Copy each question from one named customer form. Mark the answer as evidence, estimate, missing, not applicable, not asked or unknown applicability. A sent file is not an accepted file. Completing the rows is not a score and not a public claim.

Download the blank log. Send a short questionnaire if you are the buyer. Use the carbon data pack for emissions rows. See which reporting duties are law rather than a customer form.

Answering is not acceptance

This log is for a supplier answering one customer form. It is the opposite task from sending a short questionnaire if you are the buyer.

Keep one row per copied question. question_source is copied_from_form for questions that were on the form. Use optional_not_on_form only for extra optional prompts the customer did not include. A mandatory copied question cannot be marked not_asked.

answer_status is evidence, estimate, missing, not_applicable, not_asked or unknown_applicability.

  • evidence needs evidence_location and matching period, unit and coverage.
  • estimate needs estimate_method.
  • missing stays missing.
  • not_applicable needs facts that the asked topic is genuinely absent, not a missing document.
  • unknown_applicability records that applicability has not been established. Do not invent a legal exemption.
  • not_asked is only for optional rows the customer did not include.

row_complete is a field check for that status. It is not a substantive gap and not customer outcome. substantive_gap stays yes while the answer is missing, estimated or of unknown applicability.

dispatch_status is not_sent, sent or unknown. You can know the file was sent without having a customer’s acceptance. customer_outcome is none, accepted, rejected or unknown. Accepted or rejected needs the date, the evidence location, and a reference to the relevant acceptance or rejection of this form, not merely any customer reply.

Do not add a total score. Mandatory UK duties, if any, stay on the SECR guide, the reporting hub and the procurement guide.

The response log

Save a copy of the blank file and type into the copy. The files are plain CSV with no formulas.

Columns: record_type, customer_name, form_title, form_received_date, form_id, question_id, question_text, question_source, topic, answer_status, answer_text, period_start, period_end, units, coverage, evidence_location, evidence_period_match, evidence_unit_match, evidence_coverage_match, estimate_method, missing_reason, applicability_reason, row_complete, substantive_gap, owner_role, dispatch_status, dispatch_date, dispatch_evidence_location, customer_outcome, outcome_date, outcome_evidence_location, outcome_response_reference and note.

Copy question_text from the customer form. Do not invent a universal ESG questionnaire. A carbon figure uses the carbon data pack for emissions rows instead of duplicating it. owner_role names who holds the record; name who holds each dataset before treating an answer as owned. Ownership is not a review.

Worked example: Northgate answers Oakridge

Northgate Services and Oakridge Facilities Ltd are fictional. Oakridge sent a form on 3 March 2026. The excerpt was sent on 10 March 2026. customer_outcome is none. Completing the rows is not Oakridge acceptance.

Question Status What is held
Q1 billed office electricity for December 2025 evidence Bill B-2025-12 for that month. Not an annual total.
Q2 supply-chain Scope 3 for 2025 missing No Category 1 data.
Q3 current modern slavery statement missing No statement is held. That absence does not make the question not applicable and does not establish a legal exemption.
Q4 coal-fired boiler on this site not_applicable The office inventory records no boiler of any kind.
Q5 waste contractor named in November 2025 evidence Invoice INV-2025-11 names Greenbin Collections Ltd. That is evidence of the historical invoice, not an estimate and not proof of current carrier registration.
Q6 estimated calendar-2025 office electricity estimate December billed 1,000 kWh times 12, method named. A December bill does not substantiate an annual billed total.

Limits

Do not send this file as the buyer questionnaire. Do not generate a carbon total from spend. Do not treat a filled answer as Green Claims Code substantiation for a consumer claim. Do not copy corporate PDF questionnaires as required questions. Public claims stay on the evidence checklist.