An ESG questionnaire from a customer is best answered by assembling one evidence base once, covering emissions, energy, water, workforce, safety and governance metrics, structuring it to survive scrutiny, then mapping that single file to each format requested, such as EcoVadis or CDP, so the platform scores data already collected.
One evidence base, assembled once
Overseas buyers and large customers increasingly ask Indian suppliers to complete platform questionnaires such as EcoVadis or to disclose through CDP, then score the returned data into procurement and financing decisions. A buyer wants evidence it can trust, not adjectives, because its own disclosure and supply chain commitments depend on the data suppliers return. The efficient response, set out in ESG advisory, assembles the underlying evidence once and structures it to survive scrutiny, so the supplier answers from data already collected rather than assembling answers under deadline. That single evidence base typically covers:
- Emissions, energy and water metrics.
- Workforce and safety records.
- Governance, compliance and transparency controls.
Mapping one file to many formats
One evidence base responds to many formats without rebuilding answers each time. Each questionnaire requests the same underlying metrics in a different shape. The platforms differ in structure, so the same file is mapped, not rewritten:
| Platform | What it assesses | How it scores |
|---|---|---|
| EcoVadis | Four themes: Environment; Labour and Human Rights; Ethics; Sustainable Procurement, on Policies, Actions and Results across 21 criteria | 0 to 100 scorecard; percentile medals, Platinum top 1 percent, Gold top 5 percent, Silver top 15 percent, Bronze top 35 percent, no theme below 30 |
| CDP | A single integrated corporate questionnaire (from 2024) covering climate change, water security, forests, biodiversity and plastics | Four levels, Disclosure, Awareness, Management and Leadership, graded A to D minus, F for non-disclosure; more than 22,700 companies scored in 2024 |
Who scores, and who assures
The division of roles stays fixed across every format. GreenSutra, an ESG consultant since 2016, prepares and structures the evidence and readies the data file for independent verification; EcoVadis and CDP score the submission; independent accredited third parties assure it. GreenSutra never scores, verifies or issues a medal. A supplier facing a first questionnaire can scope the work through an ESG discovery brief, after which the response is set out on the ESG solutions page.
Sources: EcoVadis Ratings Methodology · CDP Help Center