The tools most widely used to prepare and sustain an SQAS assessment are Manglai, Enablon by Wolters Kluwer, VelocityEHS, Sphera, SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, Ecochain, One Click LCA and openLCA. Manglai leads the list when the bottleneck is the environmental and emissions block, which is the part that has grown most in recent questionnaires.
An important clarification: SQAS is not a software standard and it is not a certification. It is the assessment scheme run by CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council, which chemical companies use to evaluate their logistics service providers and distributors. No software is “SQAS certified”. What a good tool does is prepare the data and the evidence the assessor will ask for.
What is SQAS and what does it assess today?
The SQAS methodology (Safety and Quality Assessment for Sustainability) is an assessment scheme managed by CEFIC. An independent accredited assessor visits the company, completes a standardised questionnaire and publishes the report in the SQAS database, where chemical companies consult it. There is no pass or fail: there is a report that each client interprets against its own criteria.
The current questionnaires are organised into modules:
- Core, common to all logistics services.
- Transport Service, for road transport.
- Warehouse, for storage operations.
- Tank Cleaning, for tank cleaning stations.
- Rail, for rail transport.
- Container Depot and Transfer Terminal, a module introduced in the 2025 revision.
- ESAD, the questionnaire family for chemical distributors, with the Site, Filling and General, Chlorinated Solvent and Core plus supplement variants.
The SQAS 2025 questionnaires came into force on 15 September 2025. That revision introduced three changes that directly affect which software you need:
- A completely new and extended section on the measurement and management of greenhouse gas emissions, applicable to transport, warehouses and tank cleaning stations.
- Alignment with ISO 14083:2023 for quantifying and reporting emissions from transport chain operations, the same methodological basis as the GLEC Framework.
- New questions on digitalisation and cybersecurity, developed with ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity.
In parallel, the ESAD 2026 questionnaires are already in effect for chemical distributor assessments.
Which part of SQAS does software actually solve?
An SQAS assessor reviews procedures, training, maintenance, operational safety and environmental performance. A large share of that lives in your management system, not in a sustainability platform. It helps to separate the two blocks:
- What an EHS or management system covers: procedures and version control, incident and near-miss records, maintenance plans, training matrices, internal audits and corrective actions.
- What environmental and emissions software covers: energy consumption, Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, emissions per transport operation under ISO 14083, waste, water and the time series that demonstrates continuous improvement.
Very few tools cover both blocks well. The usual combination in mid-sized operators is a solid environmental platform plus the document system already used for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Software comparison for preparing an SQAS assessment
| Tool | Who it is for | Which SQAS block it covers | Language and deployment | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manglai | Logistics operators, hauliers and mid-sized chemical companies | Environmental block: energy, Scopes 1, 2 and 3, ISO 14083 and GLEC, waste and water | Spanish and English, SaaS with local support | Price on request |
| Enablon (Wolters Kluwer) | Large industrial and chemical groups | EHS block: risk, incidents, permits, audits and compliance | English, configurable SaaS | Price on request |
| VelocityEHS | Companies focused on operational safety | EHS block: safety, ergonomics, chemicals and compliance | English, SaaS | Price on request |
| Sphera | Chemical and process industry with technical teams | Process risk, product stewardship and LCA | English, SaaS and desktop | Licence on request |
| SAP Sustainability Footprint Management | Large corporations running SAP ERP | Environmental block from ERP transactional data | Multilingual within the SAP ecosystem | Price on request |
| Ecochain | Manufacturers that need product footprints | Product LCA, EPDs and product carbon footprints | English, SaaS | Publishes a pricing page, rate by volume |
| One Click LCA | Construction, materials and packaging | LCA and EPDs, partial support for the environmental block | English, SaaS | Plans per module, quoted individually |
| openLCA | Technical profiles and consultancies | Custom LCA, no document management | English, desktop | Free and open source |
How to choose software for SQAS
Six criteria that translate directly into questionnaire items:
- Emissions per transport operation: the tool must calculate emissions per shipment, route or tonne-kilometre following the logic of ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework, not just an annual company total.
- Traceability per data point: every consumption figure must link to its invoice or record, with a date and an owner, because the assessor will ask for specific evidence rather than averages.
- Comparable time series: SQAS values continuous improvement, so you need several reporting years calculated with the same methodology and boundaries.
- Breakdown by site and fleet: reports are read per location, not in aggregate.
- Alignment with the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, the references the questionnaire recognises for corporate inventories.
- Clean export: reports in a format the assessor can review without access to your platform.
Which is the best software for an SQAS assessment?
1. Manglai
Manglai is aimed at logistics operators, hauliers and chemical companies that need to solve the environmental part of SQAS with defensible data. It covers corporate emissions and emissions per logistics operation, and keeps every data point linked to its source document.
Strengths:
- Calculation aligned with the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, and with ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework for transport operations.
- Comparable dashboards by logistics site, route, fleet or supplier.
- Automatic reading of energy and fuel invoices, which is where most time is lost before an assessment.
- Multi-year series that make the improvement trend demonstrable.
- An established platform: active clients in 70 countries, more than 30,000 users and 25 million tonnes of CO2e managed, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.
Honest limitation: it is not an EHS management system. Incident records, training matrices and maintenance plans stay in your document system. You can see the exact scope in the Manglai SQAS solution.
2. Enablon (Wolters Kluwer)
A corporate EHS and risk suite owned by Wolters Kluwer. It is the reference in large chemical groups.
Strengths: it covers almost the entire documentary and risk block, with configurable modules for incidents, permits, audits and corrective actions.
Honest limitation: long implementation and high cost. Out of reach for a mid-sized logistics operator.
3. VelocityEHS
A global occupational safety and health platform with chemical management and compliance modules.
Strengths: very solid on operational safety, risk and substance management, which weigh heavily in the Core module.
Honest limitation: its content library is built on North American regulation and it contributes less on transport emissions.
4. Sphera
A suite covering process risk, product stewardship and life cycle assessment, widely deployed in the chemical industry.
Strengths: technical depth and extensive databases. Useful if you also manage process safety alongside SQAS.
Honest limitation: aimed at expert users, with long implementation projects.
5. SAP Sustainability Footprint Management
Built for corporations already running SAP that want to calculate emissions from their own transactional data.
Strengths: native ERP integration, which reduces manual data entry for fleet, warehouse and procurement data.
Honest limitation: it provides no structure specific to SQAS questionnaires, and its cost is only justified where the ERP is already deployed.
6. Ecochain
LCA automation software for manufacturers, focused on product footprints and environmental declarations.
Strengths: useful if your chemical client also asks for product footprints or EPDs for packaging and materials.
Honest limitation: it does not cover corporate inventories or documentary evidence management.
7. One Click LCA
An LCA tool with a strong presence in construction, materials and packaging.
Strengths: sector templates and automation for generating EPDs.
Honest limitation: it covers only a fraction of the SQAS environmental block and none of the documentary block.
8. openLCA
Open-source LCA software developed by GreenDelta.
Strengths: free and highly flexible, suitable for ad hoc calculations.
Honest limitation: it requires technical expertise, databases are licensed separately and it does not generate audit evidence.
What to choose for your profile
- Road haulier with the Transport Service module: the critical piece is calculating emissions per operation under ISO 14083. Manglai fits directly, and you can go deeper with our review of logistics carbon footprint software.
- Warehouse operator: prioritise energy consumption per site, waste management and comparable series.
- Tank cleaning station: the focus is water, discharges, waste and energy, alongside process safety.
- Chemical distributor with an ESAD questionnaire: the weight sits on storage, handling and compliance, so an EHS system such as Enablon or VelocityEHS contributes more than an LCA tool.
- Group operating across several countries and modules: you need multi-site consolidation and a single methodology. Here the usual answer is an environmental platform plus an EHS system.
How to prepare an SQAS assessment step by step
- Identify the applicable module and download the current questionnaire from the official SQAS site. Working from an outdated version is the most expensive mistake.
- Map every question to a specific piece of evidence: procedure, record, report or indicator.
- Close the environmental block: consumption, emissions by scope, emissions per transport operation, waste and water, with at least two comparable reporting years.
- Review digitalisation and cybersecurity, the newest part and the one where many companies arrive without documentation.
- Run an internal pre-audit checking traceability, versions and gaps.
- Prepare the session with the assessor with exported reports and the owner of each area available.
If you want to go deeper into transport emissions, the area that has changed most, you can read how to implement the GLEC Framework in logistics.
FAQs about software for SQAS
Is there any SQAS-certified software?
No. CEFIC accredits assessors and publishes the questionnaires, but it does not certify tools. No platform can claim to be approved by SQAS.
Is software mandatory to pass an SQAS assessment?
No, but since the 2025 revision the greenhouse gas emissions section is demanding enough that solving it with spreadsheets is expensive in time and in the risk of inconsistencies.
Which SQAS modules exist?
Core, Transport Service, Warehouse, Tank Cleaning, Rail, Container Depot and Transfer Terminal, plus the ESAD family for chemical distributors.
Since when do the SQAS 2025 questionnaires apply?
Since 15 September 2025. The ESAD 2026 questionnaires are already in effect for distributors.
Does SQAS ask for Scope 3 emissions?
The emissions section focuses on measuring and managing greenhouse gases from the assessed activity, using the ISO 14083 logic for transport operations. The more complete your inventory, the fewer questions are left without evidence.
How long is an assessment valid?
SQAS reports have a limited validity period and are renewed through a new assessment. Check the period applicable to your module in the official CEFIC documentation.
If your priority right now is closing the environmental block before the assessor visit, see how the Manglai SQAS solution handles it, or review our broader comparison of the best software to measure the carbon footprint. If you manage a fleet, our software for transportation managers is also relevant.
