THESIS License

THESIS, developed by The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), helps suppliers streamline sustainability reporting by enabling them to respond to multiple retail buyers on one platform. THESIS also helps suppliers gain visibility into their supply chain and sustainability impacts.

What's Included in a THESIS License?

A single annual THESIS license includes:

Access to all THESIS assessments.
Unlimited platform users.
Unlimited sharing with all THESIS retail buyers.
Full access to the THESIS on Sphera Supply Chain Sustainability platform.

Cost: $899 USD per year, purchased at the enterprise level. Licenses are valid from release (early September) through the following August.

Key Features of a THESIS License

Assessment Tools

Product category assessments
THESIS Start and Wrap-Up questionnaires
Issue-specific assessments

Performance Insights

Assessment Scorecards: Overall and KPI-level performance.
Peer Rankings: Benchmarking against other suppliers.
Action Recommendations: Tailored next steps.
Published Analytics: Visualize results across all THESIS data.
Improvement Opportunities: Located in KPI PDFs and Excel summaries.

Support and Resources

THESIS Support Center access.
Sustainability Snapshots: Useful for internal and external communication.
Downloadable KPI Documents: In PDF and Excel.
KPI Guidance and Tools: Includes background info, certifications, standards, and calculation tools for 12 common KPIs.

THESIS License FAQs

How do I purchase a THESIS license?

Follow instructions available here to sign up for THESIS and purchase a license.

Why Are THESIS Licenses Purchased Annually?

THESIS is developed and maintained by TSC, a global nonprofit rooted in science and academic research. Each year, TSC updates THESIS to reflect new sustainability standards, industry trends, and user feedback.

License fees support the continued development of THESIS, including:

Maintaining the Sphera Supply Chain Sustainability platform
Updating KPIs and assessment content
Improving user experience and analytics tools
Providing support resources and guidance

The annual cycle ensures your assessments reflect the latest best practices and enables consistent, comparable year-over-year reporting.

Learn more about the value of THESIS for Suppliers on our website.

Who at My Company Should Purchase the THESIS License?

We recommend the license be purchased by someone with cross-functional visibility, such as someone in:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Supply chain management
Compliance or regulatory affairs
Sales or procurement leadership

This person can onboard colleagues from across the company. There’s no limit to the number of users per company profile.

Should My Subsidiaries Have Separate Licenses?

It depends. Subsidiaries can either:

Have separate licenses (recommended if they’ve previously reported independently or have distinct data)
Report under one enterprise license (useful for simpler data management)

If you’re new to THESIS, we recommend starting at the enterprise level. You can create multiple profiles as needed—each profile requires a license but allows unlimited users.

Note: For Walmart/Sam’s Club suppliers, reference IDs can be used across profiles, but each needs a unique owner.

Refund Policy

Refunds are considered case-by-case. Contact: help@sustainabilityconsortium.org for more information.

Payment FAQs

Will I be charged tax?

Yes. Tax is calculated automatically based on your billing address and the tax code associated with the THESIS license.

Where can I find a receipt for my license?

You can download your receipt by logging into THESIS, clicking the THESIS menu, selecting Receipts, choosing the desired receipt, and clicking Download. A PDF will be saved to your device.

What types of payment are accepted?

We accept all major credit cards:

Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
Diners Club
JCB
UnionPay

We also support Wire Transfer/ACH payments. To pay via wire:

Contact Sphera's Supplier Help Center at jira@sphera.atlassian.net and request the wire transfer information.
Include your company name and email in the memo field.
Once received, an access code will be sent by customercarefulfillment@sphera.com.

Helpful Tip: Add Sphera email addresses to your safe sender list to prevent messages from going to spam.

What if someone at my company already paid for a license?

Only one license per company profile is needed. If a colleague has already purchased a license, ask them to add you as a user. Profiles allow unlimited users, and all assessments should be managed within a single company profile.

What if my payment is rejected?

Check that your payment method is supported. If problems persist, reach out to: jira@sphera.atlassian.net.

What currencies are accepted?

Prices are listed and processed in USD.