What Document Proves Your Carbon Footprint to a Procurement Team?

Why Procurement Teams Now Ask for Carbon Proof

Until recently, a verbal claim or a line item in a tender response was enough: "We are committed to reducing our environmental impact." That era is over. Under the EU's CSRD, large companies must now report verified Scope 3 emissions — which means the carbon footprint of every supplier in their supply chain. Enterprise procurement teams are therefore asking for documented, verifiable evidence.

But what does that evidence actually look like? There are four main document types — and most SMEs only need one of them.

The Four Document Types Procurement Teams Accept

1. Carbon Passport (Verification URL)

A Carbon Passport is a verified digital record of your Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with a permanent public URL. The buyer clicks the link and sees your emission figures, methodology, reporting year, and company details. It satisfies the data requirement for CSRD Scope 3 purposes without requiring third-party auditing.

Best for: Most SME suppliers responding to a procurement questionnaire for the first time. DeCarbonOPS generates one free.

Accepted by: SAP Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer, Sedex, and direct email-based questionnaires.

Time to get: 20–30 minutes.

2. EcoVadis Rating Certificate

EcoVadis is a third-party sustainability rating covering environment, labour, ethics, and procurement. The carbon section of the Environment theme is the most heavily weighted. Buyers who specifically require an EcoVadis score will ask for your rating certificate.

Best for: Suppliers whose clients specifically require EcoVadis, or companies with more than €5m turnover wanting a more comprehensive rating.

Time to get: 4–8 weeks, plus annual renewal. Cost: €1,000–€5,000/year.

3. ISO 14064 Verification Statement

ISO 14064 is a formal third-party verification of your GHG inventory. An accredited verifier reviews your data, methodology, and records, and issues a statement confirming the inventory is materially accurate. This is the gold standard for regulated industries.

Best for: Large manufacturers, listed companies, and suppliers to heavily regulated sectors.

Time to get: 6–12 weeks. Cost: typically €3,000–€15,000.

4. CDP Disclosure

CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) is a publicly accessible database of company climate disclosures. A CDP score demonstrates climate leadership and governance depth. It is primarily relevant for listed companies and companies whose clients are CDP members.

Best for: Companies with 250+ employees and significant investor relations requirements.

Time to get: First disclosure takes 2–6 hours for the questionnaire alone, plus 4–8 weeks for formal scoring.

What Most SMEs Actually Need

The decision matrix is simple:

For a first-time SME supplier, the answer is almost always: Carbon Passport first. It is free, takes under 30 minutes, and satisfies the data requirement for the vast majority of CSRD-driven procurement questionnaires.

What Information Goes Into a Carbon Passport?

A procurement-ready Carbon Passport contains:

• Company name, VAT number, industry, and country
• Reporting year
• Scope 1 total (tCO2e) with methodology notes
• Scope 2 total (tCO2e) — location-based and market-based
• Scope 3 total (tCO2e) — key categories
• Emissions intensity: tCO2e per employee and per €1m revenue
• Calculation methodology: GHG Protocol, DEFRA 2023 factors
• Verification status: self-assessed
• Permanent verification URL

Generate your Carbon Passport free at DeCarbonOPS. Enter your utility data, see your Scope 1, 2, and 3 figures, and get a shareable URL in under 30 minutes.