what data do I need to collect to complete a sustainability questionnaire

The basic set: identity, scale, chain and three environmental figures

Most sustainability lists request the same four blocks, even though the portal varies. Block one is identity and scale: the statutory name, the registration number and the number of employees. These are not sustainability questions as such, but they determine which modules of the list apply to you — the VSME basic module of EFRAG, for example, uses the number of employees and annual turnover to determine whether you count as a micro or small enterprise. Block two is environment: energy consumption, emissions in scope 1 and 2, and increasingly also scope 3 — indirect emissions in the chain, for example from your suppliers and transport. Scope 3 is the most difficult part, because you need figures from others for that.

Block three is social policy: number of employees by contract type, turnover, accidents, and whether there is a policy for equal treatment. Block four is governance: whether there is a code of conduct, how suppliers are screened, and whether there is a whistleblower scheme. For each of these blocks: a question with a number (emissions in tonnes, turnover in percentage) requires a source measurement; a yes/no question about policy requires a document that sets out that policy. Without that document, the most honest answer is "no" or "not applicable", not an educated guess.

Where this classification comes from

The VSME basic module of EFRAG is the voluntary standard on which most SME questionnaires are based, even if the recipient itself reports under the CSRD (Directive (EU) 2022/2464) and passes those requirements down to its chain. The VSME breakdown into environment, social and governance is exactly the breakdown you see in most portals, even though each portal calls the headings differently. Data on legal form and registration follow from the Trade Register Act 2007, which sets out what basic data of each enterprise are registered — often that is the quickest source when you notice that a question is actually about the registered address or the sector and not about sustainability itself.