Use case · Buyer & supplier questionnaire
“Describe how your business manages physical climate risk and adaptation.”
A buyer questionnaire can turn a broad climate question into a contractual or commercial statement about what your business does. The goal is to answer with enough evidence to be credible without making commitments the business has not assessed, funded or approved.
Read the question before writing the promise
What information is actually being requested?
Separate requests for current risk information, existing controls, future plans, targets and governance. They are not the same thing.
What can you already evidence?
Use existing risk management, business continuity, maintenance, emergency planning and capital measures where they genuinely address the climate-related exposure.
Where are the gaps?
Identify missing evidence or resilience actions rather than filling the questionnaire with unsupported commitments.
One underlying assessment, adapted for the buyer
We use the climate-risk work to build an evidence base the business can stand behind. The buyer-facing response then draws from that evidence rather than creating a separate climate story for every questionnaire.
What can the business reasonably commit to?
Use clear, bounded statements with ownership and timing where these have actually been agreed.
Frequently asked questions
Should we answer every climate question with a target?
No. A target is appropriate only where the business has actually established one and can support it. Some questions are better answered with current controls, planned actions, governance or an explanation of work still underway.
Can we reuse an existing climate risk assessment?
Usually, yes, if the assessment covers the locations, hazards and decisions relevant to the buyer’s question. The task is then to translate the relevant evidence into the requested format.
What if we do not yet have an adaptation plan?
Say what is already in place, identify what still needs to be assessed and avoid presenting intentions as approved commitments. A proportionate screening can provide a defensible starting point.
Send us the questionnaire wording.
We will identify what the buyer is actually asking, what you can already support with evidence and where additional climate-risk or adaptation work is warranted.