A5. Integration of biodiversity considerations into business activity
Type: Response indicator
This indicator was updated in 2023.
Introduction
This indicator is a proxy for the number of medium and large businesses in the UK that are taking steps to minimise their environmental impact. It shows the proportion of medium (50 to 249 employees) and large (at least 250 employees) businesses in the UK with Environmental Management System (EMS) certification – ISO 14001 (International Organization for Standardization).
Key results
In 2022, the number of ISO (‘International Organization for Standardization’) 14001 certifications in the UK as a proportion of the total number of medium and large businesses in the UK was 42% (Figure A5). In 2021, this figure was 40%.
The UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) is appointed by the UK Government to accredit Certification Bodies for their competence, independence, and impartiality in issuing certifications such as ISO 14001. UKAS recently launched UKAS CertCheck – a free to use, publicly accessible database of all UKAS accredited certifications. Since 2021, it is mandatory for Certification Bodies to upload their certification data to CertCheck (who also provide this information to the ISO survey team) and as a result, the number of ISO 14001 certifications before 2021 was likely underreported. The increase seen from 2020 to 2021 is therefore due to an improvement in reporting, rather than a true increase in the proportion of businesses with ISO 14001 certification.
Figure A5. Proportion of medium and large businesses in the UK with Environmental Management System (EMS) certification (ISO 14001), from 2018 to 2022
Notes about Figure A5:
- Based on the total number of ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certifications in the UK on 31 December each year and the total number of medium and large businesses in the UK on 1 January of the following year.
- ‘Medium businesses’ are those that employ between 50 and 249 staff; ‘large businesses’ are those that employ at least 250 staff.
Source: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; International Organization for Standardization.
Assessment
Notes for Assessment:
There are currently insufficient data points for this indicator to carry out any assessments. See Assessing Indicators.
Indicator description
The government’s Environmental Protection Expenditure (EPE) survey (on which this indicator was previously based) has been revised. As a result, it is no longer possible to update the original measures for the indicator.
The revised measure for this indicator (introduced in 2019) tracks the number of ISO (‘International Organization for Standardization’) 14001 certifications in the UK as a proportion of the total number of medium (50 to 249 employees) and large (at least 250 employees) businesses in the UK. It is a proxy for the number of UK businesses that are taking steps to minimise their environmental impact as measured by the proportion of these businesses with ISO 14001 certification. However, in the 2020 publication, it was not possible to update the indicator as ISO refined their survey in 2018 and the results were not comparable with the previous data (1999 to 2017) published in 2019. The previously published data has been provided in the ‘Background’ section of this fiche.
Internationally, the two main Environmental Management System (EMS) certification schemes currently available are ISO 14001 and EMAS (the European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). ISO 14001 represents the core set of standards used by organisations to design and implement an effective EMS. At the end of 2017, ISO 14001 was used by more than 360,000 organisations across 181 countries and economies; more than 17,500 of these organisations were based in the UK. The requirements of ISO 14001 are also an integral part of EMAS, however, the structure and material requirements of EMAS are more demanding, mainly concerning performance improvement, legal compliance, and reporting duties. In September 2018, there were 3,822 organisations with EMAS registration across the EU, only 14 of which were based in the UK.
Alternative EMS options include (i) BS (British Standard) 8555, not a certifiable standard as such, but designed to provide guidance for implementing an EMS on a phase-by-phase basis and (ii) ‘in-house’ EMSs that are not officially certified.
Relevance
Decisions made by businesses of any size within key sectors such as agriculture, forestry, industry, housing and infrastructure development, water supply and fisheries can have significant biodiversity impacts. Information on how biodiversity considerations have been integrated into agriculture, forestry and fisheries is included in other UK indicators but additional sectors were not adequately covered elsewhere in the indicator set. This indicator aims to provide information on the biodiversity considerations of businesses across all sectors. UK production and consumption has an impact within the UK as well as overseas.
Background
Environmental management has become a core business issue for many organisations. Minimising the amount of waste that is produced, reducing energy consumption and making more efficient use of resources can all help to protect and enhance the environment, in addition to leading to financial cost savings.
It is challenging to develop a universal measure that captures business interaction with biodiversity. Businesses can have direct and indirect impacts on nature, influenced by a wide variety of factors including resource consumption, land use, emissions/pollution, supply chain impacts and sourcing. The use of an EMS has been chosen as a proxy to measure the proportion of businesses that are taking steps to manage their environmental impacts. There are a number of regulatory and market drivers that may influence a company’s decision to adopt an EMS, however the adoption of an accredited and audited EMS demonstrates that a company is willing to track the implications of its operations on the environment. According to the ISO (2015),
An environmental management system helps organizations identify, manage, monitor and control their environmental issues in a “holistic” manner.
It requires that an organization considers all environmental issues relevant to its operations, such as air pollution, water and sewage issues, waste management, soil contamination, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and resource use and efficiency.
Therefore, while many companies may not measure their specific biodiversity impacts as part of an EMS, steps that are taken to reduce resource consumption, energy, waste, emissions and pollution offer benefits to the environment and ultimately reduce pressures on biodiversity.
Background measure
In 2017, the number of ISO (‘International Organization for Standardization’) 14001 certifications in the UK as a proportion of the total number of medium and large businesses in the UK was 41.5% (Figure A5a).
This represented a long-term increase of 559% since the ISO Environmental Management System standard was first introduced in 1999; a small, short-term decrease of 3% since 2012; and a similarly small increase of 2% in the final year of comparable data (2017).
Figure A5a. Time-series showing the number of ISO 14001 certifications in the UK as a proportion of the total number of medium and large businesses in the UK, 1999 to 2017
Notes about Figure A5a:
- Based on the total number of ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certifications in the UK on 31 December each year and the total number of medium and large businesses in the UK on 1 January of the following year.
- ‘Medium businesses’ are those that employ between 50 and 249 staff; ‘large businesses’ are those that employ at least 250 staff.
Goals and Targets
The UK and England Biodiversity Indicators are currently being assessed alongside the Environment Improvement Plan Targets, and the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Targets, when this work has been completed the references to Biodiversity 2020 and the Aichi Global Biodiversity Framework Targets will be updated.
Aichi Targets for which this is a primary indicator
Strategic Goal A. Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society.
Target 4: By 2020, at the latest, Governments, business and stakeholders at all levels have taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable production and consumption and have kept the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits.
Aichi Targets for which this is a relevant indicator
Strategic Goal A. Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society.
Target 1: By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.
Target 2: By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems.
Target 3: By 2020, at the latest, incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity are eliminated, phased out or reformed in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts, and positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are developed and applied, consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other relevant international obligations, taking into account national socio‑economic conditions.
Web links for further information
- British Standards Institution
- Defra (Environmental Protection Expenditure Survey)
- Department for Business and Trade (Business population estimates)
- European Commission (EMAS)
- International Organization for Standardization
- Office for National Statistics (Inter-departmental Business Register)
References
International Organization for Standardization (2015). ISO 14001 Key benefits. Available at: https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100372.pdf
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Last updated: November 2023
Latest data: 2022
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* Because 'International Organization for Standardization' would have different acronyms in different languages the organisation is known by the short form ISO. ISO is derived from the Greek isos, meaning equal.
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