How are global suppliers performing on sustainability and compliance today?

Download the 2026 Intelligence Report

Drawing on more than 60,000 active supplier responses and 150,000+ completed assessments, the 2026 Intelligence Report provides the most comprehensive view of sustainability performance across the automotive supply chain. 

Produced by Drive Sustainability and NQC, with support from leading OEMs, the report reveals what drives supplier performance, where the greatest risks remain, and how suppliers improve over time.

 

With support from our partners:

A data-driven view of automotive supply chain sustainability

Sustainability expectations across global supply chains are rising rapidly. Regulations such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and expanding human rights legislation are increasing pressure on companies to understand and manage supplier risk more effectively.

The 2026 Supply Intelligence Report draws on more than 60,000 responses to the Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), the industry standard assessment created and maintained by Drive Sustainability and delivered exclusively through the NQC platform.

The SAQ evaluates supplier capability across key sustainability areas including human rights, environmental compliance, supply chain management, and business ethics.

Key insights from the data

The data reveals clear patterns in how sustainability capability is developing across global automotive supply chains. 

 

72%
Average sustainability score for large enterprises in 2026, up from 65%. SMEs improved from 43% to 51%, but the gap between large and small suppliers remains significant.
54%
Average Supply Chain Management score for large enterprises in 2025. SMEs averaged just 26%, highlighting the difficulty of cascading sustainability requirements beyond Tier 1.
42%
Of total score variance is explained by organisational size. Larger companies benefit from dedicated compliance resources and established frameworks.

The 2026 Intelligence Report provides a detailed view of how sustainability capability is developing across global supply chains.

Intelligence Report 2026 Thumbnail

Inside the report you’ll find:

  • Driver analysis: Identifying the factors that most influence supplier sustainability performance

  • Sector-specific insights: Across more than 20 manufacturing and service industries

  • Regional comparisons: Highlighting geographic differences in supplier capability

  • Corrective action analysis: Showing where suppliers struggle most to meet requirements

  • Longitudinal analysis: Tracking how supplier performance is evolving over time

For OEMs, the report provides a benchmark for the current state of your supply base.

For suppliers, it offers a clear view of how expectations are rising across global supply chains.

Behind the data

Benchmarking global supplier capability at scale

The numbers in this report come from 60,000 active supplier responses spanning 20 manufacturing and service sectors worldwide. We use advanced statistical modelling to clean up the noise, ensuring these benchmarks highlight real performance trends across global supply networks.

To see how your own network stacks up against these global benchmarks, simply scroll back to the top of the page to download the full report.

👆 Get your copy of the Intelligence Report