Business in the Community’s Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey is NI’s FREE principal benchmarking exercise that helps businesses to examine, review, compare and improve their environmental performance, and champions organisations who are demonstrating action for real change.
Both the main Survey and Small Business Survey benchmark organisations against sector peers and leading Northern Ireland organisations, based on environmental management and performance in key areas, as well as the extent to which environmental business practices have been embedded within corporate strategies.
Taking part enables your organisation to publicly demonstrate its commitment to being environmentally responsible and transparent, and the process allows organisations to examine and reflect on their environmental performance, to help drive improvements. On completion, all participants will be sent a Gap Analysis Report which helps with strategic planning, improving processes, and enhancing overall environmental performance.
The Survey is open to all organisations in Northern Ireland and is widely recognised as NI’s principal environmental benchmarking exercise.
Since 1998, the Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey has pushed the environmental agenda to the fore and in 2025 more than 150 organisations of all sizes and from a range of industry sectors took part, including, construction, education, engineering, and food and drink.
Take part in 2027 |
Find out more about the Survey |
Download the 2025 Report |
2026 Survey Resources |
Why take part in the NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey?
Effective environmental management is a way for organisations to make tangible cost savings while contributing to a more sustainable future.
The Survey process enables organisations to examine their performance, to drive improvement, and to compare themselves with similar organisations. It’s not a competition: it’s a unique and valuable opportunity to learn from what others in your sector and other organisations are doing to improve their environmental impacts. On completion, all participants will be sent a Gap Analysis Report which helps with strategic planning, improving processes, and enhancing overall environmental performance.
Another new advantage of completing the Survey is that participants now earn 30 Social Value points, further strengthening the organisation’s contribution to responsible and sustainable business practice.
Through taking part in the Survey, your organisation is demonstrating ‘green leadership’.
The Survey can help organisations:
- Identify environmental impacts
- Measure progress to drive improvement
- Raise awareness of the environment as an important, strategic and competitive issue at board level
It also provides valuable opportunities to share ideas and learn from what others are doing.
Scores – released at an event in November – are based on an organisation’s environmental management and performance in key areas, as well as the extent to which environmental business practices have been embedded within corporate strategies.
The Survey Process
The Survey is an online self-disclosure exercise. The length of time required to submit your entry will vary depending on your organisation, but we recommend starting as early as possible to allow lots of time to collate the information needed for submission.
The data you submit is treated in the strictest confidence and shared only with our Survey verification partner.
External verification happens in two stages. In the first stage, we review all Survey raw data to check for inconsistencies, significant year-on-year changes, and for any missing information. Secondly, we select approximately 10% of participating organisations as a sample, to be verified in person by our verification partner.
Small Business Survey
If your organisation employs fewer than 50 people it is eligible for the Small Business Survey, a reduced version of the main Survey. This offers the opportunity to demonstrate the business’s environmental credentials alongside the major players in Northern Ireland.
Both versions of the Survey are free to complete.
George Dawson Award for Environmental Contribution
Does your colleague go above and beyond to support your organisation to be more sustainable?
The George Dawson Award is an annual recognition award that celebrates an individual’s contribution to improving the environmental performance of their organisation. Colleagues should nominate someone from within their own organisation that is seen as an environmental leader, raising awareness of environmental issues internally and in the wider community, and who introduces innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
Click here to find out more about the George Dawson Award.
How organisations are scored
Participating organisations are ranked by level: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze or Green. The higher the overall score, the higher the organisation will rank. There is no limit on the number of organisations that can fall into any one band.
The Corporate Strategy and Environmental Management sections assess the extent to which environmental considerations are embedded within an organisation’s leadership, decision-making, policies, systems and objectives. Strong performance in these areas provides the foundation for effective environmental management and demonstrates that environmental responsibility is integrated into the organisation’s overall approach.
The Environmental Performance & Improvement section carries the greatest weighting and rewards organisations that can demonstrate measurable improvements through quantitative data and evidence of action. Investing in improvement projects across areas such as climate action, circular economy and resource use, nature and biodiversity, and other significant environmental impacts can help increase scores. Organisations that demonstrate sustained performance improvement over several years tend to achieve the strongest results, so those seeking to progress to a higher ranking level should focus on continual improvement.
It is possible for participants in the Small Business Survey to achieve Silver, although most achieve Bronze or Green rankings.
How does the Survey work?
The Survey is split into the following sections:
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