Procurement & ESG: How to Build an Effective Strategy with Your Suppliers

The ESG topic (Environment, Social, Governance) is no longer just a “nice to have” for Procurement departments. It has become a strategic performance and management criterion.

According to a recent study, 92% of large buying organizations now require ESG data from their suppliers. These data influence purchasing decisions, business relationships, and increasingly, corporate reputation.

Beyond compliance, the numbers speak for themselves: top ESG-rated companies outperform peers by 4.3% annually, show 10–20% higher growth and valuation, and reduce costs by 5–10% through greater operational efficiency and waste reduction (source: Veridion).

In short, ESG is no longer just a regulatory mandate—it’s a lever for competitiveness and resilience.

Growing Regulatory and Organizational Pressure

The introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is accelerating this shift. It mandates structured, verifiable non-financial reporting, with a phased rollout between 2024 and 2027 depending on company size. Procurement departments are now at the core of this transformation: they must collect, consolidate, and verify ESG data from suppliers—often at scale and across complex supply chains.

This is a massive challenge.

According to Veridion, 31% of companies identify administrative complexity—data collection, response tracking, system management—as the main obstacle to implementing an effective ESG strategy.

So how can organizations evaluate their suppliers’ ESG maturity while ensuring information reliability and a smooth process?

Easily Launch Your ESG Strategy with Aprovall’s Initial ESG Module

To answer this need, Aprovall has developed the Initial ESG Module, a tool designed to help organizations gradually structure their ESG approach. Available via the Aprovall platform, this module allows you to establish a clear, simple, and operational ESG assessment baseline without requiring prior expertise.

Its purpose? To help Procurement, CSR, and Compliance teams quickly identify the level of ESG commitment and maturity of their suppliers, while raising internal awareness around best practices.

The Initial ESG Module offers:

• A guided assessment path, focused on essentials, for a practical first integration of environmental, social, and ethical criteria into the supply chain.
• A structured evaluation methodology, based on a 70-question survey aligned with the ESRS framework.
• A progressive and scalable approach, paving the way to Aprovall’s expert modules (Decarbonization, Biodiversity, Ethics, Decent Work, etc.).
• 3 main scores (E, S, G) to quickly visualize overall third-party commitment.
• 12 detailed sub-scores to refine analysis and identify improvement areas.
• A ready-to-use dashboard, for easy results sharing with relevant departments.
• Automated collection of supporting documents, ensuring reliable and streamlined tracking.

A Tool Built for Real-World Use Cases

The Initial ESG Module addresses various challenges faced by Procurement departments:

• Want to assess your suppliers’ ESG maturity before launching a broader initiative? This module offers a clear and structured starting point.
• Need to prepare for CSRD requirements? It helps you collect key initial data and prioritize actions.
• Planning to focus efforts on a specific topic like decarbonization or resource management? The module lets you measure supplier commitment before diving deeper.

Thanks to its pragmatic design, it fits both large corporations and public institutions or mid-sized businesses looking to build their ESG strategy step by step.