Do you know the environmental impacts of your business?
The federal government recently set a climate change target for 2035, committing Australia to a reduction in emissions of between 62% and 70% below 2005 levels. To hit this target, we’ll all need to play our part, whether you’re running a corporate organisation, or a small business.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns should be high on your agenda, but do you really know the current environmental impact of your business operations?
1. Get an environmental audit
An environmental audit is a systematic sustainability review of all your business operations. The aims are 1) to check that you’re compliant with current environmental regulations, and 2) to assess the overall ecological impact of your operations.
Key steps will involve reviewing your internal practices around waste disposal, energy use and resource consumption against benchmark goals for your industry or business type.
2. Set up an environmental management system
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps your business systematically reduce its environmental impact and improve efficiency.
This will involve planning out your environmental goals, putting procedures in place to reduce your impact on the environment and check your performance against these goals over time. The EMS is there to hold you to account and drive continuous improvement of your impacts.
3. Report on your impacts
It’s important to report on your sustainability performance – and to make this reporting public, open and transparent. This allows your employees, customers, suppliers and local community stakeholders to get an objective overview of your environmental performance.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to track metrics like the amount of waste reduction, or your total energy usage as a business. Using these KPIs, you can easily compile a public report or website section that compares your actual real-world performance against your Environmental Management System goals.
4. Check government requirements
It’s important to check what the federal and state rules are for environmental reporting, so you’re aware of what’s required from your small business.
Mandatory climate-related financial disclosures were brought in for large companies and financial institutions from January 2025. But small businesses may soon be required to supply similar disclosures, as climate change targets are tightened.
You can get more advice on managing your environmental impact on the business.gov site.
If you’re looking to refine and update your environmental strategy, come and talk to our team. We’ll help you review your governance and set realistic targets for reducing your impact.
