National Award for Environmental Excellence

National Award for Environmental Excellence® will help you to understand your impact on our environment and respond to the risks, opportunities and responsibilities ahead, while building a more efficient and cost effective organisation.

This award recognises best practice in environmental and carbon management as well as maintenance, waste management and community engagement.

It uses a thorough assessment of your site(s) through desktop assessment and on-site visit to establish how your organisation is performing against criteria across six elements. Once all criteria are scored a detailed report will be provided and successful organisations will receive an award to demonstrate their achievement. There are four levels of award, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

As well as an accreditation, National Award for Environmental Excellence® is a framework for continual improvement and helps to monitor your efforts.

In May 2019, the Scottish Government declared a climate emergency and has pledged to drastically reduce carbon emissions from Scotland. This will mean new legislation and technology that will bring significant changes to the way that we do life and business in Scotland. The United Nations COP26 climate conference in 2021, hosted in Glasgow, focused attention on climate action in Scotland like never before. Having an environmentally engaged workforce is vital in helping you meet new regulations and customer expectations as Scotland strives to become a net-zero nation.

National Award for Environmental Excellence® scores each site on a set of criteria split into six elements:

Carbon management: We look at how your organisation understands and manages its carbon impact. For example, does your organisation have a carbon management plan with targets and measures and do you and your staff understand what they can do to combat the climate emergency?

Administration: We look to see if your organisation has an environmental management system in place and, if so, how often it is review and updated. We also review your processes and policies, including those on environmental management and procurement.

The external environment: We want to see how well your outside space is managed for people and nature. For example, is there any litter? Are there appropriate bins? Do you have cycle parking? How well is your building maintained?

The internal environment: We want to know whether waste is separated for recycling, the efficiency of the heating, lighting and air conditioning and if environmental action is promoted to staff.

Waste management: We look at how your organisation manages its waste, including on-site practices, waste streams, cleanliness and security of waste management areas, as well as awareness of employees.

Community participation: We look to see how much of a role your organisation has in the local community, including involvement in projects to improve the local area and volunteering opportunities.

This award has been recognised by Quality Scotland as “supporting organisations to deliver excellence in environmental quality.

Quality Scotland

The award uses a standardised methodology which can be used across a range of sites, properties and sectors.

Previous assessments include offices, warehouses, visitor attractions, hospitals, leisure centres and shopping centres across businesses and organisations. We also have National Award for Environmental Excellence® for housing providers.

Read our case studies

How does our National Award for Environmental Excellence work?

1 Your documentation is reviewed by our assessors to understand your current activity to score
against our criteria.

2 Our assessors will carry an out on-site visit to complete scoring on all criteria and cross-reference
findings in the desktop assessment.

3 A thorough report will be produced detailing how your organisation is performing against all
criteria as well as recommendations for improvement and identify areas you are already doing
well in.

4 Successful organisations will earn a bronze, silver, gold or platinum level of award. A plaque and
promotional opportunities are provided.

5 Ongoing support can be provided to ensure continuous environmental improvement.

The award is renewed after two years and our support provides the opportunity to continually
improve your performance and aim for higher awards.