More businesses are coming to understand the necessity of showing they are socially and environmentally sustainable. As an environmentally certified UK business, it’s possible to attract more clients, partners, and stakeholders. In addition, being a greener business means more access to the finances your company needs.
What is environmental certification UK?
Environmental certification is the process of having a company’s entire operations assessed to ensure they’re environmentally friendly. What’s more, certification also proves the business makes valuable contributions to society.
The process involves hiring a third-party assessment team that uses set criteria to measure your company’s sustainability. The team grants your company certification if it meets the set criteria. Having environmental certification can then be used as proof your business is eco-friendly in its operations and the way it conducts business.
What’s audited for UK environmental certification?
The audit measures the company’s environmental activities, policies, and initiatives to see if:
- Your claims about sustainability practices are true and authentic
- The company complies with all criteria through the assessment process
- The business environmental practices are in compliance with the regulations and standards within your industry
Environmental certification helps a business monitor and improve its environmental practices. The audit is completed annually to ensure the company maintains its eco-friendly operations and practices.
Certification of environmental practices can be used to prove the business is compliant and environmentally responsible. This information is valued by clients, partners, stakeholders, and others.
Who needs environmental certification?
Environmental certification in the UK is a valuable badge of honour for all businesses, no matter their size. Any business that wants to demonstrate its operations are environmentally friendly will benefit from an environmental certification.
In addition, this certification can be helpful when it comes to gaining access to financing. A company has the ability to scale quickly when they can demonstrate their environmental certification.
The benefits of environmental certification
Environmental certification is valuable for several reasons, including:
1. Align business with values
When your company receives environmental certification, it’s possible to incorporate environmental standards at all levels of the business. The business shows a commitment to minimising its environmental impact and ensuring all aspects of the business are eco-friendly and sustainable.
2. Create an environmental strategy
Many businesses fail to develop a comprehensive environmental strategy. However, once they’ve been through environmental certification, they have a clear view of their environmental impact and how to fix areas that do not align with its values and compliance goals.
For instance, a business may learn how to reduce waste and how to improve its recycling efforts. This is just one example; there are many other areas that touch the environment, too. With certification, it’s much easier to develop a comprehensive environmental strategy to ensure things are done right.
3. Authentication of environmental efforts
Environmental certification also means showing your business is not “greenwashing” its policies and procedures. Clients, partners, and stakeholders steer clear of companies that greenwash, which means loss of business and credibility.
Greenwashing is when a business claims it’s making huge efforts with its environmental strategies and practices. However, in reality, there’s little being done. While the business may have good intentions, the truth is they are putting out misleading information that could harm its reputation.
Environmental certification authenticates your company’s efforts to become more sustainable in all areas.
4. Differentiate from competitors
Another benefit of environmental certification UK is to differentiate your company from others. When you can demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and competitors don’t, you have a clear advantage over them and gain more clients and financing.
What’s more, your business also shows its commitment to providing great social value.
5. Raise public awareness
As a business with environmental certification, you also have the ability to raise public awareness of social and environmental issues. You can help them learn more about how they can help with sustainability efforts that benefit them, society, and the environment.
In this way, your company also attracts more clients that desire to align with businesses committed to more sustainable policies and operations.
These are only a few of the benefits your company can experience with environmental certification UK.
Engaging employees
Through our environmental certification UK, our team also works to motivate your employees by modifying their behaviour, developing creative solutions, and more. They become a part of your company’s environmental strategy by learning how they can improve their impact on the environment through their jobs and at home.
Planet Mark provides toolkits on various subjects, workshops that focus on key issues, and advice on how to plan long-term strategies to reach your sustainability goals.
Communicate your efforts
Our program is a recognisable symbol of authentic environmental efforts. For this reason, having our environmental certification can bring more credibility to your business and activities.
We help communicate your efforts to a broad audience by putting your certificate in the public domain. This proves your authenticity and transparency to everyone, including clients, stakeholders, and your supply chain.
If you’d like to learn more about our environmental certification UK, contact us today. Let us know how we can help your business reach its sustainability goals.
Why choose us?
At Planet Mark, we’re committed to helping our members achieve their environmental goals. We aim to enable our members to make meaningful change that results in a more sustainable, equitable world. This can be done through our environmental certification program.
Our goal is to also create a thriving society and planet where everyone has a chance to live in a world that’s free of environmental issues. We can do this by showing your business ways it can reduce carbon emissions and positively change the environment for the better.
Ultimately, we’re working toward a more equitable planet and society where everyone is healthy and can enjoy nature at its best.
We do this by offering our unique environmental certification process. We rigorously measure your data, so you have a better understanding of how your company affects the environment. Our process is simple and offers a clear picture of how your company impacts the environment. We also measure your social contributions and set a financial value on the impact of your social activities.
