Business waste management
Your legal duty of care for waste, waste transfer notes, and avoiding fly-tipping liability.
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Environment & Sustainability
Environmental compliance, waste management, emissions, and sustainability reporting
Waste Management Compliance
Simpler Recycling for businesses in England
New requirements for businesses in England to separate recyclable waste from March 2025. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have separate recycling regulations.
Read guideWorkplace recycling requirements in Wales
Mandatory workplace waste separation requirements in Wales under the Workplace Recycling Regulations, in force from 6 April 2024. Covers the six waste streams you must separate, three bans on waste disposal, penalties for non-compliance, and how to set up compliant waste collection. These requirements are significantly stricter than in England.
Read guideProducer Responsibility
Meet your environmental compliance obligations under the Environment Act 2021
Understand which provisions of the Environment Act 2021 apply to your business and how to comply. Covers biodiversity net gain, extended producer responsibility for packaging, deposit return schemes, and forest risk commodities.
Read guideEnvironmental Permits
Apply for an environmental permit
How to prepare and submit an environmental permit application to the Environment Agency. Covers documentation requirements, the application process, permit conditions, and ongoing compliance including inspections.
Read guideCheck if you need an environmental permit
Determine whether your business activity requires an environmental permit from the Environment Agency or local council. Covers regulated activities, exemptions, permit types, and costs.
Read guideCoastal erosion: implications for your business
How coastal erosion risk affects business premises, planning restrictions in Coastal Change Management Areas, Shoreline Management Plan policies, and options for coastal businesses including adaptation, rollback, and relocation.
Read guideOil storage regulations
What you must do if your business stores oil or fuel. Covers who the regulations apply to, container and bunding requirements, mobile bowser rules, fill point specifications, and inspection routines.
Read guidePrevent pollution from your business
How to identify and manage pollution risks from your business premises. Covers containment principles, drainage awareness, spill prevention, and creating a pollution incident response plan.
Read guideProtect your business premises from flooding
How to assess flood risk to your business premises and implement practical protection measures. Covers checking your flood zone, resistance and resilience measures, creating a flood plan, securing commercial flood insurance, and available grant funding for property flood resilience.
Read guideReport an environmental incident
What to do when a pollution incident occurs at or near your business. Covers when and how to report to the Environment Agency or devolved regulators, what information to provide, and the consequences of not reporting.
Read guideWater management and drought resilience for businesses
How drought conditions affect businesses, including water company restrictions, temporary use bans, drought orders, abstraction licence restrictions, and practical steps to build water resilience into your operations.
Read guideCarbon & Climate Reporting
SECR and ESOS - energy and carbon reporting
Mandatory energy and emissions reporting requirements for large companies and LLPs.
Read guideBiodiversity & Nature
Protected species offences and penalties in Scotland
Quick reference for criminal offences and penalties relating to protected species in Scotland. Covers European Protected Species, Wildlife and Countryside Act offences, raptor persecution, beaver protection, and vicarious liability.
Read guideTrees and hedgerows: quick reference for businesses
Quick reference covering felling licence thresholds, Tree Preservation Order penalties, hedgerow notification periods, conservation area rules, restocking obligations, and key contact points for businesses managing trees and hedgerows.
Read guideUnderstanding nature conservation law in Scotland
How Scotland's nature conservation framework works, why it differs from England and Wales, and what it means for businesses operating in Scotland. Covers the role of NatureScot, the hierarchy of protected areas, species protection, the biodiversity duty, and how conservation requirements interact with the planning system.
Read guideUnderstanding UK wildlife law for businesses
An overview of how UK wildlife protection law affects businesses, from construction and agriculture to events and tourism. Covers the main Acts, who enforces them, and common scenarios where businesses need to comply.
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