CO₂e Attestation — Supplier Requirement

Why Companies Ask for It

Procurement teams, banks, insurers and public institutions increasingly require a standardized CO₂e attestation from their suppliers. This page explains the institutional rationale behind this request, as well as what the attestation represents — and what it does not.

1. Procurement Risk Classification

Large organizations must classify suppliers according to environmental exposure as part of procurement governance and ESG risk frameworks, including sustainable procurement standards such as ISO 20400.

  • supplier ESG risk screening
  • mandatory environmental indicators in tenders
  • alignment with internal procurement policies

2. Financial Institutions and Regulatory Pressure

Banks and insurers are subject to increasing environmental risk assessment obligations under frameworks such as the EU Taxonomy, EBA Guidelines and Solvency II. A standardized CO₂e attestation enables documentation of supplier exposure without requiring full CSRD or ESRS inventories.

3. Due Diligence and Vendor Onboarding

Many organizations require a CO₂e estimate as part of mandatory supplier due diligence. The attestation provides a structured and verifiable document aligned with institutional onboarding templates.

This allows small and mid-sized suppliers to meet requirements that previously required consultants or complex audits.

4. Accessibility for Non-Technical Suppliers

Most SMEs cannot produce CSRD or ESRS reports, nor detailed greenhouse gas inventories. The attestation delivers an institutional-grade indicator using only annual spending data, without technical expertise.

5. Faster Supplier Approval Cycles

Supplier approval is often delayed due to missing or inconsistent environmental information. A standardized CO₂e document significantly reduces review time and accelerates onboarding decisions.

6. Immediate and Independent Verification

Each attestation includes:

  • a unique attestation identifier
  • embedded document integrity safeguards
  • a permanent verification URL
  • a QR code usable in institutional systems

Reviewers can verify authenticity within seconds and confirm that the document has not been altered.

7. Cross-Border Acceptance

The attestation format is aligned with procurement expectations across multiple European jurisdictions, supporting cross-border supplier and group-level workflows.

8. What This Attestation Is Not

  • not a certification
  • not an audit
  • not an assurance or verification engagement
  • not a regulatory carbon report
  • not CSRD or ESRS reporting
  • not a Scope 1, Scope 2 or Scope 3 emissions inventory

9. Legal Scope and Intended Use

This attestation is provided for indicative purposes only. The accuracy and completeness of the underlying data remain the sole responsibility of the supplier.

It does not constitute an audit, certification, assurance engagement or legally binding carbon footprint, and does not replace regulatory or reporting obligations.

This page may be referenced in procurement documentation, supplier communications or onboarding workflows as the official explanation of this requirement.