The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has released a new ESG Guidance Document to help its members, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), take their first steps in sustainability reporting and responsible business practices.
Published in October 2025, the guidance has been developed by the BPF Sustainability Committee and is available exclusively to BPF members via the organisation’s website. The document outlines key aspects of ESG management, including legal requirements for UK businesses, reporting principles, materiality assessments, data accuracy, goal setting, and avoiding greenwashing.
While large multinational companies often have established ESG strategies, the BPF notes that most of its members are SMEs that are still at an early stage in developing sustainability frameworks. The new resource aims to bridge this gap by offering a practical, step-by-step guide to ESG implementation.
The document includes sections on:
- Understanding ESG and its business benefits
- UK legal obligations and reporting requirements
- Materiality and setting ESG goals
- Ensuring credible data and avoiding greenwashing
- Steps to produce an ESG report
The guide also provides references, further reading, and practical advice on using management systems to integrate ESG practices effectively.
The BPF acknowledged the contributions of Altro Ltd, McAlpine & Co Ltd, Robinson PLC, Tangram Technology Ltd, and Trowers & Hamlins LLP in producing the guidance.
Helen Jordan, BPF Sustainability Manager, said: “We encourage all our members to download and use this document within their own companies. A key requirement for the document was to be easy to understand, and we hope especially the step-by-step guide achieves this. Across all the resources available on the BPF Sustainability Hub, we have focused on making the implementation of sustainability within BPF member companies as straightforward as possible.”
