From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: Why You Should Start Emissions Reporting Today
- Simone Fraid
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
If your company hasn't yet received a sustainability questionnaire from a customer, you likely will soon. In addition to broader inquiries about sustainability efforts and greenhouse gas emissions, Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Mastercard are embedding reporting requirements into supplier contracts to support their net zero ambitions.
The requirements being passed down by these large companies are also tightening. Suppliers who submitted basic data two years ago are now asked for verified, third-party-assured information. Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct and purchased electricity) are now table stakes, and many buyers are pushing for Scope 3 engagement and validated science-based targets. Additionally, many require responding to a rating system such as EcoVadis or CDP. The longer a company waits to start gathering this data, the harder it becomes to comply when the request arrives.
Two Key Frameworks, Different Questions
Most disclosure requests include one of the following platforms: EcoVadis1 or CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)2. EcoVadis had more than 55,000 global respondents in 2025, and 270+ large organizations requested CDP Supply Chain disclosures from approximately 45,000 suppliers in 2025.
EcoVadis assesses your entire operation: environmental practices, labor and human rights, ethics and compliance, and sustainable procurement. It's a holistic view of responsible business.
CDP focuses specifically on climate risk. It digs into how you measure, manage, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate the impacts of climate change, with emphasis on financial implications. CDP is where companies assess your climate strategy.
Both frameworks require emissions reporting. Both reward detailed, verified data with higher scores. But they're answering slightly different questions: "Is this supplier responsible?" versus "Is this supplier managing climate risk?"
What Clients Are Actually Asking For
When a customer asks you to complete a sustainability assessment, they're usually asking for one core thing at minimum: your Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. These are direct emissions from operations you control (Scope 1: fuel burned, vehicles operated) and indirect emissions from purchased electricity (Scope 2). In most cases, once a baseline is established, suppliers are asked to track this information year over year and set reduction targets. Companies that do this often find additional benefits once they start pursuing emissions reduction strategies: lower energy bills, reduced waste, improved operational efficiency.
What to Do: A Straightforward Path,
Let Greenwood Guide You
If you haven't begun reporting, we recommend starting simple. We’ll help you:
Gather your baseline. Consolidate data on energy use, fuel consumption, waste, and water. Most of this data exists somewhere in your organization- in utility bills, spreadsheets and milage reports.
Document the approach. Write down your commitment to environmental responsibility in the form of a policy detailing areas of focus, goals and targets, best practices, and reporting efforts. Review other opportunities for responsibility-focused policies (such as a policy on working conditions) and guiding documents such as a Supplier Code of Conduct
Assess the impacts. Conduct a basic risk assessment to understand where your operations and the environment intersect, and what risks that creates across various time horizons. Not only will this demonstrate a considered approach to your clients, but it may also uncover opportunities to better position the company to withstand climate events and market shifts.
Communicate the efforts. Once you have a baseline and strategy, a simple sustainability report (5-10 pages) can help articulate the value of these efforts. This asset can be published on your website, shared with customers, used as an internal and external marketing tool. It not only demonstrates transparency and commitment, but creates a centralized asset to prove where you stand.
The Bottom Line: Act Now
Benefits Beyond Compliance. Sustainability reporting is more than a “check the box” exercise to meet a client requirement. It represents an opportunity to strategically evaluate your operations to manage risk, identify efficiencies, and formalize best practices. These efforts can result in financial benefits and reputational credibility with stakeholders, from clients, to employees and local communities.
Interested in hearing how we can help? Schedule a time to meet with Simone: https://calendly.com/simone-greenwood/new-meeting
-Simone Fraid, TRUE Advisor
Sustainability Consultant | Reporting & Waste Consulting Team Lead
2 CDP.net