February 2025 Edit | New ESGmark? Logo, ESG Trends for 2025, and Maternity & Paternity Policy

Dear?ESGmark? community members and friends,

As we step into the second month of the year, we hope you are continuing to feel inspired for the year ahead. Here at ESGmark?, we’re feeling energised in?supporting our amazing community of businesses dedicated to positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.?This month, we are sharing our latest policy guide to help our members?create an?inclusive and supportive workplace for new parents, as well as our latest blog post,?where we explore the key ESG trends for 2025.?Stay tuned for more resources and?upcoming events to?help you on your ESG journey!

As ever, we would love to hear from you. If you have any comments, ideas, or suggestions,?email us at?[email protected]?or click the link to get in touch.

Warmest wishes,

The ESGmark??Team

We've had a logo makeover!

We are excited to announce that we have refreshed our logo to proudly reflect our commitment to supporting businesses in showcasing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials.

For our members, we believe this change will help you to highlight your ESGmark? Certification with even greater clarity and impact.?We will be sharing communications shortly?to provide the?new logo files and guidelines on how to incorporate them into your materials seamlessly.

As ESG takes centre stage, businesses are embedding sustainability into strategy, facing stricter regulations, and leveraging AI for better data management. Transparency, greenwashing risks, and the demand for green talent are all shaping the corporate responsibility landscape.

Stay ahead of the curve with our latest insights on the key ESG trends that will define 2025.

LINK HERE

Supporting employees through the significant life event of welcoming a child is both an ethical responsibility and a strategic move for businesses that want to foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing workplace.

Creating a robust maternity and paternity policy is a vital step in ensuring that employees feel supported and able to balance their work and family responsibilities without compromising either.

Our Maternity and Paternity Policy Guide covers:

• What is a Maternity and Paternity Policy and why do you need one?
• Statutory requirements for UK businesses
• Best practice policies
• Balancing business interests
• Creating a supportive culture
• Pregnancy loss

ESGmark? community members can access our Maternity and Paternity Policy Guide through our exclusive Members Library, or you can preview the guide below.

Join us to gain full access to all of our policy guides and templates along with other exclusive benefits.

PREVIEW THE GUIDE

The ESGmark? Community continues to go from strength to strength?and we are proud to share and celebrate the success of our members. Below are just some of the great things Community Members achieved in the last month.

udiri has been selected to participate in the COSH Summer Road Show in Berlin, Germany, and Kortrijk, Belgium. To follow along, head to their page here.

Tomorrow's Forests are looking for organisations to support a unique tree planting project in Westminster.

If?your organisation is looking to support a project that will deliver strong environmental and social benefits while helping you to achieve your ESG goals, then contact Toby at [email protected] to learn more and get involved.

Planting will take place in mid-February and March, so don't hesitate to get in touch for more information!?

Planning an event? Why not make it as sustainable as possible?

The Sustainable Events Company UK is offering an incredible?70% discount?on net zero event management, exhibition stand design and project management, and event carbon audits. Throughout February, their day rate for these services will be ￡100 (usual rate ￡350/day).?

Contact The Sustainable Events Company today at?[email protected]?to secure this limited time offer.

Did you know that cremated remains are harmful to the environment? Their high sodium levels and highly alkaline pH mean they can be damaging to both soil and water and hence harmful to plants and animals.

Natural Transition offers an environmentally friendly soil blend, which allows cremated ashes to be scattered without harming the environment. They create and supply the only organic mixture that has been specifically created to dispose of human and pet remains rapidly and naturally. Through mixing the soil with remains, toxic sodium levels are reduced, and a high pH is neutralised whilst releasing nutrients back in the soil to allow plant life to flourish.

Here are some more ways that Natural Transition works to ensure responsible ESG practices:

• Environmental: Natural Transition reduces emissions from logistics by sourcing soil from their own woodland and sourcing live bacterial ingredients also within the UK. They also offer a bag reuse scheme for wholesale deliveries to reduce packaging waste and plant a tree for every sale of RTN Soil via their partnership with Ecologi.
• Social: They are a certified Living Wage employer and are part of The Ethical Move, having taken a pledge to put the common good of customers and society at the forefront of their business. Natural Transition also takes steps to support mental health in the workplace.
• Governance: Natural Transition is part of the Faunus Group, which invests in, develops, and supports environmentally motivated projects?and has?aligned their KPIs with the SDG goals.

To learn more about Natural Transition, head to their page here.

New recycling regulations under the 'Simpler Recycling' initiative should be on the?radar of every business with premises?in England. The?new rules?are set to take effect on 31 March 2025 for businesses with 10 or more employees, or 31 March 2027 for micro-firms with less than 10 employees.

These changes aim to streamline waste management and recycling processes for?businesses, making it easier and more efficient to recycle, to support the Government's goal of reaching a 65% recycling rate for municipal waste by 2035.?

What are the key changes?

1. Waste Separation: Businesses with 10 or more employees will be required to separate dry mixed recyclables (plastic, metal, glass, paper, and card) and food waste from their general waste.
2. Consistent Collections: The new regulations will ensure that the same set of materials is collected for recycling across all regions in England, ending the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled.
3. Food Waste Collections:?Any business generating food waste will need to separate this from general waste and organise for it?to be collected.

To prepare for these changes, we recommend that you review?your current waste management processes to ensure compliance?and train your employees on the upcoming changes to make sure everyone's on the same page. For more details, head over to the government guidance here.