operation. Ask for the registered legal name if you need to match the response to a contract.
Which twelve-month period do your answers cover?
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, pre-qualification questions
On every PassportEach Passport states its reporting period.
Number of employees (band or exact figure).
Serves: SME Enablement — Initial, screening questions on supplier size
On every PassportA headcount band is required; an exact figure is optional.
2. Climate: emissions baseline
The core of the GHG subtopic's Initial actions: can the supplier report Scope 1 and 2, and on what basis.
Do you calculate your Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions?
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, pre-qualification questions
PartlyEvery completed Passport carries a Scope 1 and 2 figure, but fuel quantities are optional: a supplier who says they use heating or vehicle fuel without entering an amount gets a Scope 1 that leaves that fuel out.
Electricity used (kWh) and fuels burned directly (natural gas, diesel, petrol, LPG) in the period.
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, baseline data collection
PartlyElectricity, plus one heating fuel and one vehicle fuel. A supplier burning several (petrol and diesel, say) can enter only one of each, so ask about any others separately.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in tCO₂e, with the emission factor and its source.
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, suppliers report Scope 1 and 2
PartlyBoth are calculated in tCO₂e. The Scope 2 grid factor and its source are shown; the fuel factors behind Scope 1 are not.
Do you have a written environmental or energy policy?
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, basic scorecard indicators
If answeredOptional in the Passport. Recorded as a self-declared policy tick when the supplier answers it.
Do you have an emissions base year and a reduction target?
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, pre-qualification questions
PartlyThe Passport records whether the supplier has formal environmental goals, with a free-text description. It has no structured base year or target percentage.
Do you calculate any Scope 3 categories? If so, which, and by what method?
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Intermediate
Not on a PassportThe Passport covers Scope 1 and 2 only. Keep this question open-ended; "no" is a normal answer from a small supplier.
3. Labour: forced and child labour screening
Initial screening and self-assessment questions from the forced labour subtopic. Only the first is on a Passport; the rest need their own questions or a dedicated assessment.
Do you have a policy prohibiting child labour and forced labour?
Serves: Modern-day Slavery and Forced Labour — Initial, screening questions
If answeredOptional in the Passport. Recorded as self-declared when answered; a policy tick, not a risk assessment.
Do you use labour agencies? Do any workers pay recruitment fees?
Serves: Modern-day Slavery and Forced Labour — Initial, screening questions
Not on a PassportNot collected.
Do workers have written contracts in a language they understand, and keep their own identity documents?
Serves: Modern-day Slavery and Forced Labour — Initial, screening questions
Not on a PassportNot collected.
Do workers have a way to raise grievances, and how are they handled?
Serves: Modern-day Slavery and Forced Labour — Initial, self-assessment
Not on a PassportNot collected.
4. Governance baseline
Yes/no gates most buyers ask regardless of framework. Tagged as general baseline: we have not mapped these to the framework's Ethics & Anti-Corruption actions.
Do you have a code of ethics or code of conduct, and an anti-corruption policy?
Serves: General baseline
If answeredBoth optional in the Passport, recorded as self-declared when answered.
Have there been fines, sanctions or legal proceedings against the company in the last five years?
Serves: General baseline
If answeredOptional in the Passport. A self-declared yes/no with an optional note when answered; not a register search.
Do you have a supplier code of conduct or responsible procurement policy of your own?
Serves: General baseline
If answeredOptional in the Passport, recorded as self-declared when answered.
5. Certifications and data quality
Lets small suppliers answer without certificates they cannot afford, while making clear what kind of evidence you are holding.
Which certifications do you hold, if any? (A self-declaration is acceptable.)
Serves: SME Enablement — Intermediate, self-declaration in place of certifications
On every PassportListed as self-declared; certificates are not checked. An empty list means the supplier ticked none.
Is this information self-reported, internally reviewed or externally assured — and who confirms it?
Serves: GHG Emissions Data Management — Initial, self-assessment of data availability
PartlyEvery Passport is labelled self-reported, and a named person can attest to it with a date. None is externally assured.
What this questionnaire does not do
Almost all of it sits at the framework's Initial level. Two questions are tagged Intermediate, and both are deliberately light: the Scope 3 question only asks whether any categories are calculated, and accepting a self-declaration in place of a certificate lowers the burden on a small supplier rather than raising it. Drop either if you want a strictly Initial request. It does not ask for Scope 3 figures, product carbon footprints, primary activity-based data or third-party verification — the heavier Intermediate and Advanced actions — and small suppliers usually cannot give those on request. If you need them from a strategic supplier, that is a separate, funded engagement. The GHG data guide covers where that line falls.
Frequently asked questions
An independent guide. EcoDiligence is not affiliated with or endorsed by the UN Global Compact, and using EcoDiligence does not mean you have implemented the framework. Based on the framework as published at procurementframework.unglobalcompact.org and reviewed on September 22, 2026. Not legal advice. Data in an EcoDiligence Passport is self-reported and not independently audited.
Ask for one Passport, then follow up on the gaps
Invite suppliers to fill it in, free, and track who has completed it. Follow up only on what their Passport does not hold.