Regulation
Climate, Biodiversity & Environmental Action for Businesses
Businesses can affect the climate and natural environment through their energy use, buildings, land management, purchasing, advertising, events and day-to-day operations.
Some climate and environmental requirements apply to particular businesses or developments. Beyond these requirements, every business can take practical action to reduce its impact and support nature.
Check your responsibilities → Understand your starting point → Take action → Measure improvement → Review
1. Check what applies to your business
The requirements that apply will depend on your organisation, its activities and whether you are developing or changing land or buildings.
Climate, energy and carbon
Some businesses have statutory requirements relating to energy use, carbon emissions, energy efficiency or climate-related reporting. These can include:
- Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) for businesses within scope
- Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) for qualifying large undertakings
- climate-related financial disclosures for certain large companies and LLPs.
Not every requirement applies to every business. Check which requirements apply to your organisation before relying on this guidance.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Some developments may require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) where they are likely to have significant effects on the environment. Whether an assessment is required depends on the type, scale and location of the development.
Biodiversity Net Gain
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) applies to many developments requiring planning permission in England. Where mandatory BNG applies, developments in Maidstone must deliver a 20% biodiversity net gain
There are exemptions, but this page is not a BNG calculator or assessment tool. If BNG applies to your development, follow the statutory process and seek appropriate planning and ecological advice.
Wildlife, habitats and protected sites
Requirements relating to protected species, important habitats and designated sites may also apply, regardless of whether BNG is required.
Always check the appropriate planning, environmental and ecological requirements before undertaking work that could affect wildlife or habitats.
2. Go beyond minimum requirements
Whether or not the requirements above apply, businesses that own, occupy or manage buildings or land can take voluntary action for climate, biodiversity and the wider environment.
Start by recording what you have now.
Baseline year: __________________
| What are you measuring? | Your baseline |
|---|---|
| Green / planted area | ______ m² |
| Hard / impermeable surface | ______ m² |
| Flower-rich habitat | ______ m² |
| Trees | ______ |
| Hedgerows | ______ metres |
| Ponds / wetland | ______ m² |
| Rain gardens / SuDS planting | ______ m² |
| Green roofs / walls | ______ m² |
| Area under reduced mowing | ______ m² |
| Rainwater storage | ______ litres |
| Pesticide / herbicide use | ______ litres/kg per year |
| Wildlife features | ______ |
Take photographs from fixed locations around your site too. Repeating the same photographs each year provides a simple visual record of change.
3. Choose actions that make a difference
Protect existing habitats, trees and vegetation first, then look for opportunities to enhance your site.
| Action | What could you do? | How to measure your impact |
|---|---|---|
| Protect existing habitat | Retain and improve existing vegetation, habitats, trees and hedgerows | m² habitat retained or improved |
| Trees | Retain existing trees and plant suitable new trees | Number retained/planted and % surviving |
| Hedgerows | Retain, restore or create suitable native hedgerows | Metres created or restored |
| Flower-rich areas | Convert suitable grass or unused areas to flower-rich habitat | m² created |
| Reduced mowing | Allow suitable areas to grow longer | m² under reduced mowing |
| Native planting | Increase appropriate native and wildlife-friendly planting | m² created |
| Ponds & wetland | Create or improve suitable wet habitats | Number and m² created/improved |
| Rain gardens / SuDS | Use planting and sustainable drainage to manage rainfall | m² created; area draining into it |
| De-paving | Remove unnecessary concrete, tarmac or paving and replace it with permeable or planted areas | m² hard surface removed |
| Green roofs / walls | Add vegetation to suitable buildings | m² installed |
| Rainwater harvesting | Capture rainwater for reuse, including watering planting | Litres of storage and rainwater reused |
| Wildlife features | Provide suitable nesting, roosting or shelter features | Number installed and evidence of use |
| External lighting | Reduce unnecessary lighting or its effect on wildlife | Number of lights removed, adapted or controlled |
| Pesticides & herbicides | Reduce unnecessary chemical use | Litres/kg used before and after |
| Soils | Reduce unnecessary disturbance and improve soil management | m² under improved management |
4. Support local nature recovery
The Kent and Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy was published on 28 November 2025. It identifies priorities and recommended actions for nature recovery and includes mapping showing where action could be targeted to deliver the greatest benefits for habitats and species. [naturereco...ent.org.uk], [kentnature.org.uk]
If your business owns or manages land, use the strategy and mapping to consider:
- which habitats and species are priorities locally
- where habitat could be protected, restored or created
- opportunities to connect existing areas of habitat
- how your land could contribute to wider nature recovery
- opportunities for nature-based solutions that also support climate resilience.
5. Measure the difference
You do not need to measure everything. Choose the indicators that are relevant to your site and record them consistently.
| Measure | Baseline | Current | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green / planted area | ___ m² | ___ m² | + ___ m² |
| Hard / impermeable surface | ___ m² | ___ m² | − ___ m² |
| Flower-rich habitat | ___ m² | ___ m² | + ___ m² |
| Trees | ___ | ___ | + ___ |
| New trees surviving | ___ % | ___ % | ___ |
| Hedgerows | ___ m | ___ m | + ___ m |
| Ponds / wetland / rain gardens | ___ m² | ___ m² | + ___ m² |
| Green roofs / walls | ___ m² | ___ m² | + ___ m² |
| Reduced-mowing area | ___ m² | ___ m² | + ___ m² |
| Rainwater storage | ___ L | ___ L | + ___ L |
| Rainwater reused | ___ L/year | ___ L/year | + ___ L |
| Pesticide / herbicide use | ___ L/kg | ___ L/kg | − ___ L/kg |
| Wildlife features | ___ | ___ | + ___ |
Is wildlife responding?
Where practical, businesses can also repeat simple observations each year.
Bird species recorded: ______
Butterfly species recorded: ______
Pollinator species/groups recorded: ______
Wildlife features showing evidence of use: ______
Use the same location, similar time of year and the same monitoring method to make comparisons more meaningful. You might use volunteer benefits to participate in citizen science events like the Big Butterfly Count or the Big Garden Birdwatch.
Simple observations can help demonstrate change over time but are not a substitute for professional ecological assessment where this is required.
6. Create your Climate, Biodiversity & Environment Plan
| What do we want to improve? | What will we do? | How will we measure it? | Starting point | Target | By when? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
Your first three actions
1. We will: __________________________________________
We will measure: __________________________________
By: __________
2. We will: __________________________________________
We will measure: __________________________________
By: __________
3. We will: __________________________________________
We will measure: __________________________________
By: __________
7. Review your progress every year
Each year:
- update your chosen measures
- repeat your site photographs
- check whether new planting and trees have successfully established
- repeat any wildlife monitoring
- identify what has worked and what needs improving
- look for new opportunities for nature recovery
- update your Climate, Biodiversity & Environment Plan.
Look for a clear direction of travel:
Hard / impermeable surfaces: ↓
Green and planted areas: ↑
Trees and hedgerows: ↑
Habitats for wildlife: ↑
Rainwater capture: ↑
Pesticide and herbicide use: ↓
Wildlife-friendly management: ↑
Wider Climate & Environmental Responsibility
Environmental responsibility extends beyond the land and buildings a business manages.
Businesses can also consider the environmental impact of what they buy, who they buy from, how they operate, and the products and behaviours they promote.
| Area | What could your business do? | How could you measure it? |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising & marketing | Consider the climate and environmental impact of products, services and behaviours promoted | Environmental standards included in policy: Yes / No |
| Travel | Encourage lower-carbon and inclusive travel choices | % of relevant events/activities promoting sustainable travel |
| Single-use products | Remove unnecessary single-use items and introduce reusable alternatives | Number of single-use items avoided |
| Purchasing | Include climate, biodiversity, waste and resource considerations in purchasing decisions | % of relevant purchasing applying environmental criteria |
| Local economy | Consider local businesses, producers and traders where appropriate | £ or % of relevant spend locally |
| Suppliers | Ask relevant suppliers about environmental performance | % of relevant suppliers assessed |
| Contracts | Include relevant climate and environmental requirements | % of relevant contracts containing requirements |
| Staff | Provide opportunities for environmental learning, action and volunteering | Number participating / staff hours |
Maidstone Borough Council Action
Maidstone Borough Council has also been strengthening the environmental standards applied through its own activities.
As part of our Climate Change Action Plan 2025, we committed to:
D12. Adopt a policy to restrict the advertising of high-carbon products and services through MBC advertising sites.
To support this commitment, we have updated our advertising terms and conditions to include:
8.3 The Hirer will consider and promote travel options to and from the event that are as sustainable and inclusive as possible.
16.5 MBC recommends the Hirer avoids all single-use plastic use in favour of sustainable options.
17.2 The Hirer will consider local commercial traders wherever possible and appropriate.
We have also updated the Council's advertising policy to include the following:
An advertisement will not be accepted if it, in the reasonable opinion of the Council, is deemed as high carbon and encourages unsustainable or damaging behaviour.