The idea for Nikwax germinated in the wet wilds of Scotland, so it's hardly surprising that this private cleaning and waterproofing product company, based in Wadhurst, East Sussex, thinks green.

Nick Brown, the managing director, invented his own wax for waterproofing but not softening his boots after years of being drenched on trekking trips with his father, and he produced his first order in an old tea urn at his north London flat in 1977. When ozone depletion hit the headlines in the 1980s, he developed a water-based range replacing harmful solvents. Now the organisation has environmentally safe products for everything from ropes to tents.

The firm has 76 staff working at two sites and has invested £20,000 a year in environmental initiatives since 2007. Staff see the company's commitment as serious (a green score of 96%, and a top five ranking). Managers don't preach saving the environment while driving fuel-inefficient company cars (90%) and they put green issues high on their list of priorities (93%).

Most staff fully understand what Nikwax's carbon footprint is (77%). The firm has calculated it for the past decade, most recently at 216 tons. Each year it pairs off its current carbon footprint with that of the year a decade before, and offsets the total emissions for both, adding a matching donation to conserve rainforest through the World Land Trust. Last year, for example, £12,000 was spent on offsetting and conservation, and £3,000 on underwriting an event for the charity. In addition, 2% of sales revenue from five products goes to this good cause and the firm runs a web quiz, with the prize of a share in the purchase and protection of 30 acres of threatened tropical rainforest.

Nikwax invested £5,000 last year on staff training, leaflets on environmental issues and increasing its recycling programme. It recycles 10 waste streams, including paper, ink toners and batteries, providing more bins "to make recycling the easy option" for waste from work and home. The amount of waste it sends to landfill has halved over the past two years.

The company cut gas use by more than 20% last year, but electricity consumption rose by 4%. It aims to reduce both by 5% in 2009.

In the office, Nikwax has installed energy-efficient lightbulbs, banned plastic drinking cups and put Hippo bags in toilet cisterns to reduce the amount of water used in flushing. The environmental management team is drawing up a cycle-to-work and car-sharing scheme, and gives staff in-house training. There are green noticeboards, posters, a suggestion box and regular meetings on environmental issues.

Staff say the firm always does what's best for the environment (81%) and communicates regularly with them about green issues (88%). They agree that these initiatives are not a waste of money (93%).