Packaging and products
Battery regulations: producer responsibility and take-back
Anyone who places batteries on the UK market for the first time, on their own or inside equipment, is a battery producer under the Waste Batteries and Accumulators...
Environmental compliance for construction and property businesses
Construction and demolition waste needs an upper-tier carrier registration even when you only carry your own; most schemes in England must deliver biodiversity net gain; let buildings must meet minimum energy efficiency standards; and site generators and boilers may need a medium combustion plant permit.
Not sure which apply? Use the compliance checker or ask for a free review.
Guides most relevant to construction and property
Property and development
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) for development in England
Most planning permissions in England must deliver a biodiversity net gain of at least 10%, measured with the statutory biodiversity metric and secured for 30 years....
Waste and resources
Mandatory digital waste tracking
Digital waste tracking replaces paper records with a single UK-wide digital service. In the first phase, operators of permitted and licensed sites that receive waste...
Permits, air and water
Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs
An environmental permit is the legal authorisation you need before running an activity that could pollute air, water or land, such as an industrial installation, a...
Energy and carbon
ESOS Phase 4 (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme)
ESOS Phase 4 requires every large UK undertaking (250 or more employees, or turnover above £44 million and a balance sheet above £38 million) and its UK group to...
Waste and resources
Hazardous waste: classification, consignment notes and returns
Hazardous waste (called special waste in Scotland) includes oils, solvents, paints, batteries, fluorescent tubes, asbestos, many chemicals and contaminated...
Reporting and management systems
ISO 14001:2026 environmental management systems
ISO 14001 is the international standard for environmental management systems (EMS). The revised ISO 14001:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 and strengthens...
Permits, air and water
Medium combustion plant and specified generator permits
Any boiler, engine or turbine with a rated thermal input of 1 MW or more but less than 50 MW is a medium combustion plant (MCP) and needs an environmental permit...
Property and development
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for let property
In England and Wales a landlord cannot let a non-domestic building or a home with an EPC rating below E unless a valid exemption is registered. The government...
Energy and carbon
SECR reporting (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting)
SECR reporting requires UK quoted companies, and unquoted companies and LLPs that exceed two of three tests (turnover over £36 million, balance sheet over £18...
Reporting and management systems
UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and climate disclosures
The UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, UK SRS S1 (general sustainability) and S2 (climate), are the UK's endorsed versions of the ISSB standards, published on 25...
Energy and carbon
UK carbon border adjustment mechanism (UK CBAM) from 2027
From 1 January 2027 the UK CBAM places a carbon price on imports of aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel goods, equivalent to what UK producers pay...
Waste and resources
Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration (and the move to permits)
Anyone who transports waste as part of their business, arranges for waste to be moved (a broker) or buys and sells waste (a dealer) must be registered with the...
Waste and resources
Waste duty of care and waste transfer notes
The waste duty of care applies to every business and organisation in the UK that produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of waste. You must stop waste escaping,...
Waste and resources
Waste exemptions: when you can operate without a permit
A waste exemption lets you carry out a small-scale, low-risk waste operation without an environmental permit, provided you register it and stay within its limits. In...
Permits, air and water
Trade effluent consents, water discharge permits and abstraction licences
Anything other than domestic sewage and clean rainwater that leaves your site as liquid needs permission. Trade effluent to the public sewer needs a consent from your...
Waste and resources
Workplace recycling rules: Simpler Recycling and the devolved regimes
Every UK workplace must now separate recycling and food waste from general waste, but the detail differs by nation. In England, Simpler Recycling has applied to...
Other sectors: Manufacturing, Food and drink, Retail and e-commerce, Logistics and transport, Waste and recycling, Chemicals, Hospitality, Professional services.