Food & Grocer Retailer Sustainability Questionnaire Examples
Whether you’re a small food producer, ingredient supplier, or private-label manufacturer, sustainability questionnaires from grocery retailers are now part of doing business. Some retailers report under CSRD directly; others align their supplier requirements with CSRD principles even when reporting is voluntary.
Either way, these questionnaires are no longer ad-hoc. They are increasingly structured, repeatable, and auditable, and your responses can directly affect listing decisions, contract renewals, and customer trust.
This guide breaks down realistic examples of food and grocery retailer sustainability questions, explains what retailers are actually looking for, and shows how small suppliers can respond confidently without over-engineering their data.
Why Retailer Questionnaires Are Increasing
Under CSRD, retailers must understand sustainability risks and impacts across their value chains. Food suppliers are a priority because of:
- Agricultural and processing impacts
- Labour and working conditions
- Packaging, waste, and resource use
As a result, many retailers standardise questionnaires to collect comparable supplier data. If you want broader context on why these requests are increasing, see CSRD supplier requirements: what small businesses should expect in 2025.
Common Structure of Food Retailer Questionnaires
Most food and grocery questionnaires follow a similar pattern, even if branding differs.
Typical sections include:
- Company overview
- Workforce and labour practices
- Environmental impacts (energy, water, waste)
- Agriculture or sourcing practices
- Governance and ethics
Understanding this structure helps you prepare one core dataset that can be reused.
Example 1: Company and Operations Overview
Typical question:
Please describe your company’s activities and production sites.
What retailers are looking for:
- Clear description of what you produce
- Where production or farming takes place
- Whether activities are owned or outsourced
How to respond: Keep this factual and consistent across customers. One short paragraph is usually enough. Avoid marketing language and focus on operations.
Example 2: Workforce and Working Conditions
Typical questions:
- How many employees and seasonal workers do you have?
- Do you have policies on health and safety or fair working conditions?
What retailers are looking for:
- Basic workforce transparency
- Confirmation that labour risks are considered
How to respond: Simple metrics plus narrative work well:
- Total headcount (employees and seasonal workers)
- Short explanation of how health, safety, and fair treatment are managed
Detailed HR analytics are rarely required for small suppliers. This aligns with broader expectations under the own workforce topic hub.
Example 3: Environmental Data (Energy, Water, Waste)
Typical questions:
- Do you track energy and water use?
- What types of waste are generated and how are they managed?
What retailers are looking for:
- Awareness of environmental impacts
- Basic data or credible estimates
How to respond: You can often use:
- Utility bills or annual estimates
- Qualitative explanations where data is limited
Consistency matters more than precision. These responses often feed into retailers’ wider reporting under CSRD and circular economy requirements.
Example 4: Agricultural Practices and Inputs
Typical questions (for primary producers):
- Do you use fertilisers or pesticides?
- What measures reduce environmental or biodiversity impacts?
What retailers are looking for:
- Risk awareness, not perfection
- Evidence of responsible practices
How to respond: Describe:
- Types of inputs used (high-level)
- Practices to reduce runoff, overuse, or harm
- Participation in schemes or certifications
You are not expected to disclose sensitive application rates unless legally required.
Example 5: Packaging and Waste Responsibilities
Typical questions:
- What packaging materials are used?
- Are you registered with national EPR schemes?
What retailers are looking for:
- Legal compliance
- Alignment with circular economy goals
How to respond: Prepare:
- A simple packaging material breakdown
- EPR registration numbers where applicable
This data is often reused across multiple customers and aligns closely with CSRD waste disclosures.
Example 6: Ethics and Business Conduct
Typical questions:
- Do you have a code of conduct or ethics policy?
- How do you manage complaints or issues in the supply chain?
What retailers are looking for:
- Minimum governance standards
- Clear escalation routes
How to respond: A short written statement is usually sufficient. Formal whistleblowing systems are not expected from small suppliers, but clarity is.
How to Build Reusable Questionnaire Answers
The most effective suppliers avoid answering each questionnaire from scratch.
Good practice includes:
- Maintaining a master ESG response document
- Updating it once per year
- Tailoring only where customers ask something specific
This saves time and reduces inconsistencies between different retailer submissions. The same approach is commonly used across other sectors, as shown in ESG requirements from retailers: questionnaire examples.
What Happens If You Can’t Answer Everything?
Retailers generally accept:
- “Data not currently available”
- Clear explanations of limitations
- Commitments to improve over time
What causes problems is silence or inconsistency, not honest gaps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these questionnaires legally required?
The questionnaires themselves are not laws, but they support retailers’ legal CSRD obligations. Refusing to engage can affect commercial relationships.
Do small food suppliers need formal sustainability reports?
Usually not. Retailers expect proportionate answers. Structured questionnaires often replace the need for full reports.
Can we reuse answers across different retailers?
Yes. This is normal and expected, as long as answers are accurate and up to date.
How often do questionnaires need updating?
Most retailers request updates annually or during contract renewals. Keeping information current once per year is usually sufficient.
Key Terms
- CSRD – Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
- Stakeholder engagement – Interaction with customers, suppliers, and partners
- Value-chain workers – Workers involved in producing supplied goods
- Supplier questionnaire – Structured ESG data request from buyers
- EPR – Extended Producer Responsibility
Next Steps for Food Suppliers
Start by collecting the questions you receive most often from retailers. Group them into common themes—workforce, environment, sourcing, packaging—and prepare standard answers in plain language.
With a clear structure and consistent data, sustainability questionnaires become a manageable part of maintaining retail partnerships, rather than a barrier to growth.