Question 1

My customer asked for our carbon data. Where do I start?

Accepted Answer

First, do not improvise an answer that you cannot repeat next year. Check what the customer is really asking for: the emissions of your company (Scope 1, 2 and 3), the footprint of a specific product, or a reduction target. Then check what data you already hold, such as energy bills, fuel use, production records and purchasing data, and identify the gaps. A structured carbon baseline turns each future request into a quick update rather than a fire drill. TCB helps suppliers set this foundation so that answering customers becomes routine.

Question 2

What are Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?

Accepted Answer

Scope 1 covers the emissions from sources your company owns or controls, such as fuel burned in boilers, furnaces and vehicles. Scope 2 covers the emissions from the electricity, heat and steam you buy. Scope 3 covers the rest of the value chain: purchased materials, transport, waste, and the use of what you sell. The three scopes come from the GHG Protocol, the standard most customers and reporting frameworks rely on. Your own emissions are part of your customer's Scope 3. That is why the request lands on your desk.

Question 3

Why are large customers asking suppliers for carbon data?

Accepted Answer

Many large companies have set targets to reduce the emissions in their supply chain. Among European corporates with validated targets under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), 97% have a Scope 3 target (2,754 of 2,845), and 16% also commit to getting a share of their suppliers to set science based targets of their own. They can only report progress with data from suppliers. Regulation pushes in the same direction: the EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT) requires companies to be able to prove the environmental claims they make to consumers, and much of that proof is supplier data.

Question 4

What is a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)?

Accepted Answer

Carbon emissions can be measured at company level or at product level. For your customer to complete its own corporate carbon accounting, it needs to know the footprint of the specific product you sell it. A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is the methodology that calculates this, so the figure can be passed up to your customer. TCB calculates PCFs under ISO 14067. Third party verified PCFs are strong data points that can also be used to substantiate sustainability claims.

Question 5

What is a decarbonisation roadmap?

Accepted Answer

A decarbonisation roadmap turns the emissions inventory into a plan. It starts from the hotspots, the activities responsible for most of the emissions, and compares the options to reduce them, each with its cost, saving and payback. The result is a set of targets and a sequence of actions the business can fund. A more efficient use of energy and materials can reduce costs and emissions at the same time. In TCB's case study, a product carbon footprint showed that 28% of one input feedstock was being lost as CO₂, and the fix could reduce emissions at net-zero cost.

Question 6

What is the EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT) and how does it affect suppliers?

Accepted Answer

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT) is an EU law that requires companies making environmental claims to EU consumers to be able to prove them. It bans generic claims such as "green" or "eco friendly" unless the specific detail is given on the same medium, sustainability labels not based on a certification scheme, and "carbon neutral" product claims based on offsets. It applies from 27 September 2026 in the Member States that have transposed it, including the Netherlands. Your business does not need to make any consumer claims itself to be affected. The trigger is indirect: the large customer that makes the claims needs real data about the products and materials in its supply chain, so it asks you for carbon footprints and other environmental data. The directive puts no duty on suppliers in their B2B role: the pull comes through procurement and contracts. A supplier with the data ready gives its customer a claim it can keep.

Question 7

What is PPWR and does it apply to my packaging?

Accepted Answer

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets mandatory requirements for packaging recyclability, recycled content and packaging minimisation, and it has applied since August 2026. It covers companies that manufacture, import or place packaged goods on the EU market. Here too the indirect trigger matters: even where the formal obligation sits with a larger customer, they will pass packaging data and compliance requests down to their suppliers. TCB helps companies work out their role, build the evidence and close the gap. See PPWR Compliance Support.

Question 8

What is CSRD and does it apply to my company?

Accepted Answer

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is an EU directive requiring companies above certain thresholds to publish annual sustainability reports aligned with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). It applies directly only to large companies. The key point: even if your company is not in scope itself, a large customer that is will pass the requirement down to you as a request for sustainability data.

Question 9

What is EcoVadis and why do my customers ask for it?

Accepted Answer

EcoVadis is a widely used third party platform that scores companies on environmental, social, ethical and supply chain criteria. Many large industrial operators require their suppliers to complete an EcoVadis assessment as a condition of tendering or contract renewal. Preparing the right evidence in advance, filtered to what is material for your business, makes a stronger score achievable with less scramble.

Question 10

Do I need an ESG or VSME report?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what your customers ask for. Some send an ESG questionnaire or ask for a sustainability report. VSME is the EU's voluntary reporting standard for companies outside the scope of CSRD, and it gives a ready format for that. TCB prepares VSME aligned reports. Where carbon and resource data has already been collected, it feeds straight into the report. See ESG Strategy and Reporting.

Question 11

Do I need a consultant if there is no sustainability team in house?

Accepted Answer

An independent consultant can work almost like a member of your team, integrating with your people and joining the relevant meetings, with two differences that suit a business without its own sustainability team. There is no full time contract: often a few hours a week is all you need. And it carries fewer legal and administrative constraints than taking on an employee. You get senior carbon and sustainability capability when you need it, without the overhead of a permanent hire.

Questions suppliers ask