Why is my buyer asking for this?
Supply chain compliance questionnaires come from two different places: legal obligations on your buyer, and deliberate choices your buyer has made. Understanding which one you are dealing with changes how you should respond.
Your buyer is legally required to ask
Active legislation creates a direct obligation on your buyer. A non-response from you creates a gap in their compliance record.
Germany
Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG)
Your buyer faces BAFA fines of up to 2% of global annual turnover if they cannot demonstrate adequate supply chain due diligence. A non-response from you creates a gap in their compliance record.
Read the Germany supplier guideFrance
Loi de Vigilance (Duty of Vigilance Law)
France was the first country to criminalise supply chain negligence. The first conviction came in December 2023. French buyers face civil liability and criminal prosecution if harm occurs in their supply chain and they cannot show they took reasonable steps to prevent it.
Read the France supplier guideNorway
Åpenhetsloven (Transparency Act)
The Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet) can issue fines and public orders. Norwegian buyers must publish an annual due diligence account and respond to public information requests within three weeks. A weak supply chain assessment undermines both.
Read the Norway supplier guideUnited Kingdom
Modern Slavery Act 2015
UK companies with turnover above £36 million must publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement. Buyers use supplier questionnaires to gather evidence for that statement. Reputational risk and investor pressure are the primary drivers — direct penalties for weak statements are limited but reform is ongoing.
Read the United Kingdom supplier guideSwitzerland
Due Diligence and Transparency Ordinance (DDTrO)
Swiss buyers in manufacturing, electronics, and food sectors must conduct due diligence on conflict minerals (3TG) and child labour. Criminal penalties apply for false reporting under the Swiss Code of Obligations.
Read the Switzerland supplier guideYour buyer chose to ask — no law required it
Some buyers apply due diligence standards before any law requires it. This is unusual — and tells you something about how seriously they take it.
Belgium
Voluntary CSDDD alignment (national law pending)
Belgium's own duty of vigilance law is still a proposal. Belgian buyers are not legally required to assess their suppliers today. They are doing it anyway — because they helped write the EU CSDDD, lobbied for it, and then applied its standards immediately, before any law required it. A Belgian buyer's questionnaire is a deliberate choice about supply chain standards, not a compliance deadline.
Read the Belgium supplier guideNetherlands
Wet Zorgplicht Kinderarbeid (passed 2019, not yet in force)
The Dutch child labour due diligence law passed parliament in 2019 but has no implementation date. Dutch buyers face no legal penalty today for not assessing their supply chain. Companies including Philips, Unilever, and Heineken are applying its principles anyway — ahead of the law, ahead of enforcement. Their questionnaire reflects a deliberate procurement standard, not a regulatory deadline.
Read the Netherlands supplier guideA note on CSRD data requests
If your buyer is a large EU company (over 250 employees), they may also be asking for your emissions data, social metrics, and governance information for their own mandatory CSRD report. This is separate from supply chain due diligence — it is a data request for their own reporting obligations. The same questionnaire may serve both purposes.
Read the EU (CSRD & CSDDD) guideWhichever type of questionnaire you have received, ESG Stress Free gives you the tools to respond with confidence.