Carbon reduction plan guide: PPN 006, PPN 06/21 and what to include

What a carbon reduction plan is

A carbon reduction plan (CRP) is a short public document in which a supplier confirms its commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 for its UK operations, reports its current carbon footprint and sets out the environmental management measures it has in place^[1]. It details the organisation's emissions across a single year, against a range of emission sources and greenhouse gases^[1].

It is a summary, not a full sustainability report. The plan is not intended to replace existing carbon reporting or calculation of an organisation's footprint^[1]. That makes it achievable for a business without a sustainability team, provided the underlying data exists.

PPN 006 and how it replaced PPN 06/21

Procurement Policy Note 06/21 introduced the requirement in June 2021. It was updated in February 2025 as PPN 006 to reflect terminology introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024^[1].

• PPN 006 applies to procurements under the Procurement Act 2023 that started on or after 24 February 2025^[1].
• PPN 06/21 still applies to procurements started, and contracts awarded, before that date^[1].
• The update does not constitute a change in policy^[1], so a plan built to the earlier note will usually need only light revision.

Who needs a carbon reduction plan

PPN 006 applies to central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies^[1]. They should apply it to contracts for goods, services or works with an estimated value above £5 million a year, including VAT, unless it would not be relevant or proportionate to the contract^[1]. It also applies to frameworks and dynamic markets where an individual contract is estimated to exceed that value^[1].

For in-scope contracts, buyers include a CRP as a condition of participation when assessing a supplier's technical ability^[1]. The plan should be specific to the bidding entity; a parent company's plan can be relied on only where strict criteria are met, and only as a temporary measure^[1].

Below the central government threshold, many private buyers, local authorities and large contractors now ask their suppliers for the same document. Having a compliant plan ready means you can answer those requests without starting from scratch each time.

What a carbon reduction plan must contain

The guidance published with PPN 006 requires a plan to include^[1]:

• a commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 at the latest for UK operations
• current emissions for all Scope 1 and Scope 2 sources under the GHG Protocol
• five Scope 3 categories: upstream transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations, business travel, employee commuting, and downstream transportation and distribution
• emissions reported in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
• the environmental management measures in effect, such as certification schemes or specific carbon reduction measures, that can be applied during the contract

The published template also asks for a baseline year and baseline emissions, the reference point against which reductions are measured^[1]. The plan should state that the board of directors, or equivalent management body, has approved it, with the date, and must be signed off by a director or equivalent, with their name, job title and the date^[1].

Suppliers should publish their latest plan on their UK website, with a prominent link from the homepage^[1]. It should be reviewed and updated within six months of the financial year-end^[1]. The footprint should follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard, but there is no requirement to have it audited^[1].

Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 in plain terms

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol divides emissions into three scopes^[1]. In plain terms, Scope 1 covers emissions from sources you own or control, such as gas boilers and company vehicles. Scope 2 covers emissions from the electricity, heat or steam you buy. Scope 3 covers emissions in your value chain that you do not own or control, such as your suppliers, the transport you pay for and your staff travelling to work.

A carbon reduction plan does not ask for every Scope 3 category, only the five listed above^[1]. That keeps the task manageable: most of the data relates to transport, travel and waste, which a business can usually estimate from its own records and its suppliers' invoices.

Carbon reduction plan template structure

The official template is published alongside PPN 006^[1]. A plan that follows it is organised under these headings:

• Supplier name and publication date
• Commitment to achieving net zero
• Baseline emissions footprint (baseline year and emissions by scope)
• Current emissions reporting (reporting year and emissions by scope)
• Emissions reduction targets
• Carbon reduction projects, completed and planned
• Declaration and sign-off

Use the official template rather than a designed brochure. Evaluators check against the standard, and a familiar layout makes it easy for them to find what they are looking for.

Common mistakes in tender submissions

• Missing Scope 3 categories. Reporting only Scope 1 and 2, or choosing different Scope 3 categories from the five required.
• The wrong entity. Submitting a group plan when the bidding company does not meet the criteria for relying on its parent.
• No sign-off. Omitting the board approval statement or the director's name, job title and date.
• Not published. Sending a PDF with the bid but not putting the plan on the website.
• Out of date. Submitting a plan that has not been refreshed since the last financial year-end.
• Targets you cannot meet. Committing to reduction targets with no credible projects behind them. A modest, honest plan is easier to defend than an ambitious one with nothing underneath.
• Mixed reporting periods. Combining data from different years in one submission.

Where the data comes from

Most of the data sits in records a business already keeps: energy bills and meter readings for Scope 1 and 2, travel bookings and expense claims for business travel, a short staff survey for commuting, waste contractor reports, and freight invoices or carrier data for transport. The work is mainly in collecting it consistently for one reporting year and applying the government conversion factors.

Using one plan for public and private buyers

Private buyers that ask for a carbon reduction plan rarely publish their own standard, and many simply accept a plan built to the PPN 006 format. Building to the government standard therefore gives you one document that answers most requests. Where a private customer asks for something more, such as product-level emissions or a wider set of Scope 3 categories, treat it as an addition to the plan rather than a separate exercise.

Keep a short internal file alongside the published plan: the source of each figure, the conversion factors used and the reporting period. When the plan is updated next year, or a tender evaluator asks a clarification question, the answer is ready. The same file helps when customers send supplier emissions questionnaires, because much of the data they ask for is already in your plan.

Frequently asked questions

If you need a plan for a tender, see our carbon reduction plans service, which starts with a review of what the buyer requires and the data you already hold.