Driving Sustainable Growth: Empowering SMEs with ESG excellence

Strengthen your business with environmental, social and governance best practices – increasing resilience and enhancing performance. Get started now
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Helping you to navigate sustainability reporting and compliance

Sustainability is increasingly recognised as a critical component of business success. As our sectors move towards Net Zero by 2050, the impact cascades down the supply chain. SMEs face increased scrutiny over their operations and higher expectations from Primes and OEMs to improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

To ensure SMEs are well-equipped to meet both current and future requirements, we have developed the ADS ESG Pathway within the Supply Chain Solutions Framework. This comprehensive framework guides organisations through their transformative journey and towards their ESG goals. 

It helps with sustainability reporting and compliance to regulations, enhancing corporate reputation and fostering innovation through environmentally and socially responsible practices.

Our ESG resources align with internationally recognised sustainability standards to raise performance that meets and exceeds global expectations.

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ESG Pathway - reflecting maturity from bronze, silver or gold

Infographic showing ESG maturity levels from Bronze (Initiator) to Silver (Implementer) to Gold (Leader), outlining sustainability, emissions, supply chain, and stakeholder engagement criteria

Chart your ESG transformation journey with our self-assessment tool

Embark on your sustainable journey. The starting point is to complete our ESG Assessment Tool.

Answer a series of self-assessment questions to determine  Bronze, Silver or Gold status. An instant report provides  detailed analysis. This helpful tool can also help customers  when benchmarking the capability of their supply chain.

The ESG assessment focuses on

Environmental impact | Social Practices | Ethical governance

Go to assessments

NEW REPORT

A guide to GHG reporting for aerospace and defence SMEs

Measuring and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is foundational for a sustainable future. This comprehensive guide provides practical insights, step by step instructions and a worked example for both mandatory and voluntary GHG reporting.

View report
NEW REPORT

Social Value in Defence

The MoD, ADS and industry partners, have created a Social Value 101 guide to show ‘What good looks like’ for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the defence sector when undertaking Government procurement procedures.

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NEW REPORT

Access to finance services in the UK

ADS and UK Finance have collaborated on an Access to Finance Guide: aiming to ensure defence and security businesses have the tools and knowledge they need to innovate, scale and grow.

View report

News, insights and upcoming events

Gain tax relief with the reopened Climate Change Agreement (CCA) Scheme

Contribute to environmental sustainability. The reopened CCA incentivises efficiency and emissions reduction in energy intensive industries by offering Climate Change Levy discounts, lowering energy costs. New entrants may apply during May to August 2025 for entry into the new scheme on 1 January 2026. Find out more
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Cover image for the Defence Suppliers Forum’s “Social Value 101” guide, featuring a Union Flag patch on military uniform fabric and ADS logo promoting social value in defence.

A guide to Social Value when writing tenders

The Social Value 101 guide sets out clear guidance to help SMEs articulate the Social Value they will deliver as they go through the tender process. It is designed for those new to Social Value and as a helpful reminder to others; outlining considerations at each stage of the procurement process to help drive positive change.

View guide

FAQs

Is the assessment tool free to use?

Yes. Simply register an account and enter Two-factor Authentication. Once registered, you will have free access to our assessment tools.

Yes. The report provides actionable next steps that can be used in your CSIP (Continuous sustainable improvement plan).

Most ESG offerings are time consuming, costly and focus on gap analysis. 

By engaging with our Pathway, you will receive a free tailored report to help guide your ESG strategy and free access to a knowledge base with 15 modules of guidance and a community of like-minded organisations to share best practice.

Completing our ESG assessment can help you understand the next steps you need to take to improve your social value. This includes job creation, economic growth, social and environmental improvements, and innovation.

Eligible Processes:

  • Casting of ferrous or non-ferrous metals in a foundry.
  • Melting ferrous or non-ferrous metals.
  • Hot rolling of ferrous metals and their alloys.
  • Operating hammers in a forge.
  • Surface treatment using organic solvents.
  • Surface treatment of materials using an electrolytic or chemical process.
  • Burning fuel in an appliance with a rated thermal input > 50 MW.
  • Use of beryllium or selenium or an alloy including those.
  • Producing explosives.
  • Activities involving carbonisation.
  • Producing synthetic rubbers in aerospace or defence industries.

To be eligible, you must answer yes to all steps below:

Step 1: Do you have metered energy and throughput data for 2022 (Brand new sites treated separately)?

Step 2: Do you have metered processes on the ADS Sector ‘Eligible List’? Either on an EPR permit or would be if they were larger, i.e. above the permitting threshold. Also composites (which are deemed to be Energy Intensive).

Step 3: ‘Eligible’ processes above 70% for your total site energy? If not, your site needs to be sub-metered, this is non- negotiable.

Step 4: Do your CCL savings exceed the CCA costs (ADS Sector fees, Internal man hours or consultancy support)?

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