Supply chain data: What your customers are starting to ask for
Corporate sustainability has transitioned from preparation phase to a period of direct implementation. This shift is particularly visible in supply chains, where the demand for high-quality, granular data is increasing rapidly. As large companies align their operations with new regulatory frameworks, the pressure on suppliers to provide precise environmental and social metrics has intensified.
The Regulatory Backdrop: CSRD and Value Chain Transparency
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) continues to be the primary driver behind growing demand for supply chain data. While the recent Omnibus Directive adjusted certain financial thresholds and introduced administrative simplifications, the core requirements remain. Companies must understand and report their impacts across their entire value chain.
For larger companies, this includes Scope 3 emissions and material impacts throughout their upstream and downstream activities. As a result, even if a supplier does not fall under the direct legal scope of the directive, they are still required to provide data to their reporting customers.
The VSME Standard: clarifying expectations
To streamline data exchange between large corporations and their partners, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) developed the Voluntary SME (VSME) standard. This framework outlines the specific information that stakeholders may request from their suppliers.
Typical information companies report on include:
- Environmental Metrics: Annual energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste amounts and treatment types.
- Social Disclosures: Number of employees, employee turnover, health and safety metrics, and fair wage practice information.
- Governance: Documented policies regarding anti-corruption, bribery, whistleblowing, and general business ethics.
The goal is to reduce fragmented, customer-specific questionnaires and replace them with a more standardized approach that works for both parties.
Increasing Focus on Carbon Data
Carbon accounting has evolved from high-level estimations toward precise, activity-based calculations. General industry averages are no longer sufficient for organizations aiming to meet net-zero commitments. Instead, companies are increasingly expected to rely on primary, supplier-specific data wherever possible.
Product and Service Carbon Footprints (PCF)
There is a growing demand for the carbon footprint of specific products and services. General corporate-level emissions data is frequently insufficient for procurement teams who require specific data on the carbon intensity of individual goods and services to manage their own environmental impact.
A supplier may be asked to provide, for example:
- Carbon footprint for a product or a service (e.g. 23 kg CO2e per unit)
- Emissions per product life cycle stage (e.g. raw materials, manufacturing, transport, use phase)
Logistics and Distribution Data
Transportation is a significant contributor of value chain emissions. Companies now require detailed reporting on:
- Specific fuel types used in distribution.
- Total ton-kilometers and vehicle efficiency.
- Ready-calculated emissions reports.
- Plans for transitioning to low-emission or zero-emission logistics solutions.
Transition Planning and Renewable Energy
While reporting historical data remains a baseline requirement, the focus is increasingly on demonstrating how the company plans to reduce its emissions over time. This typically includes:
- Defined reduction targets, often required to comply with Science based Targets initiative (SBTi)
- Concrete measures
- Implementation timelines
Renewable Energy Requirements: Documentation of renewable energy use, often supported by Guarantees of Origin. In some sectors, the transition to 100% renewable electricity is becoming a mandatory supplier requirement.
Implications for Suppliers
The growing demand for sustainability data is not only a reporting issue — it is directly influencing supplier selection. According to the OP Large Company Survey 2026 (OP suuryritystutkimus 2026), 40% of large companies anticipate a need to replace subcontractors or suppliers in the near future as sustainability requirements tighten.
Half of these companies estimate that the changes will primarily affect SMEs. This shows that while EU’s reporting requirements do not apply directly to all companies, the indirect impact of these regulations makes data transparency a prerequisite for market access. Suppliers that are unable to meet data requirements may be perceived as a risk from both a regulatory and business perspective.
In addition to environmental data, social sustainability is increasingly under scrutiny. Customers are paying closer attention to ethical practices across the supply chain, including working conditions, fair wages, respect for labour rights, and the prohibition of child or forced labour. Suppliers are therefore expected not only to comply with legislation, but also to demonstrate how social risks are identified and managed in practice.
Conclusion
Data transparency is becoming a fundamental requirement in modern supply chains. Large companies are strengthening their expectations toward suppliers, and the ability to provide consistent, reliable sustainability data is increasingly linked to commercial viability. The ability to provide accurate, standard-aligned data is a fundamental component of competitive positioning and risk management.
At Greenstep, we work closely with our customers to help them proactively prepare for future sustainability data demands and turn reporting requirements into a business advantage.
