Got an SAQ 5.0 request from a car maker? Here's what it actually involves.
An automotive customer has asked your company to complete a Drive Sustainability SAQ 5.0 on the SupplierAssurance platform. It came with a login, a deadline that is often two to four weeks out, and a long list of questions, and it probably landed on your desk because nobody else owns it. This page explains what the SAQ is, what it asks for, and how to answer it without becoming a sustainability expert.
What the Drive Sustainability SAQ actually is
The SAQ, short for Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire, is one standard questionnaire that car makers use to check how their suppliers handle environmental and social responsibility. It is owned by a group of manufacturers called Drive Sustainability, and it runs on a single platform, SupplierAssurance. You fill it in once for your site, and any customer that asks can then see your validated result, instead of each one sending you a different form of its own.
Keslio is independent and not affiliated with Drive Sustainability, NQC, or SupplierAssurance. We help companies respond to the SAQ.
What the SAQ asks of you, and by when
Six things are worth knowing before you start. Each one changes how much work the response is.
You fill it in once, and it is free to you
The customer who asked pays for the platform, so completing the SAQ costs you nothing (how the SAQ works). You complete one SAQ per site, not one per customer, and then share that single validated result with every car maker that requests it. So the effort you put in is reused across all of them, not repeated.
Which questions you get depends on your size and industry
Before the questions start, you enter your location, headcount, and industry code. Those set your minimum scope, meaning the questions you must answer. Since a February 2025 update, smaller companies and service suppliers get a shorter, more relevant set instead of the full list (what changed in SAQ 5.0). So check what your site is actually being asked before you assume it is the whole thing.
It covers how you run, not just your carbon footprint
The SAQ asks about company management, human rights and working conditions, health and safety, business ethics, the environment, how you manage your own supply chain, and how you source raw materials (the full questionnaire). The environment part is where your carbon numbers come in: your renewable electricity share, your emissions reduction targets, and any CDP score you hold. So a good chunk of the work is about policies and proof, and a distinct chunk is about numbers.
It runs on documents you upload, not confident answers
Analysts at the platform check the proof behind each answer: your policies, reports, and certificates. A strong-sounding answer with nothing attached does not score, and a certified management system, like ISO 14001 for the environment, scores higher than an internal one you only describe. The proof also gets rejected for predictable reasons: a policy uploaded where a report was asked for, a certificate that does not name your exact site, a document in an unsupported language, or answer options you ticked that your evidence does not fully cover (how to improve your rating). Getting the proof right is where most of the real work sits.
Your result is a letter grade plus a percentage
Once your answers are validated you get a rating in two parts: a letter from A down to F, and a percentage score (how the rating works). The letter reflects the must-answer questions for your size and industry; the percentage reflects the fuller picture, including the optional questions you chose to answer. A certificate you can prove will always beat a policy you only describe.
What the score means depends on your customer
How much the number matters is set by each car maker. Scania publishes the clearest rule: at least 80 percent plus its minimum requirements earns its top rating, and an insufficient result can hold up new business across the Volkswagen Group brands (Scania's requirements). For Volkswagen suppliers, a positive rating, which VW calls the S-Rating, is a precondition for being nominated for new work at all (Volkswagen's requirements). Others, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, do not publish a pass mark but feed the result into who they award business to. So find out what your specific customer does with the number before deciding how hard to push.
Before you pay anyone, use the free help that already exists. Drive Sustainability publishes a free SAQ Toolbox, including an Excel copy of the questionnaire with the score calculator built in, so you can see roughly where you stand before you start. The platform team runs briefing sessions and a round-the-clock web chat for questions about the system itself (SupplierAssurance help). Those cover the how-to well. Where suppliers actually get stuck is the underlying work: finding the right proof, fixing what a policy or certificate is missing, and working out the carbon numbers the environment section asks for. That is where we help.
What to do now
You have two sensible next moves. Send us the SAQ invitation and we will read it and tell you, for free, exactly what your site has to answer and what it will take. Or if the environment questions have you stuck on carbon numbers, our free calculator gives you a solid estimate in about ten minutes.
Use the free review when you already have an SAQ invitation, the SupplierAssurance questionnaire, or a deadline in front of you.
How Keslio helps
We start with the invitation you received and the questions your site actually has to answer. We check your current policies, certificates, and documents against what each section asks for, and give you a clear list of what is missing and what to fix first. Where you need a policy or a management-system document you do not yet have, we help build it. Where the environment questions need carbon numbers, we work them out. And if your score already came back with gaps, we help you close them and resubmit. You keep your own SupplierAssurance login and submit yourself, because it is your company's answer.
Free request review
$0
You have an SAQ invitation, an OEM email, or a deadline and want a plain read of what it needs and a quote before anything begins.
Evidence and gap review
From $3k
You want your policies, certificates, and documents checked section by section, the carbon numbers for the environment questions worked out, and a clear list of what to fix before you submit.
Full SAQ response support
From $8k
You need help answering accurately, building any missing policies or management-system documents, and closing the gaps that cost points, through to a submitted answer.
Ongoing support
From $3k/mo
You face these requests all year, from the SAQ, CDP, EcoVadis, and customers directly, and want a standing part-time sustainability team instead of a scramble each deadline.
Final price depends on how ready your documents are, how many sites you have, and whether you need carbon numbers or new policies built. The free review confirms it before you commit. Getting certified to a standard like ISO 14001 is a separate step with a certification body; we prepare the policies and management-system documents behind it.
Requests that often arrive alongside the SAQ
The SAQ asks for two results many of the same car makers also request directly. If you have one of these too, here is what each involves.
Official materials
Drive Sustainability SAQ source materials
Common questions
Is Keslio part of Drive Sustainability or SupplierAssurance?
No. Keslio is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by Drive Sustainability, NQC, or SupplierAssurance. We help suppliers respond to the SAQ. There is no official SAQ consultant program, so anyone claiming to be an accredited SAQ advisor is not.
Do I have to pay to complete the SAQ?
No. The SAQ is free for you to complete; the customer who asked pays for the platform. Since late 2025 you can choose to start one yourself before a customer asks, but you are not required to. What costs money is the work behind a strong answer, if you decide you want help with it.
Do I need to be a sustainability expert to do this?
No. That is the point of getting help. You bring what you know about your business, we handle the sustainability wording and the carbon numbers, and we explain anything technical in plain language as we go.
My score came back with gaps. Can it be fixed?
Yes. You can update your answers and evidence at any time and have them re-validated. Most gaps are fixable: a missing document, a certificate that does not name your site, or answer options you left unticked that your evidence actually supports.
What are the most common reasons suppliers lose points?
Uploading a policy where a report was asked for, or a certificate where a policy was asked for; evidence that does not cover every option you ticked; a certificate that does not name your exact site; and leaving boxes unticked that your own documents would support. That last one, where the proof is there but the answer is not marked, is common enough that analysts have a name for it.
Is there a newer version of the SAQ coming?
Drive Sustainability has said a next version, SAQ 6.0, is in development to line up with new EU due-diligence law, but no launch date has been announced. For now, SAQ 5.0 is what you answer. We watch for the update so you are not caught out by it.
What data will you need from me?
Your existing policies and certificates, your management-system documents if you have them, and for the environment section your energy use, electricity and fuel bills, and any targets you have set. We give you a clear list, and "not sure" is a fine starting point.
Answer the SAQ with proof you can stand behind.
Send us the SAQ invitation and get a free review of what your site has to answer, with no commitment. Or start with your own carbon number using the free calculator.
Keslio is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by Drive Sustainability, NQC, SupplierAssurance, or any vehicle manufacturer. We provide independent sustainability advice to companies responding to customer and platform requests. Your SupplierAssurance account, final answers, and submission stay with your own authorized users. We do not guarantee any score or rating outcome.