Templates and records · SGE 21 · Clause 6.4.3

SGE 21 responsible supplier approval template

How the company decides whom to buy from, taking environmental, social and governance criteria into account, not just price and quality.

In one sentence

Responsible supplier approval applies responsible purchasing criteria that go beyond legal requirements, classifies suppliers by relevance using documented indicators and approves them under a written methodology, as sections 6.4.1 to 6.4.3 of SGE 21 require.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: SGE 21 · Clause 6.4.3 Sections are cited using the numbering of the October 2024 version of SGE 21, the one Foretica publishes on its website. The Academy groups its nine management areas into six blocks.
Type of information: Mandatory document Documented classification (6.4.2) and approval methodology document (6.4.3)
Who fills it in: Purchasing With the system manager for the ethical criteria
When: Before onboarding a supplier and periodically The frequency depends on its classification
How long it is kept: Set by the organisation The standard sets no periods. Covering at least the three-year certification cycle, with the initial audit and two surveillance audits, lets you show progress at every visit.

What the standard requires

What SGE 21 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The standard calls for responsible purchasing criteria based on the best environmental, social and governance practices available to the company and going beyond the law. Suppliers are evaluated and classified by relevance, with a documented classification based on indicators that determines how they are monitored.

A document setting out the approval methodology must be maintained, the commitments and expectations of the relationship must be passed on to suppliers, and the company must work with them to improve on sustainability (6.4.4).

ISO 9001 supplier evaluation is a good starting point, but it looks at the capability to supply; SGE 21 adds ethical, social and environmental criteria.

Read it in context: Suppliers and the value chain, in the SGE 21 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Supplier and purchasing category
Classification by relevance and indicators used
Responsible purchasing criteria assessed
Result and approval status
Adherence to the code of conduct or commitments passed on
Planned monitoring according to the classification
Improvement actions agreed

Example

Example: approval of a cleaning products supplier (invented data)

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Classification	High relevance: 22% of spend and a product staff handle
Criteria	Ecolabel on 60% of product lines, up-to-date safety data sheets, no labour penalties, an equality plan
Result	82 out of 100 · approved
Commitments	Code of conduct signed on 3 March 2026
Monitoring	Annual evaluation and a visit every two years
Improvement	Reach 80% of product lines with an ecolabel in 2027

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Purchasing criteria go no further than legal compliance.
The approval methodology document does not exist.
All suppliers are monitored the same way, with no classification.
No commitments have been passed on to suppliers.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Ethical criteria are added to the supplier evaluation form.
2The code of conduct is attached to the documentation shared with the supplier.
3Periodic evaluations are scheduled from the supplier portal.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What does it mean for criteria to go beyond legal requirements?

That asking the supplier to comply with the law is not enough: you need to assess practices that go further, such as ecolabels, equality policies or transparency in its own supply chain.

Must every supplier be approved?

The standard asks for suppliers to be evaluated and classified by relevance. The depth of approval and monitoring can be proportionate to that classification.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

SGE 21. Sistema de Gestión Ética, Sostenible y Responsable (Ethical, Sustainable and Responsible Management System) Forética · October 2024 version