An environmental policy is an essential document every business should have in place to communicate their environmental responsibilities. Here are our top tips and examples for getting it right.
An environmental policy is a simple, often short yet thorough statement that – as a minimum – outlines your commitments and objectives for managing and reducing your environmental impact. It can also be used to outline your environmental management system, if you have one, and any actions or progress you have made so far.
Having a single policy statement is important not only for showing customers and regulators you’re taking your responsibilities seriously, but also for setting expectations for staff, contractors and suppliers. It should act as a simple ‘north star’ that informs all of your sustainability activities and helps you to manage long-term environmental risks to your business.
Environmental policies are increasingly becoming a mandatory requirements for many businesses, especially those supplying the public sector or corporate customers who are integrating formal sustainability requirements into their tender process.
There is no universal standard or structure an environmental policy needs to follow, but there are a few best practice principles worth sticking to:
Start with a basic overview of your business and its operations, and identify which parts of your business the policy covers. For example, does it apply just to your physical on-site operations or to all the goods and services you procure?
Your policy should detail who is responsible for ensuring it is adhered to. In practice, this should involve all your staff and third parties, but you should also identify who has ultimate accountability in your business and what resources are in place to support delivery.
Your policy should be tailored to the specific environmental impacts and responsibilities of your business. To make sure you are covering all the bases, it’s a good idea to conduct a full environmental review to identify all your environmental aspects – all the ways your activities, products and services interact with the environment.
Examples may include raw materials, equipment, packaging, waste, energy, water and transport, as well as the ways you might accidentally cause environmental damage (for example through spillages) and the legislation you need to comply with.
Once you’ve identified your environmental aspects and responsibilities, prioritise the areas where you have the most impact and ability to improve (this is also known as a ‘materiality assessment’).
Conducting a carbon footprint is a good starting point for helping to gather data and identify your bigger impacts, but remember that carbon is just one part of your overall environmental story.
List out the specific actions and commitments you are taking to manage, prevent and reduce your key environmental impacts, in bullet-point format. It’s important you make a commitment to continual improvement, so your objectives should be as SMART as possible – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
If you have a particularly complex business with lots of environmental impacts and aspects, it is worth considering implementing an environmental management system (EMS) that puts clear procedures in place to manage everything. ISO 14001 is a recognised global standard, but you can implement an informal EMS yourself.
Environmental policies are living documents. They should be reviewed regularly as your impacts, risks and objectives will change over time. It is common practice for policies to be reviewed at least annually, and each version should be dated and signed and by a director or senior decision maker.
The best environmental policies are short, simple and straightforward. Ideally, you want it to fit onto a single A4 sheet. Remember, the purpose is to provide a snapshot of your environmental commitments and responsibilities. It is an overview, not an in-depth strategy.
Your policy should be publicly available on your website. This will ensure full transparency and accountability, but it’s also a good opportunity to showcase your credentials in a concise, easy-to-read format. If you aren’t sharing your policy openly, you won’t get the full benefits from it!
Don’t forget to update the version on your website following every review.
The environmental policy for The Growth Company, Green Economy’s parent organisation, is available online. As you can see, it covers all the core elements above in an easy-to-read, bullet-point format.
As a large organisation, The Growth Company also has specific separate policies for waste and procurement, but for most businesses everything can come together under a single policy statement.
For a more in-depth example, take a look at QPSL Ltd, a manufacturer in Greater Manchester that is doing great things to reduce its environmental impact.
QPSL’s sustainability webpage is a hive of useful information. There is a simple one-page policy statement that aligns with its ISO 14001 environmental management system, as well as separate statements on carbon reduction and sustainable sourcing. They have even produced a short video!
Access guidance and resources to help you reduce carbon, improve your environmental credentials and save your business money
No matter the size of your operation, there are a range of low and no cost solutions to reducing your energy consumption and save your business money.
Get the latest environmental business news, views, insights and events from Green Economy, straight to your inbox each month.
Before you can start your journey to net zero, it is important to understand where you are starting from. This guide explains all you need to know about carbon footprinting and how to measure this in your business.
What is meant by ‘Scope 3’ greenhouse gas emissions, why they are important and how can businesses begin to measure them as part of their carbon footprint?
What is meant by climate change targets that are ‘science-based’, why are they important and how can businesses follow a science-based pathway in their own carbon reduction plans?
There are a dizzying number of environmental standards and accreditations available to businesses today. In this guide, we take you through the key products to help you identify the most appropriate option for your business.
Net zero - what is it, why should you care and what can your business do about it?
Research shows that the carbon footprint of the average supply chain accounts for 90 per cent of a business's carbon footprint. In this guide we explore the steps businesses can take to be a green supplier of choice.
One of the simplest ways for you to reduce your impact on the climate is to switch your energy supply to renewable electricity, read our step by step guide.
When looking to reduce emissions from your operation, carbon offsetting appears an attractive quick fix. Here we explore how carbon offsetting works, when it can be effective and why it should be the final item on your carbon reduction to-do list.
Understand the principals of ‘corporate greenwash’ and why businesses need to be accurate, clear and transparent when promoting their environmental credentials.
Green Economy
Building a greener, net zero economy powered by local suppliers.
