Supplier Survey

Supplier surveys allow organisations with large and complex supply chains to accurately calculate their Scope 3 emissions by engaging directly with their suppliers.

For most large enterprises Scope 3 emissions account for >90% of their total GHG emissions, but are also the most difficult to accurately capture.
Altruistiq’s Supplier Survey functionality allows our customers to share standardised digital experiences with their suppliers, collecting data on their emissions and feeding automatically into the Altruistiq customer’s own GHG Inventory.

The online survey gathers supplier-specific emissions data that is either:
- Based on a GHG Inventory completed by the supplier in the past
- Or is calculated based on the nature of their business and their financial data, using Altruistiq’s emission estimation method, built in coordination with the Climate Neutral BEE Calculator.
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Why are they used ?

Issuing Supplier Surveys enables enterprises to: 
1. Increase the accuracy of their inventory using supplier-specific data rather than standardised emissions factors
2. Track emissions across individual suppliers, and factor sustainability into the procurement process by compare the emissions efficiency of suppliers
3. Identify and prioritise emissions reduction initiatives, based on supplier-specific carbon abatement costs
4. Engage their suppliers in emissions reduction, and make data-driven investments in decarbonisation across their supply chains
For suppliers, completing a Supplier Survey provides: 
- An overview of their existing GHG inventory in the Altruistiq app, broken down both by GHG Scopes and Altruistiq’s own business activity-based view
- Their own estimated GHG inventory in the Altruistiq app, if they did not previously have one
- Access to intro-level app functionality for tracking emissions progress

Using the Supplier Survey as a Recipient: 

For suppliers with previously completed GHG inventories: 

How the the survey works:
We gather a company’s figures for its completed GHG inventories and map it to our own Activity-based GHG Inventory Methodology. This methodology is in line with the GHG Protocol, but also allocates emissions in a more intuitive business-friendly way, and enables more straightforward data collection in future.
How to use it: 
The survey asks the company for their Scope 1, 2, & 3 (if available) emissions from their most recent GHG inventory, with the opportunity to provide a more detailed breakdown of figures for each category within the Scopes, if these are available. The more detail a company can provide on its existing inventory, the better we can allocate those emissions to our Activity-based platform and the more useful the resultant view will be for the supplier themselves.
If detailed category figures within each Scope are unknown, then the supplier is only expected to provide the total emissions figures for each of Scope 1, 2 & 3, as these overall emissions figures are sufficient for the enterprise issuing the survey.

For Suppliers without completed GHG Inventories

How it works:
If previous GHG inventory data is unavailable, the survey uses a Rapid Impact Estimator (RIE) to estimate a company’s GHG emissions, based on a few headline business parameters. The methodology is based on an academic LCA methodology called Environmentally Extended Input Output (EEIO) analysis that focuses on spend-level data. It allocates emissions based on a company’s costs and existing benchmarks in the wider industry the company operates in. 
We only recommend using this estimation approach in the event that no previous GHG inventory data is available, as using actual historical emissions data for the specific company is generally more accurate.
How to use it:
Suppliers are asked to:
1. Fill in revenue and cost data for the most recent year available (calendar or financial).
2. Select all of the product & service categories the business operates in.

NB: Companies can sometimes struggle to find the relevant product or service for their business - here is a general outline of what’s applicable. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected]. 

3. Assign a percentage of the business’s operating costs to each of the selected product & service categories. 
4. List the facilities and their locations (at country level) where the business operates and each of the selected products & services are created/delivered (e.g. farms, factories, warehouses, offices). *This information is required as the EEIO analysis uses country-level emissions factors, so the emissions that are apportioned to each product or service category will depend on where these are based.*

Common FAQs for Suppliers 

If I don’t have a previous GHG inventory, what can this survey be used for?
This survey helps your customers collect supplier-specific emissions data for their GHG inventories and reduction initiatives. Beyond supporting your relationship with your customer by providing this emissions data, you, as a supplier, can use the survey as a way to develop or visualise your own estimated GHG inventory. 
NB: If you don’t have a previous GHG inventory, filling in this survey is not a substitute for a fully completed GHG inventory. This is strictly an estimation, so the outputs cannot be used for your own regulatory reporting and should not be used for key decision-making as we recognise that estimations can be off. 
Why is this survey so detailed?
For companies that do not yet have a GHG inventory, providing extra levels of detail improves the accuracy of our estimation of your GHG inventory. 
For companies that already have a GHG inventory, extra detail allows us to better allocate to our activity-based methodology, helping both you and your customers with data accuracy in the Altruistiq app.
What to do it I don’t know the answer? 
That’s fine! The more detail the better to provide an estimation, however, the top level figures on your Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions (if you have a GHG inventory) or your spend data (if you don’t have a previous inventory) are what’s most important for us to develop the supplier-specific emission factor for your customers. 
What product or service do I belong to?
Companies can sometimes struggle to find the relevant product or service for their business - here is a general outline of what’s applicable. If further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected].

Have further questions?