To show improvement it is important to measure.   Take carbon from energy use, this is often the biggest environmental factor and is often relatively easily measured.  When there is a robust process in place to do this, creating a carbon footprint is easy. 

Measuring other environmental footprints can be more complicated and it is important to keep a balance between effort to reduce and effort to measure, certainly at the beginning. 

The good news is that with a clear strategy and knowledge improving a business' environmental footprint can be easy and does not need to cost money, it can even save it.