What this is
What is a customer sustainability questionnaire record?
What is a customer sustainability questionnaire record?
It is the record of a specific sustainability questionnaire a customer or scheme sent you, the answers given, and the evidence behind each one. It exists so an answer given under commercial pressure can be checked later against what was actually true, rather than reconstructed from memory.
Who should complete a customer sustainability questionnaire?
The environmental lead, drawing on data held elsewhere in the system, with commercial involved because the questionnaire usually arrives attached to a tender or a renewal. Commercial alone produces optimistic answers; environmental alone misses the deadline pressure driving the risk.
What turns an answer into a commitment?
Submission. A statement that something is being done, or will be done by a stated date, is a commitment the moment it leaves the building, whether or not anyone approved it as one. The record is where that commitment first becomes visible.
Scope
When is a customer sustainability questionnaire record required?
This record is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work belonging to a neighbouring template produces answers that cannot be reconciled with the figures they claim to describe.
Use this template when
- A customer or certification scheme has issued a sustainability questionnaire with a stated deadline
- A tender response requires answers to environmental or sustainability questions
- A scheme membership, such as a supplier assurance platform or disclosure programme, requires an annual submission
- An existing customer relationship carries a recurring sustainability review as a condition of contract
- A previous response's commitments need tracking through to the next review cycle
Do not use it for
- Scope 3 Data Collection Record, which collects emissions data from suppliers and hauliers to build the company's own inventory, the opposite direction of data flow
- Environmental Claim Substantiation Record, which holds the evidence behind one specific claim on packaging or marketing, not a whole questionnaire response
- Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which is the underlying calculation answers should be drawn from, not recalculated here
- Sustainability Objectives, which is where a commitment volunteered here belongs once approved internally, not a substitute record for tracking it
- Environmental Performance Report, which reports the organisation's own performance over a period, rather than a scheme's specific question set
Compliance mapping
Which ISO 14001 cl.7.4 requirements does this satisfy?
ISO 14001 treats a customer questionnaire as external communication: something the organisation decides to make and control, not something any department answers unsupervised.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 14001 cl.7.4.3 | Determine what to communicate externally on environmental performance, and by whom | Header |
| ISO 14001 cl.7.5.3 | Documented information available and suitable, retrievable to support what was communicated externally | Answer quality |
| ISO 14001 cl.4.2 | Determine the needs and expectations of interested parties relevant to the environmental management system | Commitments made |
| ISO 14001 cl.9.1.1 | Monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate environmental performance against set criteria | Content |
| ISO 14001 cl.6.2.1 | Establish environmental objectives consistent with the environmental policy | Commitments made |
| ISO 14001 cl.9.3 | Management review to consider changes in needs and expectations of interested parties | Outcome |
| ISO 14001 cl.10.2 | React to nonconformity, including a gap found through external feedback, and take corrective action | Outcome |
What it does not cover
- Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which is the underlying calculation an answer should be drawn from, not a document this record produces itself.
- Scope 3 Data Collection Record, which collects emissions data from suppliers and hauliers, the opposite direction of data flow from answering a customer.
- Environmental Claim Substantiation Record, which holds the evidence behind one claim made on packaging or marketing, distinct from a whole questionnaire response.
- Sustainability Objectives, which is where a commitment volunteered here is planned and tracked once approved internally.
- Supplier Environmental Assessment, which evaluates a supplier's own performance, rather than the answers your company gives to a customer.
Global
Customer Sustainability Questionnaire Record requirements by country
The duty to answer honestly is close to universal; what differs is which regulator treats an inaccurate answer as a marketing claim once it is used competitively.
FTC Green Guides
No mandatory questionnaire format, but environmental claims made in commercial communications, including answers used in a tender, must be substantiated.
An answer given to win business is treated as a marketing claim once used that way, and the substantiation standard applies regardless of which department wrote it.
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the CMA Green Claims Code
Environmental claims made to customers, including questionnaire responses used competitively, must be accurate, substantiated and not omit material information.
The CMA has pursued claims made in customer-facing material, not only advertising, and now holds direct enforcement powers over such claims.
ISO 14001
External communication is a management system requirement under clause 7.4.3, and certification audits sample outbound customer responses.
An assessor can ask to see the evidence behind an answer given to a customer; a missing trail is treated the same as a missing record anywhere else.
How to complete it
How to complete a customer sustainability questionnaire record, step by step
The questionnaire supplies the questions. What determines whether the record is defensible is what happens between receiving them and pressing submit.
Evidence gathered once a customer asks for it is evidence gathered under pressure, and tends to be whatever can be found quickly rather than what actually supports the answer given. Locating the source before submission is slower once, and faster every time after.
A 'partly' or a caveated answer costs nothing at submission and is the strongest protection against a finding that a claim was made without basis. Rounding an uncertain position up to yes because the form offers no other option is a choice, and it is the choice that gets tested.
A commitment made to keep a tender alive does not become optional once the contract is signed. Log it onto the objectives or action register at submission, with an owner and a timescale, rather than leaving it inside the questionnaire record where nothing prompts action.
A figure quoted to a customer and the same figure reported internally should match. Checking that before submission is a few minutes' work; explaining a discrepancy a customer's assurance team already spotted is a longer conversation you do not control the framing of.
What auditors find
Most common customer sustainability questionnaire record findings
Findings against this record type are rarely about missing questionnaires. They concern what sits, or does not sit, behind the answers given.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Answer given with no evidence traceable to source data. | ISO 14001 cl.7.5.3 | Attach or reference the underlying record for every answer before submission. |
| Aspirational or intended future position presented as current state. | ISO 14001 cl.4.2 | Mark the answer as planned or partial rather than rounding it up to yes. |
| Commitment made in the questionnaire never entered onto the objectives register. | ISO 14001 cl.6.2.1 | Log every new commitment onto the objectives register with an owner at submission. |
| No independent internal review before the response was sent. | ISO 14001 cl.7.4.3 | Require sign-off from someone who did not write the answers before it goes out. |
| Figures do not reconcile with the organisation's own inventory or performance report. | ISO 14001 cl.9.1.1 | Cross-check every figure against the current inventory and report before submission. |
| Deadline missed with no escalation or extension requested. | ISO 14001 cl.7.4.3 | Track the deadline against the record and escalate to the lead ahead of it, not after. |
Case in point
Case in point: the answer that outlived the person who wrote it
A packaging supplier answered a retail customer's annual sustainability questionnaire ahead of a contract renewal. Under pressure to keep the account, the person completing it answered yes to a question about supplier-level emissions data coverage, on the basis that a project to collect it was due to start that quarter. The response was submitted, the renewal went through, and nothing further happened to the answer.
Two years later the customer's assurance provider requested the supplier-level data behind that answer as part of a routine audit. The project had stalled after six months, the person who answered had since left, and the record carried no evidence field and no flag showing the answer had been aspirational. The account survived only because the customer chose not to escalate it. The fix was retiring unmarked yes answers and requiring evidence, or a caveat, on every future submission.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
6 sections
- Reference
- ENV-054
- Archetype
- Record
- Record ID
- CSQ-2026-000
- Scoring
- Answers evidenced
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- ISO 14001 cl.7.4
- Links
- Links GHG inventory, Objectives
- Tags
- Environment, Reporting
- Sections
- 6
- Fields
- 46
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 0
- Links out
- 3
Header
13 fieldsRecord ID*
Auto sequence. Format CSQ-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Completed By*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Customer Or Scheme*
Questionnaire Reference
Deadline*
Completed By 2*
Reviewed Before Submission*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Submitted On Time*
- Yes3 pts
- Late1 pt
- Missed0 pts
Answers Without Evidence Become Commitments
A questionnaire answered optimistically in a tender becomes something an auditor tests two years later. Evidence every answer or say you do not have it.
Answer quality
6 fieldsEvery Answer Has Evidence*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Evidence Located And Retained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
No Aspirational Answers Given*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Uncertain Answers Marked As Such*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Figures Reconcile With Our Own Reporting*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Boundaries And Methods Stated*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Content
6 fieldsEmissions Data Provided*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Energy Data Provided*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Waste And Water Data Provided*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Targets And Progress Provided*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Labour And Ethical Questions Answered*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Certifications Evidenced*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Commitments made
6 fieldsNew Commitments Identified*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Commitments Approved Internally*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Owners Assigned To Commitments*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Timescales Realistic*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Added To Objectives*
- Yes3 pts
- Not needed3 pts
- No0 pts
Interested Party Register Updated*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Related records
1 fieldPerformance Report ID
The figures the answers were drawn from.
Links to ENV-053 Report ID
Outcome
14 fieldsScore Or Rating Received*
- Improved3 pts
- Same2 pts
- Declined0 pts
- Not scored2 pts
Versus Last Submission*
- Improved3 pts
- Same2 pts
- Worse0 pts
- First submission2 pts
Gaps Identified*
Action Plan Created*
- Yes3 pts
- Not needed3 pts
- No0 pts
Feeds Management Review*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Next Submission Due
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Environmental Lead*
Signature*
Commercial*
Second Signature*
ENV-054 · record IDs look like CSQ-2026-000 · Links GHG inventory, Objectives
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The questionnaire is a form. What slips is the chain behind it: evidence never located, a commitment that never reached the objectives register, a deadline nobody was watching.
Holds the questionnaire record against the inventory and objectives, and flags an answer with no evidence attached before it is submitted.
Tracks the questionnaire deadline against the customer or scheme requirement, and escalates ahead of it rather than after it is missed.
Routes a commitment made in the response onto the objectives and action registers, tracked as a management system commitment rather than left inside the questionnaire.
Cross-checks quoted figures against the current inventory and performance report before the response leaves the business, and holds every write for approval.
This template lives in KnowEnviro — environment and energy. Aspects, permits, waste, emissions, spills and sustainability reporting.
Meet KnowEnviro→Glossary
Customer Sustainability Questionnaire Record definitions and key terms
- Sustainability questionnaire
- A structured set of questions issued by a customer or scheme asking a supplier to describe its own environmental performance, usually as a condition of doing business.
- Interested party
- An individual or organisation that can affect, or be affected by, the environmental management system. A customer issuing a questionnaire is a canonical example under ISO 14001.
- Substantiation
- Evidence sufficient to support a claim or answer, assessed against what a reasonable person would need to see, not what is merely plausible.
- Commitment
- A statement that something is being done or will be done, which becomes binding the moment it is communicated externally, whether or not formally approved beforehand.
- Reconciliation
- Checking that a figure given externally matches the same figure reported internally, so two audiences are never shown two different numbers for the same thing.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about customer sustainability questionnaire record
Do we have to answer every question a customer asks?+
Not legally, but leaving a question blank in a competitive tender has a commercial cost. The better route is to answer honestly, including 'not currently measured' where true, rather than refusing or rounding up.
What if we don't have evidence for an answer?+
Say so. An answer marked as an estimate or not currently evidenced is defensible if labelled that way. The same answer given as a plain yes, with the same underlying uncertainty, is the finding an auditor writes up two years later.
Who should own the response, environmental or commercial?+
Both, in different roles. Commercial owns the relationship and the deadline; environmental owns the evidence. Commercial alone tends to answer what the customer wants to hear; environmental alone tends to miss the deadline pressure driving the risk.
What happens to a commitment we made in a questionnaire?+
It should transfer onto the objectives or action register at submission, with an owner and a date, rather than sit inside the questionnaire record where nothing prompts action before the next review finds it undone.
How is this different from a Scope 3 Data Collection Record?+
Opposite directions. This record answers a customer's questions about your own performance. A Scope 3 Data Collection Record collects emissions data from your suppliers to build your own inventory. They share figures but different audiences and evidence chains.
Should we reuse last year's answers?+
Only where the position has not changed, and only if that is checked rather than assumed. Reusing an answer verbatim without confirming it is still true turns a stale claim into a repeated one, which reads worse than a claim wrong once.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Environmental Management
Legal and Other Requirements Register
Lists every law, regulation, permit and commitment that applies to your operation
Compliance Evaluation Record
Records the periodic evaluation of whether you actually comply with each obligation
Waste Stream Register
Lists every waste stream produced on site, with its classification, container and disposal route
Waste Transfer Record
Records waste leaving site, including type, quantity, carrier and destination
Hazardous Waste Record
Records generation, storage and disposal of hazardous waste
Waste Area Inspection
Checks waste storage areas for correct segregation, labelling, containment and housekeeping
More in Environmental Reporting
Environmental Performance Report
Reports environmental performance over a period against objectives, covering waste, water, energy, emissions and incidents
Scope 3 Data Collection Record
Records the collection of value chain emissions data from suppliers and hauliers, with quality and coverage noted
Environmental Claim Substantiation Record
Records the evidence behind any environmental claim made on packaging, marketing or a tender
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- ISO 14001:2015 clauses 7.4, 4.2, 6.2 and 9.3
- FTC Green Guides on environmental marketing claims (US)
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and CMA Green Claims Code (UK)
- GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, for reconciling reported figures
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.