Why Customer Sustainability Requirements Are Changing Chemical Suppliers

By Laura Benavides, Director of Sustainability

 

Not long ago, sustainability conversations between customers and suppliers were fairly straightforward.

A customer might ask whether a product was bio-based or biodegradable. They might request a safety data sheet or ask about a company’s environmental policies. Those questions were important, but they were usually only one part of a much larger purchasing decision.

Today, the conversation looks very different.

Customers want emissions data. They ask about renewable carbon content, Life Cycle Assessments, third-party certifications, ethical sourcing, governance policies, and documentation that many companies never had to produce before.

In many cases, those requests arrive before technical evaluations even begin.

These changing customer sustainability requirements are reshaping how chemical manufacturers operate. They are influencing how companies collect data, document processes, develop products, and communicate with customers.

At Integrity BioChem, we have experienced this shift firsthand. Looking back, our sustainability program did not begin with a company-wide initiative or a boardroom strategy session. It started with customers asking better questions.

We learned because our customers asked us to

One of the first major turning points for us came when a customer asked us to complete an EcoVadis assessment.

To be honest, we knew very little about EcoVadis at the time.

Like many growing manufacturers, we completed the assessment with the information we had available and moved on with business.

Then another customer asked similar questions.

Then another.

Over time, it became obvious that these requests were not isolated. Sustainability information was becoming part of the supplier evaluation process across multiple industries.

Customers were asking for more than a statement about our environmental values. They wanted evidence.

That realization changed the way we approached sustainability.

The challenge was never sustainability

One of the biggest misconceptions about sustainability programs is that companies have to build everything from scratch.

That was not our experience.

Our manufacturing teams already worked hard to reduce waste. We had operational procedures that emphasized efficiency. We developed renewable chemistry and bio-based products because we believed they were better technologies, not because someone required us to.

The challenge was not that we lacked sustainable practices.The challenge was that much of our work lived in different parts of the organization.

Some knowledge existed with operations, some lived with regulatory teams. Some were understood by product development, and others simply existed as unwritten practices that everyone followed without ever documenting.

Customer requests forced us to bring those pieces together.

In many ways, sustainability became an exercise in organization before it became an exercise in reporting.

Documentation matters more than most people realize

One lesson surprised me early in this journey.

Many companies are already doing the right things, and they simply have not written them down.

As we improved our EcoVadis submissions and worked toward ISO 9001 certification, we found ourselves documenting policies that had existed informally for years.

• Water management
• Waste management
• Ethics
• Governance
• Supplier expectations.
• Training

None of these activities were new to us, but the documentation part was. 

That documentation created consistency, both internally and externally. It also made it much easier to answer customer questionnaires without starting from scratch every time.

For growing manufacturers, this may be one of the highest value improvements you can make.

Sustainability means different things to different customers

One of the most important lessons we learned is that there is no universal sustainability conversation.

Every industry emphasizes something different.

Energy customers often prioritize performance and operational reliability. Mining customers may have international reporting expectations that differ by region. Personal care companies frequently ask for Life Cycle Assessments and product-specific environmental data because consumers increasingly expect transparency. Agriculture and coatings customers often place greater emphasis on regulatory compliance and product stewardship.

The underlying science may be the same, but the questions are not.

Trying to answer every customer with one sustainability presentation rarely works.

Instead, suppliers need a strong foundation that allows them to tailor information to each customer’s priorities.

Customers are asking about products, not just companies

Another noticeable shift has been the move from company-level sustainability to product-level sustainability. Years ago, customers often wanted to know whether a supplier had environmental policies. Today, they also want to understand the environmental profile of individual products.

That has increased demand for measurements like Renewable Carbon Index, product carbon footprints, biodegradability testing, and Life Cycle Assessments.

For us, this represented a significant evolution. We were no longer talking only about what Integrity BioChem believed as a company. We were providing measurable information about the products themselves.

Those conversations are much more valuable because they allow customers to compare options using consistent data instead of broad sustainability claims.

Data creates better conversations

One unexpected benefit of collecting more sustainability data is that it improves internal decision-making. When we began conducting Life Cycle Assessments, we expected them to help answer customer questions, which they did. 

They also helped us better understand our own products.

Seeing where emissions occur across a product’s life cycle provides valuable insight into where improvements can have the greatest impact.

The value extends well beyond completing another questionnaire.

Sustainability requires every department

People often think of sustainability as one person’s responsibility.

In reality, it touches nearly every part of an organization. Operations provides manufacturing data, regulatory teams monitor compliance. Commercial teams communicate with customers, and research and development improves formulations.

Leadership must establish these priorities to begin with. 

As customer sustainability requirements become more detailed, collaboration becomes essential. No single department has every answer, because the strongest sustainability programs are built when information flows freely across the business.