ESG Questionnaire Completion Guide

2.1 Collect materials

• · Company basics: legal name, unified social credit code, operating revenue, headcount, and similar information.
• · Reports: ESG or sustainability report, annual financial report, and other relevant reports.
• · Certifications: for example ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment), ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety), and ISO/IEC 27001 (information security).
• · Policies and statements: environmental policy, employee handbook, human rights policy, Code of Conduct, anti-corruption policy, and similar internal documents.
• · Audit opinions and external assurance: external audit opinions on financial statements, and external assurance on the ESG report.
• · ESG topic KPIs: greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, pollutants/waste (where applicable), workforce, products and customers, supply chain, board and management structure, business ethics, and related metrics.

2.2 Assign an owner

Have someone who knows operations, compliance, supply chain, and EHS lead the work. Listed companies may have the board office that handles public disclosure coordinate, with HR, procurement, administration, and production as needed.

2.3 Plan the timeline

After you create a questionnaire, the system usually sets a completion deadline. Plan ahead and submit before that date.

Tip: If your company is listed, complete the questionnaire only after the ESG (or sustainability) report has been publicly released, so unpublished information is not disclosed early.

4.1 Golden rules

• · Authenticity:Answer based on facts. False information may be treated as greenwashing and can lead a chain owner to end the business relationship.
• · Accuracy:For quantitative questions, watch units (tonnes, kilograms, cubic metres, people, hours, and so on). For qualitative questions, be specific; avoid vague answers.
• · Completeness:Unless a question is marked optional, try to answer every item. If it does not apply, enter “Not applicable” and briefly explain why — do not leave it blank or select “I do not know.”
• · Consistency:Related figures and descriptions should be consistent and not contradict each other.

4.2 AI-assisted completion

To save time, the platform can help complete the questionnaire with AI. If you have published an ESG report, you may upload it in step 2 (optional) — ESG, sustainability, or CSR reports are all accepted. Review and edit the AI draft before you continue. You can also skip the upload and complete everything yourself.

In step 2, upload one report that matches the reporting period. Keep it reasonably short — ideally under 100 pages. If you are a Hong Kong listed company and the annual report is combined with the ESG report, extract the ESG section and upload that file. Very long reports make it harder for the agent to extract key metrics; trim the file if needed.

Tip: If your company is listed, upload the report only after it has been publicly released, so unpublished information is not disclosed early.

4.3 Use “I do not know” carefully

For yes/no questions, answer “Yes” or “No” whenever you can. For information your company should know, “I do not know” will weaken how the platform or the chain owner assesses you.

4.4 Do not upload the same evidence twice

Upload each evidence file once. Later topics can reuse files already in the archive. For questionnaires submitted for platform review, evidence is a primary basis for review — please upload it.

If you use the ESG report or annual report as evidence, you can upload it once during AI-assisted completion in step 2, then link that file to later topics. If you skip step 2, you can still upload the report under any topic and link it there.

If the questionnaire is for self-assessment only, supporting files are optional.

5.1 Basic information

Typical items: legal name, reporting period, currency, revenue, headcount, and industry.

• · Use this account only for your own company. Do not enter a subsidiary or another legal entity — that will distort how chain owners assess you.
• · Enter the legal name exactly as it appears on the business license.
• · The reporting period is the year of the ESG report or the statistical year, usually aligned with the annual report.
• · Use the same currency as the financial statements.
• · Revenue should match the selected reporting period, typically as stated in that period’s financial statements.
• · Headcount matters: if you have 50 employees or fewer, the system assigns a simplified questionnaire for micro enterprises, with fewer questions.
• · Industry selection also matters. Choose the business that accounts for the largest share of your operations. That choice drives a tailored questionnaire and avoids collecting data that is not relevant to the assessment.

5.2 Qualitative indicators (yes/no and compliance)

Typical examples:

• · Positive indicator: for example, “Has your company obtained ISO 14001 or another environmental management system certification?”
• · Negative indicator: for example, “Has your company used child labour, forced labour, or human trafficking?”

Tips:

• · Answer truthfully with “Yes” or “No.”
• · For a positive indicator, if you select “Yes,” add specifics — certificates, cases, or data — rather than generic claims.
• · For a negative indicator, if you select “Yes” (especially environmental or administrative penalties), explain when it happened, why, the outcome, and any corrective actions.

5.3 Quantitative indicators

Typical examples:

• · “What was your company’s total greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 + Scope 2) in the reporting period, in tonnes of CO₂?”
• · “What was your company’s employee turnover rate (%) in the reporting period?”

Tips:

• · Confirm the definition: reporting period (for example 2025), unit (kWh, tonnes, people, hours), and statistical scope.
• · Keep a trail: figures should trace to public disclosures or source records. Listed companies can use statutory filings as evidence. Unlisted companies should keep source records (utility bills, payroll, production summaries) ready for review.

5.4 Dropdown questions

Typical examples:

“What type of audit opinion did your company receive on the annual report for reporting year T?”

Sample options:

• · Unqualified opinion
• · Unqualified opinion with an emphasis-of-matter paragraph
• · Qualified opinion
• · Adverse opinion
• · Disclaimer of opinion

Tips:

Select the single option that matches your company’s situation.

6.1 File formats

Accepted formats include PDF, Word (DOCX), Excel (XLSX, CSV), and images (JPG, PNG). PDF is the most portable format; prefer it when you can.

6.2 Number of files

Each questionnaire has a file-count limit. If you need many files, merge related content into one PDF first.

6.3 File names

Clear names help reviewers identify the file quickly. Recommended pattern:

CompanyShortName_FileType_Year Example: XXCo_ISO14001_2025.pdf or XXCo_TrainingRecords_2025.xlsx

6.4 File content

Files should be clear and complete, including pages with key information. If content is sensitive, you may upload only pages with the entity, seals, and key clauses. Commercially sensitive prices may be masked, but reviewers must still be able to follow the logic and the key facts.

8.1 Privacy

This option controls who can see the results:

• · Chain-owner company only:Results are visible only to your chain-owner companies, not to the public.
• · Publicly searchable:Results are public. Any registered user can look up your ESG questionnaire.

8.2 Platform review

This option controls whether the questionnaire is reviewed by the platform:

• · Submit for platform review (paid):A professional platform team reviews the questionnaire and issues a formal ESG assessment before it is shared with the chain owner.
• · Self-assessment (free):The questionnaire is not reviewed by the platform. Self-assessment results are sent directly to the chain owner.