This research focuses on the evolution of environmental management within firms. It is based on a survey and semi‐structured interviews conducted among UK companies. Building on an evolutionary conceptual model, consisting of several maturity stages, we identify ‘milestones’, i.e. common practices companies engage in when progressing through specific maturity stages. Whilst clear commonalities can be identified, most notably linked to the order of maturity stages they progressed through and the emergence of commonly acknowledged practices linked to the individual maturity stages, the results also reveal a number of within‐sample patterns regarding the companies’ progression through the different maturity stages. It can be concluded that the maturity stages and practices identified in this research can provide valuable guidance for firms aiming to make progress in environmental matters, as they help them to identify in which maturity stage they are and sets out steps that they can take to move forward. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.