Environmental policy template for small businesses

An environmental policy for a small business is a short, signed statement of how you manage your impact on the environment: what you commit to, who is responsible and when you will review it. One page is enough. The template below gives you the headings and example wording to adapt, and you can have a finished version in about 20 minutes.

Most small businesses write one because somebody asks for it: a customer’s supplier questionnaire, a tender, a bank or a grant application. The trick is to write something true about your business, not a page of promises you cannot keep.

What should an environmental policy include?

A good small business policy covers six things:

1. A commitment statement. One or two sentences on why the environment matters to the business.
2. Your main impacts. The areas where you genuinely have an effect: energy, travel, vehicles, waste, materials.
3. Specific commitments. What you will do about each, in plain language.
4. Legal compliance. A commitment to meet environmental law, such as the waste duty of care.
5. Responsibility. A named person or role.
6. Review and sign-off. How often you review it, plus a signature and date.

If you sell physical products, add a line on materials and packaging. If you run vehicles, give them their own commitment, because they are often the biggest part of a small firm’s footprint.

Environmental policy template

Copy this, replace the bracketed text and delete anything that does not apply to you.

How to make your policy credible

Buyers and assessors read a lot of these, and they can spot a copied policy quickly. A few things make yours stand out for the right reasons.

Match it to your business. A sole trader working from home should not promise a fleet strategy. A three-person agency in a co-working space can honestly say the building manages heating and waste, and focus on travel and electricity.

Back it with numbers. “We will measure our carbon footprint every year” is much stronger when you can also say what it was last year. A 6-person agency using 9,000 kWh of electricity a year has Scope 2 emissions of roughly 1.2 tCO2e using the 2026 UK grid factor (about 0.13 kg per kWh). That one figure turns a policy into evidence. Our guide to your small business carbon footprint explains how to work it out.

Keep promises realistic. Avoid “we are carbon neutral” or “net zero” unless you can prove it. Unsupported claims count as greenwashing, and the Competition and Markets Authority has had direct powers to fine businesses for misleading consumer claims since April 2025. The CMA’s Green Claims Code is a useful check.

Show it is real. Date it, sign it, review it. When someone asks how the policy works in practice, you should be able to point to one or two things you have done.

Your legal duties to mention

Most small businesses only need to be aware of a handful of environmental laws. The one that applies to almost everyone is the waste duty of care, which means storing waste safely, using a registered waste carrier and keeping waste transfer notes. If you run a cafe, workshop or manufacturing site, you may also have duties around trade effluent, packaging or hazardous waste. Your policy does not need to list them all, but it should commit to meeting them.

Where you will need it

Once written, an environmental policy gets used again and again:

• Supplier ESG questionnaires from larger customers
• Public sector tenders and social value questions
• Bank and insurer reviews
• Grant applications and investor due diligence
• B Corp preparation, alongside a code of conduct

How long will yours take?

Pick the option that sounds most like your business. You will see a realistic time, what to have nearby and a head start on the questions.

Which sounds most like you?

Sole trader working from homeConsultants, designers, developers, coaches10 to 15 minSole trader or freelancer in a co-working spaceA desk at a WeWork, Regus or local hub10 to 15 minSmall team in a co-working or serviced officeStartups and agencies with 2 to 25 people15 to 20 minSME with its own office and no vehiclesProfessional services, tech firms, studios20 to 30 minSME with vans, cars or regular staff travelTrades, field services, consultancies on the road30 to 45 minShop, cafe, workshop or product businessRetail, hospitality, makers and manufacturers30 to 45 min

Your estimate

About 20 to 30 minutes

Around 50 questions, most of them multiple choice

Still comfortably under half an hour.

You will add your electricity and gas use, plus a quick estimate of your bins. If you do not have the exact figures, the questionnaire works them out from your floor area instead.

Handy to have nearby

• A recent electricity and gas bill (or your office size in square metres)
• How many general waste and recycling bins you have
• Headcount and a rough idea of business trains and flights
• How your team usually gets to work

Missing something? Estimates are fine, and you can come back to any answer later.

Office-based firms usually have clear, low-cost ways to cut their footprint. Your action plan will list them in order.

Start with this profile

First report free. No card needed.

How ESG Now helps you back up your policy

A policy is only as convincing as the figures behind it. The ESG Now questionnaire works out your carbon footprint using UK government conversion factors and the GHG Protocol, and gives you a shareable ESG report with performance by source and every calculation shown in the appendix. The report also records whether you have an environmental policy in place.

You also get a private action plan with prioritised actions, which gives you the practical commitments to put in your policy. Your first report is free. See how it works for small businesses.