How long does it take to put together an ESG report?

For most small businesses, putting together an ESG report takes under 30 minutes with a guided questionnaire. A sole trader working from home can finish in 10 to 15 minutes. An office-based SME with no vehicles usually takes 20 to 30, and a business with vans, premises or a lot of staff travel takes 30 to 45. Using a consultant tends to stretch the same job out, because of meetings and drafting rounds.

The difference is mostly about how much there is to measure, not how complicated it is. Here is what to expect for your type of business.

How long does it take for my type of business?

These are the typical completion times for the ESG Now questionnaire, based on how many questions apply to each kind of business.

Business type	Typical time	What takes the time
Sole trader working from home	10 to 15 minutes	A few yes or no questions about travel and policies
Sole trader in co-working	10 to 15 minutes	Desk days and work trips, no bills needed
Small team in co-working or serviced office	15 to 20 minutes	Headcount, benefits, training, team travel
SME with its own office, no vehicles	20 to 30 minutes	Electricity and gas, bins, people and policies
SME with vehicles, premises or staff travel	30 to 45 minutes	Fuel or mileage per vehicle, energy, workforce
Shop, cafe, workshop or product business	30 to 45 minutes	Premises, materials, waste

Pick the option closest to yours below to see what you will need to hand.

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

Pick the option closest to your business and we will tell you how long it takes and what to have ready.

Most small businesses finish in under 30 minutes. Sole traders are often done in 10.

Why is it so much quicker than people expect?

Because most of the effort in a traditional ESG report goes on things a small business does not need.

A consultant-led report for a large company might include stakeholder workshops, a formal materiality assessment, multiple sites, supply chain surveys and several rounds of drafting. Each step needs a meeting, and meetings need diaries. That is why those projects take time.

A small business has one site, or none. The decision makers are usually one or two people. The figures sit in a couple of bills and someone’s memory of last year’s trips. Once the questions are in the right order, answering them is quick.

What slows an ESG report down?

Almost always, it is finding information rather than answering questions. These are the usual culprits:

• Energy bills. Twelve months of electricity and gas kWh. If your landlord or co-working provider pays them, you may not have them at all.
• Fuel and mileage. Vehicle data is often spread across fuel cards, receipts and expense claims.
• Travel. Nobody keeps a neat list of every train and flight.
• Policies. Hunting through shared drives to find out whether a code of conduct was ever written.
• Waste. Very few businesses know how many kilograms of waste they produce.

The fix for all of these is the same: estimate where you need to, and be clear that you have.

Can you use estimates to save time?

Yes, and reviewers expect you to. Small businesses are not expected to have metered data for everything.

The ESG Now questionnaire offers sensible estimates for the usual gaps:

• Office energy from your floor area, if you do not have bills
• A co-working share from the number of desks and the days you use them
• Waste from bin sizes and how often they are collected
• Water from your headcount

The report then labels every figure as measured, estimated or a data gap. That honesty matters. An assessor reading a grant application, or a buyer reviewing a supplier questionnaire, is far happier with a clearly labelled estimate than with a precise-looking number of uncertain origin.

A worked example: a six-person consultancy in a serviced office has no energy bills because the provider covers them. Instead of chasing the building manager for a share of the meter, they enter their desk count and days used. The questionnaire estimates their share of the building’s energy, and the report marks it as estimated. Time saved: probably a week of emails.

How to get it done in one sitting

A little preparation makes the questionnaire run straight through. Have these open in another tab before you start:

1. Your last 12 months of energy bills, or your office size in square metres if you do not have them.
2. Fuel card statements or rough annual mileage for any company vehicles.
3. A rough list of work trains and flights, with destinations. Your booking tool or expenses system usually has this.
4. Your headcount, and a quick note of benefits and training offered.
5. Any existing policies, so you can confirm what is already in place.

If you do not have something, skip it or use the estimate. You can also stop part way through. Answers save as you go, so you can come back and pick up where you left off.

For a closer look at timings and what each section involves, see how long it takes.

What about updating it next year?

The second report is quicker than the first. You know where your bills are, you have a travel log (or you started one after the first report), and your policies already exist.

That matters because most people who ask for ESG data want to see progress against a baseline. A buyer asking for your carbon footprint this year will probably ask again next year, and a Carbon Reduction Plan under PPN 006 must be updated at least annually. Recalculating on the same basis each year is what makes your figures meaningful. We match the conversion factor year to the midpoint of your reporting period, so each year’s report uses the right set.

How does this compare to a consultant?

A consultant is not slower because they are less capable. They are slower because the process has more steps: scoping, a kick-off call, a data request, waiting for your replies, drafting, review and sign-off. Even when the analysis itself is quick, the calendar time is much longer.

That process makes sense for large companies with complex footprints. For a small business that needs a report by Friday, it rarely does. Our guide to ESG report costs compares the options side by side, and the ESG report example shows what you end up with.

Get yours done today

ESG Now produces a shareable ESG report and a private action plan with prioritised actions and data improvements. The carbon footprint follows the GHG Protocol and uses the official UK government factors, with every calculation shown in the appendix.

Your first report is free. Start your free ESG report now and you could be sending it to whoever asked by the end of the day. If you are a typical small firm, the small businesses page has more on what is covered.