The questionnaire addresses the following topics based on mainly qualitative questions, i. e. calling for answers in the form of yes / no:
- societal: relations with customers, suppliers, civil society;
- social issues, including the fight against discrimination in the workplace, social dialogue;
- the environment: the fight against climate change, sobriety in the management of resources and energy, preservation of the natural environment;
- corporate social responsibility: knowledge of corporate social responsibility and actions carried out with a view to corporate social responsibility;
- corporate governance and internal organization.

The term "corporate social responsibility" did not appear in the survey name at the time of collection, and questions on corporate social responsibility are only asked at the end of the questionnaire. This is a voluntary approach because the term "sustainable development" was considered to be better known than the concept of corporate social responsibility. In this way, the survey makes it possible to assess, on the one hand, the awareness of the term "corporate social responsibility" among companies, and, on the other hand, the actions of companies that "do corporate social responsibility without knowing it".

In the survey, the French activity nomenclature (NAF rev. 2) is used to code the main activity carried out (APE).
The fields of diffusion are:
- membership in a group;
- the company sector, the terms and conditions of which are as follows:
     Food and beverage industry;
     Other industries;
     Energy environment;
     Construction;
     Wholesale trade;
     Retail trade, repairs and personal service;
     Transport and storage;
     Accommodation and catering;
     Information and communication;
     Real estate activities;
     Specialized, scientific and technical activities;
     Administrative and support services activities.
- the size of the company whose terms and conditions are:
     from 20 to 49 employees,
     from 50 to 249 employees,
     from 250 to 499 employees,
     500 employees or more.
- possibly, the region of the company's headquarters."

The sectors surveyed correspond to sections B to N and divisions 95-96 of section S of the French business nomenclature (NAF rev. 2).
So the field covers:
- the extractive industry (section B);
- manufacturing industry (section C);
- electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply(section D);
- water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (section E);
- construction (section F);
- wholesale and retail trade ; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (section G);
- transport and storage (section H);
- accommodation and food service activities (Section I);
- information and communication (section J);
- real estate activities (section L);
- specialized, scientific and technical activities (section M);
- administrative and support services activities (section N);
- other service activities (Section S, Divisions 95 and 96).

The following are therefore excluded from the scope: agriculture, forestry and fishing (section A), financial and insurance activities (section K), public administration (section O), education (section P), health and social work (section Q), arts, entertainment and recreational activities (section R), activities of membership organisations (section S division 94), household activities as employers (section T), and extra-territorial activities (section U).

The interrogation unit is the legal unit (UL), identified by its SIREN number.

The units surveyed are legal units with at least 20 employees, active as of May 1, 2016. The sectors surveyed correspond to sections B to N and divisions 95-96 of section S of NAF rev.2, with the exception of financial and insurance activities (section K).

The situation described is that of the company at the time the information was collected in 2016.