ESG Compliance

Got an ESG Questionnaire? Here's How to Answer It Fast

January 20, 2026· 9 min read· by AI Sustainable Future Team

If you have received an ESG, sustainability or supplier questionnaire that asks for your carbon emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2 or Scope 3) and you are not sure how to answer it, this guide is for you. You can build a first answer from records you already keep: your accounting ledger.

Is this you?

You have been asked for:

Scope 1 emissions: fuel you burn on site and in company vehicles, plus refrigerant leaks
Scope 2 emissions: the electricity you buy
Scope 3 emissions: your value chain, such as purchased goods, freight, travel and waste

And you are thinking:

"We have never calculated emissions before."
"We don't track fuel or electricity in detail."
"We need a defensible answer, and the deadline is close."

Small businesses get these questions too.

Why your customer is asking

A large customer that asks for your emissions is usually building its own Scope 3 inventory. What it buys from you typically sits in its Category 1, purchased goods and services, one of the 15 Scope 3 categories in the GHG Protocol. Without your figure, the customer estimates your share from what it spends with you. Your number replaces that estimate.

The requests come through supplier programs (in 2025, more than 200 organizations used CDP to request environmental data from more than 45,000 suppliers), customer climate targets, vendor onboarding and renewals, and regulation further up the chain:

California SB 253 requires companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that do business in California to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions (first reports due 10 November 2026) and Scope 3 from 2027.
The EU's CSRD, as amended by Directive (EU) 2026/470, applies from financial year 2027 to companies with more than 1,000 employees and more than EUR 450 million turnover. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 caps what those companies can require from smaller value-chain partners at the VSME standard, from financial year 2027 (our VSME Report is built on that standard).

Most small suppliers are outside both laws, but their large customers may still ask them for data.

What a good-enough answer looks like

The GHG Protocol does not expect perfect data. Its Scope 3 technical guidance says that where supplier-specific or activity data is not feasible, companies should use the spend-based method: multiply what you spent in each category by an industry-average emission factor. SB 253 also allows reporting companies to use secondary data, such as industry-average and spend-based figures, for Scope 3.

An estimate with a stated year, method, cited factors and clear assumptions gives your customer a figure it can use. Two cautions:

It is an estimate. Spend-based screening carries roughly plus or minus 25-40% uncertainty at the category level (our engineering estimate; the GHG Protocol publishes no figure). Say so in your answer.
Some programs ask for more. Microsoft's procurement program, for example, asks in-scope suppliers for third-party assurance or a letter from an external consultant. Read what your customer asks for before you submit.

How to put your answer together

Set your boundary and year. Use the year the questionnaire asks for, usually your last full financial year. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard lets you consolidate by equity share or by control (financial or operational); if you wholly own all your operations, the boundary is the same either way. Say which you used.
Gather what you have. Your general ledger covers most of it. Annual kWh and fuel volumes improve Scope 1 and 2 if you have them.
Convert to CO2e with cited factors. Where you only have spend, fuel and electricity spend can be converted to litres and kWh at official prices and multiplied by physical emission factors; other purchases go through spend-based supply chain factors.
Report by scope. Give Scope 1 and Scope 2 separately, then Scope 3 by category if asked, with your method, boundary and main assumptions.

How Carbon Draft does steps 2 to 4

You upload one accounting or bank export: CSV or Excel from QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage, SAP or Tally, or a DATEV, SIE or XAF file. If you have them, you add annual kWh, renewable kWh, a supplier electricity factor, fuel volumes, gas and refrigerant. Each transaction is classified by scope and calculated with a cited factor: EPA eGRID and the EPA Emission Factors Hub for US electricity and fuels, national factors elsewhere, and spend-based Scope 3 factors from the EPA (US), Defra / University of Leeds (UK) or Open CEDA (elsewhere). You get a PDF report in minutes, with no queue. It covers companies in nine countries, and the methodology page sets out every source.

Choose the report you need

Basic, $20: Scope 1 and 2. Best if the questionnaire asks only for Scope 1 and 2.
Complete, $49: adds Scope 3, up to 8 of the 15 categories: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 where your ledger has spend in them, 3 derived from your electricity, and 12 when you enter end-of-life tonnages. Best if the questionnaire asks for value-chain data.
Disclosure-Aligned Report, $299: the same Scope 3 coverage, plus the full priced ledger (every transaction with its factor), per-row confidence, an Excel calculation workbook, and a section setting out what the GHG Protocol, CDP, CSRD (ESRS E1) and California SB-253 require, what the report contains, and the gap. Useful for a CDP response, or when your customer wants to see the calculation.

See the pricing page for details.

What the report is, and what it is not

Every report is a screening-grade inventory under the GHG Protocol, and its cover says "SCREENING / INVENTORY / NOT ASSURED". Every factor is cited to its source document and table, and the assumptions are stated, so a reviewer or assurance provider can start from it. It is not an audited or assured report, and it is not a statutory filing.

Common pitfalls

Ignoring the request. Silence leaves your customer to estimate your emissions for you. If you need time, reply with the date you will send figures.
Overclaiming. Every figure you submit should trace back to a source. Don't call your company "carbon neutral" without an inventory and evidence behind the claim.
Overreaching on Scope 3 in year one. If the questionnaire marks Scope 3 as optional, a solid Scope 1 and 2 answer with a plan for Scope 3 is a reasonable first step.

Common questions

Do I need exact fuel or electricity usage?

No. If you have annual kWh or fuel volumes, enter them and the report uses them. If not, fuel and electricity spend is converted to litres and kWh at official prices, and the report states that assumption.

Can I edit the report before I submit it?

The PDF is a finished document. You can quote its figures in any questionnaire and add your own notes. The $299 Disclosure-Aligned Report also includes the Excel calculation workbook, which you can adjust.

Will my customer accept it?

No one can promise that; each customer sets its own requirements. A spend-based estimate with a stated method and cited factors is a common first answer to supplier requests. Check what your customer asks for, especially any assurance requirement, before you submit.

When do I still need a consultant?

You need one when your customer requires assured figures, when activity data has to be collected across sites, or when you fall inside CSRD or SB 253 yourself. The report then gives the consultant or assurance provider a documented starting point.

Answer your questionnaire today

Upload your accounting export at aisustainablefuture.com/carbon-draft and get a cited, screening-grade carbon report in minutes. Scope 1 and 2 from $20, Scope 3 from $49.