Your Customer Is Asking for Sustainability Data — What to Do

You've Got Mail — Now What?

You know the scenario: Monday morning, an email from the key account manager at your biggest customer. Attached is an Excel questionnaire with fields like "Scope 1 emissions", "water withdrawal in m3", and "CBA coverage". Subject line: "Sustainability Data Request — Supplier Survey 2026". Deadline: 30 days.

The first impulse is understandable: panic. Or frustration. Or both.

Take a breath. You're not alone — thousands of Swiss SMEs are receiving these requests for the first time right now. And the good news: this is doable. You already have most of the data. You just don't know it yet.

This article explains step by step what's behind the request, what data is actually being asked for, where to find it, and how to deliver a professional response in a manageable amount of time.

Why Is My Customer Suddenly Asking for Sustainability Data?

Your customer isn't asking out of idealism — they're asking because they are legally required to.

The CSRD and Scope 3 Emissions

In the EU, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires large companies to disclose their entire value chain. This includes so-called Scope 3 emissions — all greenhouse gas emissions that don't occur within the company's own operations but at suppliers, transport providers, and service providers.

In concrete terms: if your customer manufactures a product and you supply a component, they must include the emissions from your production in their report. For that, they need your data.

Art. 964a CO — The Swiss Obligation

Switzerland has also had a reporting obligation since 2024. Under Art. 964a of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), companies of public interest (listed companies, banks, insurance firms) with over 500 employees and a balance sheet total of CHF 20 million or revenue of CHF 40 million must produce an annual non-financial report.

These approximately 300 large Swiss companies must also report on their supply chain. If you supply to a Migros, Nestlé, ABB, Geberit, or a major cantonal bank — that's where the request is coming from.

The Federal Council is also planning to lower the thresholds to 250 employees, which would expand the scope to around 3,500 companies. The pressure on suppliers will increase, not decrease.

In Summary

What Is Typically Asked?

The exact questions vary by customer. But most questionnaires cover the same core topics — precisely the topics defined by the EFRAG VSME standard:

Environmental Data

• Energy consumption: Electricity (kWh), heating oil (litres), natural gas (kWh), diesel and petrol for company vehicles (litres)
• Greenhouse gas emissions: Scope 1 (direct emissions from heating, vehicles) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased electricity), each in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e)
• GHG intensity: Emissions per unit of revenue (tCO2e / CHF revenue)
• Water consumption: Water withdrawal in cubic metres (m3)
• Waste: Total waste in tonnes, of which hazardous waste and recycled share

Social Data

• Headcount: Total number, gender distribution, fixed-term vs. permanent contracts
• Occupational health and safety: Number of reportable work accidents, fatalities
• Remuneration: Compliance with minimum wage, coverage by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs)
• Training: Average training hours per employee

Governance

• Corruption: Convictions or fines for corruption/bribery in the reporting year
• Sustainability policy: Is there a written sustainability policy? Are reduction targets defined?

What Is NOT Asked

Important to know: the VSME Basic Module does not require Scope 3 emissions from you. You do not need to analyse your own supply chain. Nor is a materiality assessment, climate strategy, or due diligence review required. Those are requirements of the more extensive Comprehensive Module, which is not relevant for the vast majority of SMEs.

What Is the Value Chain Cap — and Why Does It Protect You?

The EU is working on a delegated act (expected June 2026) that introduces a so-called Value Chain Cap. It states: large companies may request from their SME suppliers only the information contained in the VSME standard.

In concrete terms:

• Your customer may not ask you for Scope 3 data (that is not included in the VSME Basic Module)
• Your customer may not require a more comprehensive report than what the VSME provides
• The VSME becomes the de facto standard and the upper limit for supply chain data requests

For you as an SME, this is good news: the effort is limited and clearly defined. If you complete the VSME Basic Module, you have covered everything your customer is allowed to ask for.

What Data Do I Already Have?

Here's the reassuring truth: most of the data already exists in your company. It's just spread across different departments and documents.

A Concrete Example

Imagine a metalworking SME in Winterthur, 35 employees, CHF 8 million revenue:

• Electricity: Annual bill from EKZ shows 145,000 kWh
• Heating oil: 12,000 litres per delivery note from the fuel supplier
• Diesel for company vehicles: 8,500 litres from the fuel card statement
• Water: 420 m3 per municipal bill
• Waste: Disposal contract shows 18 tonnes total waste, of which 2 tonnes hazardous waste (cutting oils), 12 tonnes scrap metal for recycling
• Employees: 35 people (28 men, 7 women), all permanent, 3 part-time
• Work accidents: 1 reportable accident (Suva records)
• CBA: 100% covered under the metalworking CBA
• Training: Average of 16 hours per person (safety training, welding certifications)
• Corruption: No incidents

All this data is already available. There is not a single value the company would need to collect from scratch.

How Are Emissions Calculated?

You don't need to be a climate scientist. The calculation is essentially a multiplication:

Consumption (kWh, litres) x emission factor = emissions (kg CO2e)

For Swiss companies, the recommended emission factors are the KBOB emission factors (Coordination Conference of Building and Property Bodies of the Confederation), which are based on ecoinvent data and widely recognised in Switzerland.

The current factors (version 8.02, 2009/1:2022):

For our Winterthur metalworking SME, this gives:

GHG intensity: 85.0 / 8,000,000 = 0.0000106 tCO2e/CHF (or 10.6 tCO2e per million CHF revenue).

That's the entire calculation. No rocket science.

Step by Step: What You Should Do Now

Step 1: Stay Calm and Understand the Request

Read your customer's questionnaire carefully. Identify:

• Deadline: How much time do you have? (Usually 30–60 days)
• Format: Is a specific format required, or will a free-form document suffice?
• Contact person: Who at the customer is responsible? Don't hesitate to ask follow-up questions.

Step 2: Gather Your Data

Collect the key documents from your last financial year:

1. Annual accounts (revenue, balance sheet total)
2. Energy bills (electricity, gas, heating oil)
3. Fuel receipts / fuel card statements
4. Water bill
5. Disposal invoices / waste statistics
6. HR statistics (headcount, gender, contract types)
7. Suva accident reports
8. Training overview

Step 3: Create the Report

You have two options:

Option A: With a guided tool (30–60 minutes)

A tool like QuickVSME translates the VSME standard into a guided wizard. You enter your consumption data, the tool automatically calculates emissions using KBOB factors, and generates a PDF in four languages (DE, EN, FR, IT). Price: CHF 49 per declaration, no subscription.

Option B: Manually with the EFRAG template (2–4 hours)

You can download the official EFRAG Excel template and fill it out yourself. This is free of charge but requires more effort — especially for the GHG calculation and correctly completing the XBRL fields.

Step 4: Submit the Report

Send the completed report (PDF or filled-out Excel) to your customer. Keep a copy and the underlying supporting documents (invoices, delivery notes) — ideally for at least five years.

What Happens If I Don't Respond?

It's important to be honest here: there is no legal obligation for SMEs to respond to a supplier questionnaire. You won't be fined, sued, or visited by SECO.

But there is a commercial risk.

Your large customer must report on their supply chain. If you don't provide data, they have three options:

1. Estimate: They use industry averages, which will likely be worse than your actual figures. Your company looks worse on paper than it is.
2. Replace: They look for a supplier who does provide the data. With equal quality and price, the supplier with the sustainability report wins.
3. Tolerate: They accept the gap — for now. But with each reporting period, the pressure increases.

The reality: large procurement departments are increasingly maintaining ESG scorecards for their suppliers. If you don't provide data, you lose points. If you lose points, you lose at the next tender.

The risk isn't legal — it's commercial. And it's avoidable.

How Much Time Do I Need to Invest?

For most SMEs with 10–100 employees, the first option is the most pragmatic path. Gathering the data (collecting invoices) typically takes longer than filling out the form itself.

Do I Have to Repeat This Every Year?

Yes — your customer will report annually and accordingly request data annually. But: the second time is significantly faster. You'll already know your data sources, the structure stays the same, and many values change only marginally.

Plan the data collection right after your year-end closing. When your accountant finalises the balance sheet, you'll have all the figures at hand anyway.

Checklist: Sustainability Data for Your Customer

• Read the request, note the deadline, identify the contact person
• Prepare annual accounts (revenue, balance sheet total)
• Collect energy bills (electricity, gas, heating oil)
• Compile fuel receipts (diesel, petrol for company vehicles)
• Find the water bill
• Prepare disposal invoices / waste statistics
• Create HR statistics (headcount, gender, contract types, part-time)
• Check Suva accident reports
• Clarify CBA coverage
• Calculate training hours per employee
• Check for corruption incidents (hopefully: none)
• Create the report (via QuickVSME or EFRAG template)
• Send the report to your customer
• Archive a copy and supporting documents

Conclusion: It's Easier Than You Think

If you've read this article to this point, you already know more about sustainability reporting than 90% of Swiss SME managers. The topic sounds complicated — but it isn't, if you reduce it to the core question: what figures do I have, and how do I get them into a standardised format?

The VSME standard gives you exactly that format. The Value Chain Cap ensures that nobody can ask more of you. And you already have the data — in your invoices, your payroll records, and your Suva reports.

30–60 minutes. CHF 49. Then your customer's request is answered — professionally, in line with the standard, and completely.

Start your VSME declaration now

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This article is for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For binding information on your company's reporting obligations, please consult your auditor or a qualified advisor.

Sources: Art. 964a CO, EFRAG VSME, KBOB Lifecycle Data, EC Recommendation C(2025) 4984