Build a Questionnaire Answer Library in a Claude Project

Claude can only cite what you give it, so clean files make clean citations.

1. Create a folder called "Questionnaire sources [project code]".
2. Save the published report as a PDF. Add the policies you publish (code of conduct, supplier policy, environmental policy) and a text file with the public sustainability page content.
3. Put the year and version in each file name, for example "Report 2025 published.pdf". Claude will quote these names back to you, so make them readable.
4. Check that PDFs contain real text. If you cannot select text in a PDF, Claude cannot read it well.

What you should see: A folder of 4 to 10 clearly named files. Troubleshooting: A scanned PDF with no selectable text needs to be exported again from the original Word or design file.

This is the one document that holds your own wording. Questionnaires repeat, and a signed-off answer beats a fresh draft.

1. Open a Word or Google Docs file named "Approved answers".
2. For each answer, write the question topic as a heading, the approved answer under it, and a line starting "Source:" that names the report page or policy section.
3. Add a line "Approved by [name or role] on [date]" so Claude and you both know the answer has been reviewed.
4. Save it as a PDF or text file. Update it after every questionnaire.

What you should see: A short document with one heading per topic. Troubleshooting: If an answer has no source you can name, leave it out. A claim with no source is the one most likely to go wrong in a questionnaire.

The exact labels shift as Claude's interface changes, so look for the equivalents.

1. Sign in to Claude and find Projects in the sidebar.
2. Choose the option to create a new project.
3. Name it "Questionnaire library [project code]". If you work for several clients, make one Project per client so their material never mixes.
4. Add a short description if the form asks for one.

What you should see: An empty project page with an area for instructions and an area for files or knowledge. Troubleshooting: If you cannot find Projects, check which plan and which Claude app version you are using. Claude's help center covers where Projects appear.

1. In the project, find the section for project knowledge and the option to add files.
2. Upload the published report, policies, website text and the approved-answers document.
3. Wait until each file shows as added before moving on.

What you should see: Each file listed in the project knowledge area. Troubleshooting: If an upload fails, check the file size and format. Split a very long document into parts, and name the parts clearly.

Find the place to set project instructions (usually labelled as instructions or custom instructions for the project). Paste the block below, then replace the bracketed parts.

You help a sustainability consultant answer customer and investor sustainability questionnaires for [Company A].

Rules:
1. Answer only from the files in this project's knowledge. Do not use outside knowledge, memory or web information.
2. After every answer, name the source file and the section or page it came from.
3. If the files do not cover a question, write exactly: "Not in the sources." Then list what document or person could supply the answer.
4. Never estimate, round, extrapolate or combine figures. Quote a figure exactly as the source gives it, with its unit, reporting year and boundary.
5. Never say whether a rule, standard or law applies to the company.
6. Never describe a claim as verified or substantiated. A human checks every answer.
7. Keep each answer within the word limit I give you. If the limit is too short to cover the source, say so.
8. Where the approved-answers document and the published report differ, show both and flag the difference. Do not pick one.
9. Format each answer as: Question number, Answer, Source (file and section), Confidence note (one line on anything the reader should check).

A single chat per questionnaire keeps the answers and the word limits from mixing.

1. Inside the project, start a new chat.
2. Name it after the questionnaire: "[Customer B] supplier questionnaire 2026-10".
3. Paste the questions in batches of 10 to 15, with each question's word limit.

What you should see: Answers in your requested format, each with a source line.