Supply chains and sustainability: how can SMEs prepare for increasing data requests?

SMEs are regularly asked to provide information on environmental impacts, social practices, and risk management as part of business cooperation.

For many companies, the challenge is not producing the information itself, but the lack of a ready-made structure for responding.

What type of information is typically requested from SMEs?

Supply chain requests (Supplier ESG questionnaires) may include, for example:

• basic information on the company’s environmental impact
• data on emissions and energy use
• information on waste volumes and material sourcing
• descriptions of social policies and practices
• explanations of how suppliers and subcontractors are selected

Often, similar questions are repeated by different customers and partners, although in slightly different formats.

Why does case-by-case responding create a burden?

When information is collected separately each time:

• responding takes unnecessary time
• data may become inconsistent
• the overall picture of the company’s sustainability efforts becomes unclear

Over time, this increases administrative workload and the risk of errors.

How can an SME prepare in a systematic way?

Preparing for supply chain requirements becomes significantly easier when a company has:

• a consolidated sustainability report aligned with the VSME framework
• clearly defined indicators and principles
• clear descriptions of processes and operating practices
• an up-to-date and easily maintainable data foundation

A report aligned with the VSME framework provides an excellent starting point, as it covers the key ESG topics commonly requested from SMEs in supply chains.

One report, multiple responses

When sustainability data is stored in one place, a company can:

• respond to requests consistently
• share information with different stakeholders when needed
• save time and resources

Aila’s solution supports this approach: the report is created once and reused across multiple situations, without starting from scratch each time.