Manufacturing Supplier ESG Performance Audit
A structured audit instrument for assessing manufacturing suppliers across environmental, social, and governance pillars. Designed for procurement and sustainability teams to identify ESG risks, benchmark supplier maturity, and prioritize collaborative improvement initiatives.
Sample questions
A preview of what’s in the template. Every question is editable before you launch.
Which of the following best describes what you primarily supply to us?
- Raw materials
- Components
- Finished goods
- Packaging
- Logistics/transport
- Equipment/MRO
- Industrial services (non-production)
- Other (please specify)
How do you currently measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at supplying sites? (Select the highest level that applies.)
- Track Scope 1 and 2 with third-party verification
- Track Scope 1 and 2 (no external verification)
- Track Scope 1 only
- Estimate emissions using spend/activity data
- Do not track any emissions currently
Do you measure non-hazardous (solid) and hazardous waste at supplying sites?
- Measure both with external verification
- Measure both (internal only)
- Measure only non-hazardous
- Measure only hazardous
- Do not measure
Which labor, human rights, and safety policies and practices are in force at supplying sites? (Select all that apply.)
- Prohibit forced labor
- Prohibit child labor
- Freedom of association and collective bargaining
- Non-discrimination and equal opportunity
- Working hours and overtime policy
- Supplier code of conduct implemented
- Third-party social audit within last 24 months
- Health and safety management program
- None of the above
Which external ESG disclosures do you publicly provide? (Select all that apply.)
- Annual sustainability/ESG report
- CDP Climate response
- EcoVadis assessment
- Sedex/SMETA participation
- GRI-referenced report
- TCFD-aligned disclosure
- None
- Other (please specify)
Based on your responses in this survey, what support or collaboration from us would most help improve your ESG performance in the next 12 months?
What is your primary role?
- Sustainability/ESG
- Procurement/Supply chain
- Operations/Plant management
- Quality/HSE
- Sales/Account management
- Executive leadership
- Other
Thank you for completing this ESG assessment. We appreciate your time and transparency. Our team will review all responses and follow up with you to discuss findings and opportunities for partnership on improvements.
How many manufacturing or processing sites currently supply our orders?
- 1
- 2–3
- 4–6
- 7–10
- 11–20
- More than 20
Which Scope 3 categories did you quantify in the last 12 months? (Select all that apply.)
- Purchased goods and services
- Fuel- and energy-related activities
- Upstream transportation and distribution
- Waste generated in operations
- Business travel
- Employee commuting
- Downstream transportation and distribution
- Use of sold products
- End-of-life treatment of sold products
- Not applicable
What was your approximate waste diversion rate in the last 12 months? (Percentage of total waste diverted from landfill or incineration without energy recovery.)
- 0–10%
- 11–25%
- 26–50%
- 51–75%
- 76–90%
- 91–100%
- Do not track
What was your Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) for the last 12 months? (Per 200,000 hours worked.)
- 0 (no recordable incidents)
- 0.1–1.0
- 1.1–2.0
- 2.1–4.0
- 4.1–6.0
- Above 6.0
- Do not track
If available, please share a public URL to your most recent ESG disclosure or sustainability report.
We'd like to explore a few of your responses in more detail. An AI moderator will ask you 1–2 brief follow-up questions about your ESG practices and any challenges you face.
In which region is your organization's headquarters located?
- Africa
- Asia-Pacific
- Europe
- Latin America
- Middle East
- North America
- Multiple regions/Global
Which management system certifications are currently in place at the supplying sites? (Select all that apply.)
- ISO 9001 (Quality)
- ISO 14001 (Environmental)
- ISO 45001 (Health & Safety)
- ISO 50001 (Energy)
- None
- Other (please specify)
Have you set greenhouse gas reduction targets?
- Science-based target approved (SBTi)
- Science-based target submitted/pending
- Internal target, not SBTi-aligned
- Currently developing a target
- No targets
Which waste or circularity practices did you implement in the last 12 months? (Select all that apply.)
- Closed-loop recycling with us or our peers
- Material substitution to reduce waste
- Lean/process improvements reducing scrap
- Returnable/reusable packaging
- Waste-to-energy
- Hazardous waste minimization program
- None
- Other (please specify)
Is there an anonymous worker grievance mechanism available at supplying sites?
- Yes, companywide
- Yes, at some sites
- No
Is any of your ESG data externally assured?
- External assurance of emissions only
- External assurance of broader ESG data
- No external assurance
Approximately how many employees work at the sites that supply our orders?
- Fewer than 50
- 50–249
- 250–999
- 1,000–4,999
- 5,000–9,999
- 10,000 or more
What is your target year to achieve your current GHG reduction goal?
- 2025
- 2026–2027
- 2028–2029
- 2030
- 2031–2035
- 2036–2040
- 2041–2050
- After 2050
- Not applicable / No target set
How confident are you in the accuracy of the ESG data you provided in this survey?
How long have you been in your current role?
- Less than 1 year
- 1–3 years
- 4–6 years
- 7–10 years
- More than 10 years
How confident are you in meeting your GHG reduction target on schedule?
Which energy sources are used at your supplying sites? (Select all that apply.)
- Grid electricity (standard mix)
- Purchased renewable electricity (PPAs/RECs)
- On-site renewable generation (e.g., solar, wind)
- On-site fossil fuels (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil)
- Other (e.g., biomass, purchased steam)
What is the approximate share of renewable energy in your total energy consumption at supplying sites?
- 0% (none)
- 1–10%
- 11–25%
- 26–50%
- 51–75%
- 76–99%
- 100%
- Do not track
What’s included
AI follow-ups
Adaptive probes on open-ended answers that pull out detail a static form would miss.
Attention checks
Built-in safeguards against rushed answers and low-quality respondents.
AI-drafted copy
Wording, ordering, and branching written by the AI — tuned to your research goal.
Auto report
Themes, quotes, and a plain-English summary write themselves once responses come in.
How it compares
We reviewed the closest templates from other survey tools. Here’s what they do well — and where this template goes further.
Why this template
- AI-powered interviews dynamically probe organizational readiness gaps and comprehension barriers in real-time, yielding richer qualitative data
- Specialized templates for specific ESG dimensions (biodiversity KPIs, carbon dashboards) rather than one-size-fits-all sustainability checklists
- Every parameter is logged for reproducibility—critical for academic ESG research and longitudinal corporate tracking
Qualtrics
Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) SolutionEnterprise ESG solution with a validated ESG framework, dashboard design guides, and action planning. Powerful but requires significant implementation investment and is priced for large enterprises, not independent researchers or mid-size sustainability teams.
What it does well
- Expert-created surveys based on a validated ESG framework measuring employee perceptions across E, S, and G dimensions
- Includes dashboard design guide and action planning guide for connecting survey results to next steps
- Can determine key focus areas and understand how ESG performance affects employee experience
Where it falls short
- Enterprise-only pricing makes it inaccessible for academic researchers and smaller sustainability teams
- No transparent AI follow-up interviews—insights come from proprietary analytics with no visible methodology
- Focused on employee ESG perceptions; doesn't cover external stakeholder, consumer, or biodiversity-specific assessments
- Heavy implementation overhead; not suitable for agile or exploratory research designs
Jotform
Sustainability Practice Integration SurveyComprehensive form template covering energy use, waste reduction, procurement, and employee engagement. Well-structured for operational sustainability audits but purely a data collection form without analytical intelligence.
What it does well
- Covers key sustainability dimensions: energy use, waste management, procurement, and employee engagement
- Conditional logic ensures respondents only see role-relevant questions
- Free to use with full drag-and-drop customization and integration capabilities
Where it falls short
- No AI-powered follow-ups to explore why certain sustainability practices aren't being adopted
- No maturity-model framework—just collects data without assessing organizational readiness levels
- No built-in analysis for identifying gaps between current practices and ESG targets
- Cannot adapt question depth based on respondent expertise or organizational context
Jotform
Materiality Assessment QuestionnaireValuable tool for sustainability reporting and CSR materiality assessment. Addresses ESG issue prioritization but lacks the depth of AI-guided interviews for understanding stakeholder reasoning behind materiality ratings.
What it does well
- Directly addresses materiality assessment for sustainability reporting and ESG issue prioritization
- Customizable with drag-and-drop, integration capabilities, and automated data transfer
- Applicable across sectors for both internal and external stakeholder materiality assessment
Where it falls short
- No AI follow-ups to probe why stakeholders rate certain ESG issues as more material than others
- Static form cannot adapt to explore emerging ESG topics based on respondent input
- No methodology transparency or guidance on proper materiality assessment frameworks
- No reproducibility features for longitudinal ESG tracking or academic research
Typeform
Sustainability Survey & Questionnaire TemplateEmployee-focused sustainability survey designed to gather ideas for incorporating sustainability programs. Clean conversational UX but extremely generic—focused on internal employee sentiment rather than rigorous ESG assessment.
What it does well
- Beautiful conversational UI with brand customization and 300+ integrations
- Instant downloadable reports for easy internal sharing
- Adaptive flow based on respondent data for basic personalization
Where it falls short
- No AI-powered probing; conversational format is aesthetic only, not intelligent
- Focused narrowly on employee sustainability opinions, not organizational ESG maturity or readiness
- No framework for assessing biodiversity KPIs, carbon dashboard comprehension, or specific ESG dimensions
- No academic rigor or reproducibility features for research-grade sustainability assessments
Ready to launch?
Open this template in the editor. Every part is yours to change before the first respondent sees it.