PPN 006 explained for small businesses

If a public sector or NHS tender has asked you for a Carbon Reduction Plan, PPN 006 is the rule behind it. PPN 006 sets out a defined structure for the plan, which organisations may prepare internally or with professional support. This guide explains what it is, whether it applies to you, what the plan must contain and how the preparation process works.

What is PPN 006?

PPN stands for Procurement Policy Note. PPN 006 is the government's instruction to public bodies on how to take a supplier's carbon reduction commitments into account when awarding major contracts. In plain terms: if you want to win certain public work, you have to publish a Carbon Reduction Plan first.

It came into effect on 24 February 2025, replacing the previous version, PPN 06/21, and updating the wording to fit the Procurement Act 2023. The underlying policy is unchanged, but an older plan is not automatically current: recheck its reporting period, bidding entity, approval and the tender's requirements. Procurements begun under the earlier regime still refer to PPN 06/21. See the Cabinet Office FAQ for the transition.

Does it apply to you?

The headline threshold is in-scope central-government contracts with an anticipated value above £5 million a year, including VAT, averaged over the life of the contract. On that reading alone, many small businesses are out of scope. In practice, buyers may use related requirements more widely:

• NHS requirements are tiered. Since April 2024, full Carbon Reduction Plans have applied to higher-value NHS contracts and frameworks, while lower-value procurements use a proportionate Net Zero Commitment. From 1 April 2027, the higher tier expands to all relevant global Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, while the lower tier uses the existing 2024 CRP standard. Carbon Verify's PPN 006 workflow does not by itself meet that expanded higher-tier standard, so check the current NHS guidance, the 2027 requirements and the tender.
• Other buyers and frameworks may set their own Carbon Reduction Plan or net-zero requirements. The tender or framework documents determine what applies; do not assume that a requirement is identical to PPN 006 or disappears below its central-government threshold.

If a tender asks for a Carbon Reduction Plan, check the applicable content and publication requirements regardless of organisation size. Carbon Verify is designed to help smaller teams work through that structure.

What your Carbon Reduction Plan must contain

A compliant plan is not a free-form document. It has to follow the standard set out in PPN 006 and use the template at Annex A. At a minimum it must include:

• A commitment to net zero by 2050. A clear statement that your organisation is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by 2050.
• Your emissions. Your Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (purchased energy, including electricity, heat, steam or cooling) emissions, plus a defined subset of Scope 3 (your wider value chain). The required Scope 3 categories are business travel, employee commuting, waste generated in operations, and upstream and downstream transportation and distribution.
• A baseline year and targets. The year you are measuring against and the reduction targets you are working towards.
• Environmental management measures. The steps you already have in place, and will use during the contract, to cut your emissions.
• A signed declaration and publication. The plan must be signed off at director level and published on your own website, so a buyer can find it.

The emissions themselves must be worked out using a recognised methodology, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and the UK Government's published conversion factors, which are reissued every year.

How is it assessed? Is it scored?

This trips a lot of people up, so it is worth being clear. Your Carbon Reduction Plan is assessed on a pass or fail basis. The buyer checks that it meets the required format and content, that it includes the signed declaration, that it sets out your environmental measures, and that it has been published. They do not score or rank your actual emissions figures against other bidders. A firm with higher emissions does not lose to a firm with lower ones on this test.

PPN 006 uses supplier self-certification: the organisation confirms that its plan follows the required methodology. Independent assurance is not ordinarily required, although a buyer may request additional review and an organisation may choose it.

How to produce one

Five steps, in order. For a fuller walkthrough, see how to write a Carbon Reduction Plan; for the source records, use the carbon footprint data checklist.

1. Gather your figures. Collect energy, fuel, vehicle and gas-release records, business travel, relevant freight, waste, wastewater and commuting data for the same reporting period. Include other relevant Scope 1 and Scope 2 sources; they are not optional just because the usual gas or electricity fields do not fit. Purchases and water supply are wider-footprint inputs, not part of the five PPN 006 Scope 3 categories.
2. Calculate your emissions. Apply the UK Government conversion-factor edition appropriate to your reporting period and methodology, using the correct activity and unit. The result is tonnes of CO2 equivalent, split across the three scopes. Manual mapping requires careful checking.
3. Write the plan to the template. Put your figures, your net zero commitment, your targets and your measures into the Annex A structure.
4. Get it signed. Have it signed off at director level.
5. Publish it. Put it on your own website at a stable web address, so a buyer can find it when they check your bid.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving the Scope 3 categories out. The required subset is not optional, and a plan missing them can fail.
• Forgetting to publish. An unpublished plan does not meet the requirement, however good it is.
• Missing the signed declaration. No declaration, no pass.
• Using unsuitable factors. Use the edition appropriate to the reporting period and document your method. Do not replace historical factors with the newest edition just because you are publishing the plan today.
• Check the review requirement. PPN 006 does not ordinarily mandate independent assurance, but procurement documents can set additional requirements and organisations may choose professional review.

Where Carbon Verify comes in

Carbon Verify opens in Standard CRP · PPN 006, with focused inputs for supported Scope 1 and Scope 2 sources, the five required Scope 3 categories and the plan information. It prepares a self-assessed Carbon Reduction Plan and supporting Evidence Pack, with a separate Carbon Footprint Statement only if useful. Optional Extended footprint adds selected additional sources and disclosures without a separate licence; saved projects and personalised documents remain available in both modes.

Standard includes optional panels for other fuels, released gases and purchased heat or steam, and a shipment weight-and-distance route for supported freight. Suitable supplier or separate calculations can also be recorded for Scope 1, Scope 2 and categories 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 without turning on Extended. Each separate figure needs the exact period, scope/category, source, method, evidence, matching boundary and a no-double-counting confirmation. See what to collect and which route to use.

You can export a clearly marked draft before everything is complete, with outstanding checks shown for review. Final CRP generation requires resolved source coverage, a comparable baseline, a five-year target, assessment of the five required Scope 3 categories and genuine management approval. An entered supplier figure or completed software check is not independent assurance. Extended does not calculate a complete Scope 3 inventory or guarantee acceptance of a wider buyer requirement. Emissions activity data stays in the browser; licence checks are sent to Lemon Squeezy.

Stage 6, Reduction plan, is for targets, measures and genuine approval. Use stage 7, Check & download, for every document: the main CRP and Evidence Pack controls, or the closed draft and optional Statement explainers. The guided demo follows the same journey with locked fictional inputs and samples matching your selected business, reporting mode and style.

Do I need Carbon Verify's separate Carbon Footprint Statement for my CRP?

No. The separate Carbon Footprint Statement is optional; it is a summary, not the prescribed CRP. The CRP still needs its own declaration and appropriate approval. Carbon Verify keeps all document controls in stage 7, Check & download. The technical standard describes the CRP's approval and sign-off, including the name, role and date; a physical signature is not required.

Keep the approved plan, original evidence and an editable .carbonverify project file separately. Carbon Verify's Appearance settings can add optional branding without changing the declaration or approval requirements. Follow saving and opening projects and preparing editable documents when retaining or handing over the work.