diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fbcd1a9bae..e93be64e15 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ SHELL := /usr/bin/env bash
 # CONTAINER ENGINE: docker | podman
 CONTAINER_ENGINE?=docker
 
+DOCKER_SBOM_PLUGIN_VERSION=0.6.1
+
 # VERSION defines the project version for the bundle.
 # Update this value when you upgrade the version of your project.
 # To re-generate a bundle for another specific version without changing the standard setup, you can:
@@ -482,7 +484,14 @@ govulncheck:
 vulncheck: ## Run govulncheck to find vulnerabilities in code
 	@./scripts/vulncheck.sh ./vuln-ignore
 
+envsubst:
+	@which envsubst || go install github.com/drone/envsubst/cmd/envsubst@latest
+
+docker-sbom:
+	@docker sbom --help > /dev/null || |
+	echo "You might need to install the SBOM plugin for docker, check out docs/dev/release.md#tools"
+
 .PHONY: gen-sdlc-checklist
-gen-sdlc-checklist: ## Generate the SDLC checklist
+gen-sdlc-checklist: envsubst docker-sbom ## Generate the SDLC checklist
 	@VERSION="$(VERSION)" AUTHORS="$(AUTHORS)" RELEASE_TYPE="$(RELEASE_TYPE)" \
 	./scripts/gen-sdlc-checklist.sh
diff --git a/docs/dev/release.md b/docs/dev/release.md
index 0b47c8be52..a411298a15 100644
--- a/docs/dev/release.md
+++ b/docs/dev/release.md
@@ -10,6 +10,13 @@ This is not required for [Certified Operators](https://github.com/redhat-openshi
 
 Finally, make sure you have a "RedHat Connect" account and are a [team member with org administrator role in the team list](https://connect.redhat.com/account/team-members).
 
+### Tools
+
+Most tools are automatically installed for you. Most of them are Go binaries and use `go install`. There are a few that might cause issues and you might want to pre-install manually:
+
+- [envsubst](https://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/html_node/envsubst-Invocation.html) for autogenerating the SDLC checklist. Install manually, else makefile automation will install it using `go install`.
+- [Docker SBOM plugin](https://github.com/docker/sbom-cli-plugin/) for generating SBOM files. It is available as an experimental feature on Docker for Mac or can be installed manually by [following the official instructions](https://github.com/docker/sbom-cli-plugin/?tab=readme-ov-file#getting-started). Another option is a [helper install script](../../scripts/sudo-install-docker-sbom-plugin.sh). Note: the helper scripts executes command using `sudo` privileges.
+
 ## Create the release branch
 
 Use the GitHub UI to create the new "Create Release Branch" workflow. Specify the version to be released in the text box.
diff --git a/scripts/sudo-install-docker-sbom-plugin.sh b/scripts/sudo-install-docker-sbom-plugin.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c31e3d79cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/sudo-install-docker-sbom-plugin.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -euxo pipefail
+
+version=${DOCKER_SBOM_PLUGIN_VERSION:-latest}
+os=${OS:-linux}
+arch=${ARCH:-amd64}
+target=$TMPDIR/sbom-cli-plugin.tgz
+docker_path=$(which docker)
+docker_dir=$(dirname "${docker_path}")
+
+download_url_base=https://github.com/docker/sbom-cli-plugin/releases/download
+url="${download_url_base}/v${version}/sbom-cli-plugin_${version}_${os}_${arch}.tar.gz"
+
+curl -L "${url}" -o "${target}"
+pushd "${TMPDIR}"
+tar zxvf "${target}" docker-sbom
+chmod +x docker-sbom
+popd
+sudo cp "${TMPDIR}/docker-sbom" "${docker_dir}"