Innovate UK: answering the EDI and environmental impact questions

Innovate UK assessors reward specific, measurable evidence. For the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) question, that means a real policy embedded in how you work, concrete recruitment actions, inclusion activity with timelines, and metrics with a review mechanism. For environmental impact, it means quantified effects (positive and negative), a stated baseline and method, and a plan to reduce any harm. Question numbers, word limits and whether EDI is scored all vary by competition, so always read the brief and the assessor guidance first.

Both questions are easy to answer generically. That is exactly why specific answers stand out.

How are these questions scored?

Scored questions in Innovate UK competitions are typically marked from 1 to 10 by independent assessors, using guidance published with the competition. That guidance is the closest thing you will get to a marking scheme, so download it and write to it.

For EDI, the approach differs. In some competitions it is a scored question. In others it is explicitly not scored and the answers are used to support businesses and shape future programmes. When it is scored, the top band can be demanding. One recent assessor guidance document gives 9 to 10 marks where the proposal identifies EDI challenges related to the idea, describes a comprehensive EDI policy and how it is embedded in culture, sets out targeted recruitment actions, details social inclusion activities with timelines and expected impacts, and provides measurable EDI metrics and review mechanisms.

Environmental impact usually appears in one of three places: a dedicated environmental or sustainability question, a “wider impacts” question that asks you to describe and measure any expected environmental impacts, positive or negative, or, in net zero competitions, a detailed emissions reduction question with an appendix.

How to answer the EDI question

Structure your answer around the points assessors are looking for.

1. EDI challenges in your idea. Who could be excluded or disadvantaged by your product or sector? A fintech app might exclude people without smartphones. A health tool trained on limited data might work less well for some groups. Naming this shows insight.

2. Your policy and how it shows up in practice. Not “we are an equal opportunities employer”, but what that means day to day: flexible working, structured interviews, pay bands, accessible materials.

3. Recruitment for this project. If the project creates roles, say how you will reach a diverse pool. Examples include advertising beyond your network, using gender-neutral job adverts, offering part-time options and using a consistent scoring sheet.

4. Inclusion beyond your team. User testing with diverse groups, STEM outreach, internships or apprenticeships, with dates.

5. Metrics and review. One to three measures, such as applicant diversity for project roles, user testing participant mix, or staff survey results, with a review point.

A team of three can still score well. Assessors judge the quality and specificity of your approach, not the size of your HR department. Saying “we are a team of three, so we will report our metrics in aggregate and review them at each project milestone” is perfectly credible.

How to answer the environmental impact question

Think in two layers.

Your organisation’s footprint. Assessors increasingly expect you to know your own baseline. A sentence like “our 2025/26 footprint was 9.8 tCO2e, mainly electricity and business travel, calculated using UK government conversion factors” shows awareness and gives context for everything else. A carbon footprint that splits direct energy use from Scope 3 sources such as travel and waste is ideal.

The project’s impact. This is the bigger part. Describe and, where possible, quantify:

• Positive impacts. Emissions avoided, energy saved, materials or waste reduced, air quality improved. Give a number and the assumptions.
• Negative impacts. More hardware, data centre energy, travel during trials, end-of-life waste. Assessors in many competitions explicitly reward transparent discussion of negatives.
• Mitigation. What you will do about each negative.
• Scale over time. The impact at project end and after a few years of adoption, with the adoption assumptions stated.

Sustainability questions in some recent competitions reward lifecycle thinking, net zero pathways and circular economy plans, with specific metrics linked to the benefit. If your project has a meaningful lifecycle (physical products, materials, hardware), address it. Where you quote emissions, use recognised factors such as the UK government’s conversion factors and say which year you used, so an assessor can follow your working without guessing.

A short example

For a startup building route optimisation software for delivery fleets:

Our pilot with two regional couriers (34 diesel vans) reduced average daily mileage by 9%. At their current mileage and UK government van emission factors, that equals about 41 tCO2e avoided a year across the pilot fleet. Our method and assumptions are in Appendix B. Negative impacts are limited to cloud computing energy, which we estimate at under 1 tCO2e a year. Our hosting provider reports renewable electricity matching, and we will review this annually. If adopted by 200 fleets of similar size by 2029, we estimate avoided emissions of roughly 4,000 tCO2e a year.

That answer gives numbers, method, negatives and a realistic scale-up, in about 100 words.

Do not confuse these with Project Impact questions

Many Innovate UK applications also include Project Impact questions in the supporting information section. These collect data such as full-time equivalent employees, turnover and R and D spend. UKRI states that Project Impact questions are not scored and do not form part of the assessment. You still need to complete them accurately, and you will be asked to update them during and after the project.

Evidence to have ready

Before you start writing, gather:

• Your EDI or equal opportunities policy, and any workforce data you hold in aggregate
• Your recruitment process for the roles the project will create
• Your organisation’s carbon baseline, with method
• Any pilot data on environmental benefits, plus the assumptions you used
• Your environmental policy and code of conduct

ESG Now helps with several of these at once. The questionnaire covers energy, travel, waste and water for your carbon footprint, plus workforce questions on diversity monitoring, pay, training and health and safety, and governance questions on policies and responsibility. The report presents it all clearly, with calculations shown, and the private action plan shows which policies you already have in place and which are worth adding next. Most small businesses finish in under 30 minutes, and your first report is free. Start your report.

For the net zero angle in local grants, read how to answer the net zero question in a grant application, or visit the grant applications hub.