Send a short form about one named purchase to one supplier and file the reply. An answer that is specific enough to file is recorded, and that does not force a follow-up or a sustainability verdict. If you sent a question and the topic does not apply, say so. If you did not send a question, leave it out. There is no total, no weight and no pass mark. A missing answer is a gap in the file, not a failed supplier.

This file does not replace the buyer’s own rules. Write those in the procurement policy guide. The procurement guide is the overview of how buying is organised. The sourcing guide explains how to choose what to buy.

Fill in the questionnaire

Download all three files. Save a copy of the blank questionnaire and type into that copy. Keep the instructions file open beside it. The question text is in the instructions, so a supplier can answer without this page. Use the example only as a labelled pattern.

The three files are plain CSV templates. You type every cell and you choose the status. The spreadsheet does not score the supplier and it does not check that a certificate name has a document behind it. Record an answer only when it is specific enough to file. A bare certificate name stays missing. The instructions file lists every column.

Use seven rows, Q1 to Q7, for one buyer, one purchase and one supplier. assessor_status is recorded, follow_up, missing, not_applicable or left_out. There is no numeric status. Do not add the statuses into a number. Do not describe the supplier as sustainable.

recorded means the sent answer is specific enough to file: a named product, a document or link, a clear statement that none exists, or a fact about this purchase. Leave follow_up and follow_up_owner blank. recorded does not require a follow-up. It is not a certificate check.

follow_up as a status means one stated question remains. Then fill both the request and the owner. The text column follow_up is not itself a status. On a missing row you may write a request for the missing evidence without changing the status to follow_up. Leave the owner blank while the status remains missing.

missing means the reply is blank, unsure, or a certificate or claim name with no document and no scope. A bare certificate name is missing. It is not recorded. not_applicable means the question was sent and the reply shows that the topic does not apply. left_out means you did not send it. Do not use one status for the other.

Which questions to send

Always send five questions.

  1. What are you supplying, in one sentence?
  2. Is there a written environmental or sustainability note we can read?
  3. For this purchase, what is the main material, or where is the main work done?
  4. What happens to packaging or waste from this purchase on your side, if you know?
  5. Is there a certificate or label you want us to rely on for this purchase? Name it and its scope or expiry, or say none.

Send question 6 only when the supplier or the product makes an environmental claim about this purchase: what document supports that sentence? Send question 7 only when this purchase is one of the buyer’s largest categories: do you measure energy or fuel for making or delivering it, and for what period and unit? Every other topic is left_out. Keep the question text on an unsent row, and leave the response blank.

The Lincolnshire supplier sustainability questionnaire toolkit says to select questions that match the business’s own aims, to start with the most important suppliers when there are many, and to speak to suppliers before sending the survey. Its sample answers are yes, unsure and no. It does not define an evidence test or a score. The five statuses on this page are this page’s filing method. They are not that toolkit’s answers. The toolkit was compiled for Lincolnshire County Council by Considerate Group. It is a hospitality toolkit for Lincolnshire, not a UK-wide standard.

Veridion’s article of 24 April 2025 says there is no one-size-fits-all ESG questionnaire and that sending the same survey to every supplier can burden suppliers with irrelevant questions. That is the scope warning used here. The article is commercial and is not a UK legal duty.

How to read the evidence

File a recorded answer and stop. Use the status follow_up only when you still have one stated question, and then name the owner. A vague sentence such as “we care about the environment”, with no document, stays missing. A certificate name with no document and no scope stays missing. Do not treat either as recorded, and do not change the status to follow_up merely because you wrote a request in the text field.

Worked example: one fictional purchase

The example is a fictional questionnaire for Northgate Studio and Paper North Ltd. The supplier is invented. The purchase is copier paper. It is not a sustainability rating. No row contains a score. No row uses the status follow_up.

Question Reply Status
Q1, always A4 copier paper, 80 gsm. Document: price list row A4. recorded. Follow-up blank.
Q2, always We care about the environment. No document. missing. The request text asks for the note or a statement that none exists. The status stays missing. No owner.
Q3, always Wood pulp, made in the UK. No separate document. recorded, because the reply is a fact about this purchase. Follow-up blank.
Q4, always, and it was sent No packaging from us on this line. not_applicable. The topic does not apply. Follow-up blank.
Q5, always FSC. No document and no scope. missing. A bare certificate name is not recorded. The request text asks for the scope or for the claim to be withdrawn. The status is not follow_up.
Q6, sent because those words are an environmental claim Blank. No document. missing until a document arrives. Follow-up text blank.
Q7, not sent Blank left_out on both the include reason and the status. This is not not_applicable.

The file can be finished with missing rows still missing. Adequate recorded rows can sit beside them.

Limits

A completed file does not show that the supplier meets a law, holds a current certificate, or may be described as sustainable in public. It does not replace the procurement policy or a contract clause. It does not set a modern slavery duty. Before you publish a supplier’s answer as your own environmental claim, read the green claims code.

Sources

Accessed 8 October 2026.

  • Supplier sustainability questionnaire guide (PDF), compiled for Lincolnshire County Council by Considerate Group. Choosing a short set of questions, starting with the most important suppliers, and speaking to suppliers before sending the survey. The sample answers are yes, unsure and no. The file does not define this page’s five statuses or a score. This is a Lincolnshire hospitality toolkit, not a UK-wide standard.
  • A Quick Guide to Supplier ESG Questionnaires, Veridion, 24 April 2025. The warning that one survey for every supplier can be a burden, and that there is no one-size-fits-all ESG questionnaire.