How to write a Carbon Reduction Plan under PPN 006

Who asks for a Carbon Reduction Plan

PPN 006 was published by the Cabinet Office in February 2025. It applies to central government contracts worth more than £5 million a year, where buyers use an acceptable plan as a condition of taking part in the tender.

The request also travels down supply chains, so you may be asked even if you never bid for government work yourself.

• Main contractors on government work ask their subcontractors for plans in the same format.
• Some universities, NHS bodies and councils have net zero targets that include their suppliers, and ask for plans or emissions data on smaller contracts too.
• Larger companies reporting their Scope 3 emissions need figures from suppliers, and ask for them through supplier codes of conduct and questionnaires.

A plan in the PPN 006 format answers most of these requests at once, which is why it is a sensible first document for a small manufacturer.

What the plan must contain

PPN 006 comes with a template and a technical standard. The plan follows a set structure.

Net zero here means cutting your emissions as far as you can and balancing only what remains with permanent removals. It is a commitment about your own emissions, so the plan has to show how they will come down, not how they will be offset.

The emissions must cover all of Scope 1 and Scope 2, and five Scope 3 categories: upstream transport and distribution, waste from your operations, business travel, employee commuting, and downstream transport and distribution.

The plan is published on your website and kept current. PPN 006 expects it to be updated at least once a year, so treat it as a living document rather than a tender attachment.

The data you need

Most of the figures come from paperwork you already hold. The table shows the usual sources for a manufacturer.

Commuting is usually the only figure you have to create from scratch. A short survey asking staff how they travel and how far is enough for a first plan, as long as the plan says the figure is a survey-based estimate.

Collect quantities, not costs: kWh, litres, kilograms, tonne-kilometres and miles. Emission factors apply to quantities, and spend-based estimates are harder to defend when a buyer asks how a figure was produced.

Building the plan, step by step

1. 1Pick your base yearUsually the most recent full year for which you have complete records. Write down why you chose it, because the plan must say so.
2. 2Collect the activity dataWork through the sources in the table above for the base year, and keep the document behind each figure.
3. 3Calculate emissionsMultiply each quantity by its emission factor, for example kWh of gas times the gas factor. In the UK, use the DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors for the year that matches your reporting period, and report the results in tCO₂e.
4. 4Rank your sourcesSort the results from largest to smallest. Your largest sources show where reduction projects should start.
5. 5Set targets you can keepPhased targets are easier to keep: a cut in Scope 1 and 2 within a few years, a larger cut later, and a net zero date no later than 2050.
6. 6List reduction projectsFor each project, say what you will do, which source it affects and by when. Replacing diesel vans at renewal or fixing compressed air leaks are specific entries a reader can check later.
7. 7Sign off and publishA director or equivalent signs the plan. Publish it on your website and put the annual update in the diary.

The plan template also has room to say how customers can help you reduce emissions, such as consolidated deliveries or returnable packaging. It is worth filling in, because some of those changes need the customer's agreement.

Keeping the plan up to date

Each year, add the latest reporting year to the current emissions section and show the change against your base year. Use the conversion factor set for that year and name it in the plan, so a reader can see whether a fall came from your own changes or from a new factor.

Keep the base year fixed unless something significant changes. If you buy another business, close a site or find a large error in the original figures, recalculate the baseline so the comparison stays fair, and explain the change in the plan.

Update the projects list at the same time. Move finished projects into the completed section with the result you measured, and add the next ones with dates. A plan that shows progress against its own earlier promises is easier for a buyer to trust than one with new targets every year.

Mistakes to avoid

• Using a factor set that does not match the reporting year, or mixing years in one plan.
• Leaving out one of the five Scope 3 categories without explaining why.
• Counting carbon credits as reductions. Credits do not cut your reported emissions; if you use them, report them separately.
• Setting targets with no projects behind them.
• Figures that do not match your energy bills, or your SECR disclosure if you also report under SECR.
• Publishing a plan for one tender and never updating it.

Each of these is easy to spot once someone compares the plan with its evidence. Keeping the bill or report behind every figure is the easiest defence.

How ESGen helps with your Carbon Reduction Plan

The ESGen platform has a Carbon Reduction Plan lens. It calculates Scope 1 and 2 emissions from electricity, gas, diesel, petrol and staff-car mileage with the DESNZ factors, and keeps the bill behind every figure with a log of each calculation.

Our team writes the plan with you in the PPN 006 format. We help you choose the base year, gather the Scope 3 categories the plan needs, set targets and list projects. You check the plan against the published template before a director signs it. If you also report under SECR, the plan is built from the same records, so the two sets of figures agree. More on our reporting page, and our SECR guide covers the annual report side.

ESGen helps you prepare the evidence; the buyer decides whether a plan meets its requirements. To see how the plan comes together, book a demo.