Sustainability Surveying is crucial for your business and SRM.

Sustainability has rapidly become a key focus in the core value chain of global business.

Actualizing sustainability, especially in the context of supply chain management, is very important during the selection and collaboration of suppliers.

One of the easiest methods for evaluating elements of sustainability - when selecting suppliers - is the utilization of sustainability surveying.

“Responding to a sustainability survey from a customer can be an arduous task. The time required to answer the questions can take hours, days or weeks, depending on the complexity and length of the survey. While some questions may be multiple choice or require yes/no answers, other questions may request written explanations or require supporting documentation” (Stanton 2017).

Sustainability survey data is typically stored in excel spreadsheets or an online portal of some sort. However, developments in supply chain management (supplier relationship management) technology have now implemented sustainability survey aspects into more holistic SCM suites.

Where the real challenge lies is in the actual engagement between buyer and suppliers during periods of surveying, assessment and evaluation. Suppliers could be receiving multiple surveys simultaneously, speak multiple languages or have difficulty understanding the language used in the surveys. Taking these elements into mind before surveying the sustainable competencies of a supplier are very important for the outcome of sustainability surveying.

A recent article, published by Supply Chain Management Review, illustrated some of the questions that should be included/can be expected in a sustainability survey.

These questions typically are focused around:

• ISO Certifications
• Health & Safety specifications
• Hazardous materials/Work Conditions
• Worker/Human Rights in supplier bodies
• Environmental impact: GHG, Wastewater, chemicals etc (Stanton 2017).

If your company is interested in taking measures to assure sustainable action – or any elements above - in your supplier base, don’t hesitate to check out the Kodiak Rating solution. 

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