Environment & Sustainability

Waste Management Compliance

Business waste management

Your legal duty of care for waste, waste transfer notes, and avoiding fly-tipping liability.

Workplace 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.

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.

Producer 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.

Environmental Permits

Check 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.

Prevent 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.

Report 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.

Oil 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.

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.

Protect 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.

Water 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.

Coastal 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.

Carbon & Climate Reporting

SECR and ESOS - energy and carbon reporting

Mandatory energy and emissions reporting requirements for large companies and LLPs.

Biodiversity & Nature

Understanding 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.

Understanding 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.

Trees 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.

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.

Guides

Set up and run a safe sewerage operation

Every sewerage business must protect its workers and others affected by the work. This guide covers the workplace health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection duties that apply before you get into the sector-specific sewerage regulatory requirements.

Set up and run a safe waste management operation

Waste collection, treatment, disposal and materials recovery is high-hazard work — heavy plant, moving vehicles, manual handling, dust, biological and chemical exposure, and fire risk from stockpiled combustible waste. Whatever waste activity you carry on, this is the universal spine. It takes you through your core workplace health and safety duties, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

Set up and run a safe remediation operation

Every remediation and decontamination business must protect its workers and others affected by the work. This guide covers the workplace health and safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection duties that apply before you get into the sector-specific environmental, waste and construction requirements.