Improve your environmental performance

Your approach to the environment is an important factor in developing a good reputation for your business. Some businesses have built their success largely on a reputation for doing the right thing.

Benefits of a good environmental reputation

The advantages of a good environmental reputation include:

• helping you attract and keep customers
• making it easier to recruit new employees and improves employee motivation
• improving your relationship with suppliers
• improving your standing with your local community
• improving your relationship with your shareholders, if you have them
• increasing the chance that banks or investors will provide financial support

See the page in this guide on how to improve employee relations with good environmental practices.

Communicate your environmental performance

Your business will benefit from making customers, employees, the local community, suppliers and other stakeholders aware of your environmental commitment. Publicising measures taken to become 'greener' are becoming an essential part of marketing your business. Customers in particular might be interested in:

• how you minimise and reduce waste
• what you have done to make your business energy - and water - efficient
• the environmental credentials of your raw materials and supply chain
• what you have done to minimise the environmental impact of your products or services

Read our guide on how to market your environmental credentials.

Environmental reporting is another way to communicate this information to business stakeholders. It may even be mandatory for your business to include this information in your annual report. To find out whether you should report on your environmental impact, see our guide on how to produce environmental reports for your business.

Open up new markets

By improving your environmental performance, you may also be able to access a wide range of government-sector contracts. Many tender competitions will include minimum standards for environmental compliance at the pre-qualification stage. Find out more in our guide on how to prepare your business to tender for contracts.