Frequently asked questions

PPN 006 (Procurement Policy Note 06/21) is the UK Cabinet Office specification for the Carbon Reduction Plan format used in UK public-sector tender submissions. It was renamed from PPN 06/21 in February 2025 to align with the Procurement Act 2023, and applies to in-scope central-government procurements above 5 million pounds per year including VAT. It defines what a compliant CRP must contain and how it must be published.

Central-government departments, NHS trusts, MOD, many local authorities, and procurement frameworks routinely ask suppliers for a CRP in the PPN 006 format. Whether your specific bid is one of them depends on your tender pack — it is the source of truth.

Your bid will be excluded at the selection stage. It is a pass/fail requirement — without a published CRP, your tender cannot progress to evaluation.

Currently, PPN 006 applies directly to prime contractors. However, many prime contractors now require their supply chain to have a CRP to include their emissions in Scope 3 reporting.

With CarbonPass, most UK businesses can generate a PPN 006 compliant CRP in under 20 minutes by uploading their utility bills and answering a few questions.

NHS tender packs commonly ask suppliers for a published Carbon Reduction Plan as part of the submission — this includes NHS Supply Chain frameworks, regional NHS trusts, and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). Read your tender pack to confirm what is required.

PPN 01/21 is the broader social value policy that covers community benefits, equal opportunity, and environmental impact. PPN 006 specifically addresses carbon reduction and requires a published Carbon Reduction Plan with quantified emissions data.

It varies by council. Many local councils and devolved administrations now ask suppliers for a CRP in their tender packs, often referencing the PPN 006 format, and an increasing number of framework agreements require one at the application stage. Your tender pack tells you whether your specific bid needs one.

Yes — SECR is a statutory obligation. A large UK company or LLP that meets at least two of the three size thresholds (turnover £36m+, balance sheet £18m+, 250+ employees) must disclose its energy use and emissions in its annual directors’ report, which is filed at Companies House. It is a legal filing requirement, not optional guidance.

It can. PPN 006 is tied to bidding for in-scope public contracts (generally those above £5 million including VAT per year), not to your company size. An SME below the SECR thresholds may still need to publish a Carbon Reduction Plan to be eligible to bid — your tender pack is the source of truth.

No. They share GHG-Protocol methodology, so your SECR Scope 1 and 2 figures can feed into a CRP, but a Carbon Reduction Plan is a separate public document. A CRP must also include a net-zero-by-2050 commitment, the five mandated Scope 3 categories, reduction targets and initiatives, director sign-off, and be published on your website — none of which a SECR directors’-report disclosure provides.

It is a rename, not a new policy. “PPN 006” and “PPN 06/21” refer to the same Cabinet Office procurement policy on taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in major government contracts. You may see either label in tender documents — they mean the same requirement.

Most small and medium businesses that land on this question need a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan, not SECR. SECR only bites once you cross the large-company size thresholds. If you are an SME bidding for public or NHS work, the CRP is almost always the document being asked for.

Yes. Both are built on the GHG Protocol and use DEFRA conversion factors to turn activity data (energy, fuel, travel) into tonnes of CO2 equivalent. That shared methodology is why your SECR Scope 1 and 2 numbers can be reused inside a CRP — but the two outputs and audiences remain different.

Ideally, clients should have their CRP prepared and published at least four weeks before a tender deadline. Data collection takes one to two weeks for a simple single-site business, and the CRP must be published on the company website before submission. Last-minute preparation risks errors and missed deadlines.

Evaluators check for completeness against the PPN 006 template: Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data, a baseline year, reduction targets, current measures, and planned future measures. They also verify that the CRP is published on the supplier website. They are checking compliance, not judging whether emissions are high or low.

Yes. CRP preparation is a distinct service from bid writing and should be priced accordingly. Most bid writers charge between 500 and 1,500 pounds for CRP preparation on top of their standard bid writing fees. Clients understand this is a separate compliance requirement that adds value to their tender.

CarbonPass can generate a compliant CRP in as little as 20 minutes once you have the client data. The critical path is data collection, not report generation. Have a data checklist ready so you can brief the client immediately on what to gather: energy bills, fuel records, and business travel data for the past 12 months.

Use the government template structure. The CRP template published alongside PPN 006 defines the required sections and format. Deviating from this structure risks evaluator confusion or non-compliance. CarbonPass generates CRPs that follow the government template exactly while presenting data professionally.

It depends on the contracting authority. PPN 006 applies to the prime contractor, but some authorities extend the requirement to subcontractors above certain value thresholds. Check the specific tender requirements carefully. If subcontractors need CRPs, flag this early as they will need time to prepare.

No. The GHG Protocol defines fifteen Scope 3 categories, but PPN 006 requires only five of them: Category 4 (upstream transportation and distribution), Category 5 (waste generated in operations), Category 6 (business travel), Category 7 (employee commuting) and Category 9 (downstream transportation and distribution). These sit alongside full Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting. You can voluntarily report additional categories, but the five plus Scopes 1 and 2 are what a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan must cover.

You still have to address it. If a category genuinely does not apply — for example, you sell a service and arrange no downstream distribution — report it as not applicable or zero with a short note explaining why, rather than leaving it out. Buyers and assessors want to see that you have considered all five categories, so an explicit "not applicable, because..." is treated very differently from a silent omission.

Yes, where activity data is unavailable. The preferred approach is activity data (litres of fuel, tonnes of waste, kilometres travelled), but DEFRA also publishes spend-based conversion factors that turn annual pounds spent into an emissions estimate. Spend-based figures are an accepted fallback provided they are clearly flagged as estimates so the reader knows which lines are measured and which are approximated.

Use the current-year UK Government DEFRA conversion factors (the "Government conversion factors for company reporting" dataset, published annually, usually in June). Apply the set that covers your reporting period, and use the same vintage consistently across all five categories so your totals reconcile. Mixing factor years, or using out-of-date factors, is a common reason a Carbon Reduction Plan is queried.

No. They are separate procurement policies that are frequently confused. PPN 006 (formerly PPN 06/21) is a pass/fail requirement for a published Carbon Reduction Plan, assessed at the selection stage on major government contracts. PPN 06/20 is the social value policy, scored at the award stage, and it uses the Social Value Model — of which “Fighting Climate Change” is one of five themes. One decides whether you can bid; the other affects how well you score.

It supports it but does not replace a written social-value response. Your CRP is strong evidence for the “Fighting Climate Change” theme, but PPN 06/20 is scored on the commitments you describe against the tender’s chosen themes — measurable actions, method statements, and delivery plans. You still need to write a dedicated social-value response; the CRP is a supporting document, not the answer itself.

PPN 006. On in-scope contracts it is assessed at the selection stage as a pass/fail check: if you have not published a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan, your bid is excluded before price and quality are scored. PPN 06/20 social value is not pass/fail — it is scored and weighted alongside the rest of your bid at the award stage.

Social value is scored across many public contracts regardless of the PPN 006 threshold — check the tender. PPN 06/20 applies to central-government procurement and has no single monetary trigger tied to the £5 million PPN 006 threshold, and the wider public sector (councils, NHS, devolved bodies) frequently scores social value on much smaller contracts. Your tender pack and its evaluation criteria are the source of truth.

A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is a public document setting out your organisation's commitment to reach net zero, your current emissions across Scope 1, 2, and relevant Scope 3 categories, and the actions you're taking to reduce them. It's commonly requested by UK public-sector buyers as part of tender submissions. CarbonPass generates one from your utility bills and a few business questions — try the free PPN 006 readiness checker.

A typical CRP covers: (1) a net-zero commitment with a target year; (2) baseline-year Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, calculated using a recognised method such as the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard; (3) current reporting-year Scope 1 + Scope 2 emissions plus the Scope 3 categories your tender pack asks for; (4) emissions-reduction initiatives, either completed or planned; and (5) director-level sign-off and publication on your website. CarbonPass generates one from your utility bills and a few business questions — try the free PPN 006 readiness checker.

They serve different audiences. SECR (Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting) is a UK statutory disclosure obligation for large companies and LLPs, disclosed inside the annual directors' report filed at Companies House. PPN 006 is the UK Cabinet Office procurement guidance that defines the Carbon Reduction Plan format — a published document covering your commitment to net zero, current emissions, and reduction actions. The two use a similar emissions methodology, but SECR is a statutory filing while a CRP is a public-facing supplier document often requested in tender submissions.

Not all — and your tender pack is the source of truth. UK public-sector buyers (central government, NHS, councils, public bodies) increasingly request a Carbon Reduction Plan as part of the submission, but whether yours does is something you'll see in the selection or evaluation questionnaire. If it does, CarbonPass generates a compliant CRP from your bills and a few business questions in an afternoon.

A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is a formal document that reports your company's greenhouse gas emissions, sets a Net Zero target, and outlines the specific actions you will take to reduce your carbon footprint over time.

No. A CSR statement is a broad document covering social and environmental commitments. A Carbon Reduction Plan is a specific, structured document that must include quantified emissions data, DEFRA-based calculations, and a Net Zero commitment.

You need your energy bills (gas and electricity), fuel receipts for company vehicles, and information on business travel. CarbonPass calculates your emissions from these using DEFRA 2026 conversion factors.

You should update your CRP annually to reflect the most recent reporting period. Procurement teams expect to see a current plan — an outdated CRP may raise questions during evaluation.

Yes. PPN 006 requires that your Carbon Reduction Plan is publicly accessible on your company website. You must provide the URL as part of your bid submission.

Yes. CarbonPass calculates your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions from your utility bills and generates a fully PPN 006 compliant Carbon Reduction Plan in under 20 minutes — no consultants or spreadsheets required.

A carbon footprint report measures your total emissions. A Carbon Reduction Plan goes further — it includes a net-zero commitment, specific reduction targets, and a structured format required by the GCA for government procurement.

Your tender pack is the source of truth. UK public-sector tender packs (central government, NHS, councils, public bodies) commonly ask suppliers for a published Carbon Reduction Plan as part of the submission. Many prime contractors also ask supply-chain partners for one to report Scope 3 emissions accurately.

Yes. The GCA publishes a CRP template on gov.uk as a .odt (Open Document Text) file. It outlines the required structure and fields, but many users find it difficult to open and fill in correctly.

Yes — there is no requirement to use the .odt file format specifically. Your CRP can be a PDF, web page, or Word document, as long as it contains all required sections and follows the GCA structure.

A compliant template covers your organisation details, the reporting boundary, a baseline year, Scope 1, 2 and defined Scope 3 emissions calculated with DEFRA factors, a commitment to net zero by 2050, reduction targets and actions, governance, and board-level sign-off.

Your tender pack is the source of truth. PPN 006 formally applies to in-scope central-government procurements above 5 million pounds per year including VAT, but many buyers and lead contractors ask smaller suppliers for a CRP too. When they do, the same core sections apply — CarbonPass generates a complete, compliant plan from your bills regardless of your size.

Yes. CarbonPass generates a fully PPN 006 compliant Carbon Reduction Plan from your utility bills in under 20 minutes. No consultant required — the platform handles the calculations, structure, and formatting.

Consultant fees for a Carbon Reduction Plan typically range from 1,500 to 6,500 pounds depending on the size of your business and the complexity of your operations. CarbonPass offers the same output for a fraction of that cost.

You can upload the PDF or DOCX to your website and link to it from a dedicated page. CarbonPass also generates a public Carbon Passport page you can link to directly from your bid submissions.

No. A carbon footprint is a measurement of your total greenhouse gas emissions. A Carbon Reduction Plan includes your footprint but also adds reduction targets, a timeline, current measures, and planned future actions. A CRP is a more comprehensive document that demonstrates your commitment to reducing emissions, not just measuring them.

No. PPN 006 specifically requires a Carbon Reduction Plan, not a carbon footprint. A footprint alone does not include the reduction targets, measures, and commitments that the CRP template mandates. Submitting just a footprint will result in your bid being assessed as non-compliant.

A CRP includes your carbon footprint as one of its components, so you do not need to prepare them separately. When you create a CRP, the emissions calculation (footprint) is built in. CarbonPass calculates your footprint and generates the full CRP in one process.

A standalone carbon footprint typically costs 500 to 1,500 pounds from a consultant. A full Carbon Reduction Plan costs 2,000 to 5,000 pounds because it requires additional analysis of reduction opportunities, target setting, and action planning. CarbonPass includes both the footprint and CRP from 149 pounds per year.

Yes. CarbonPass calculates your carbon footprint as part of the CRP generation process. You enter your activity data (energy, fuel, travel, waste), and the platform calculates your emissions using DEFRA factors and then generates a complete Carbon Reduction Plan including targets and reduction measures.

NHS procurement increasingly follows PPN 006 requirements, which means a Carbon Reduction Plan is required, not just a carbon footprint. The NHS has its own net-zero targets and expects suppliers to demonstrate reduction commitments. A CRP meets this requirement; a standalone footprint does not.

Yes — the official Carbon Reduction Plan template is free to download from GOV.UK. The only cost is your time, typically 20 to 40 hours of staff work to gather data and write the plan, plus the risk of getting it wrong: a non-compliant plan can see your bid excluded before it is scored.

Typically £900 to £4,200 plus VAT as a one-off, depending on your headcount and scope. A small single-site service business sits at the lower end, while a larger operation with fleet vehicles, multiple sites and complex Scope 3 data sits at the upper end.

Yes — acceptance is about content, not who produced it. Procurement teams assess whether the plan meets PPN 006 and the GCA technical standard, not which tool generated it. See our guide on whether CRP generators are accepted at /guides/are-crp-generators-accepted for the detail.

PPN 006 requires at least an annual update, so budget for a yearly refresh whichever route you choose. DIY time and consultancy fees recur each year you re-do the plan, while most software plans include the annual update in the subscription.

No. Assessors check the content of your Carbon Reduction Plan against the PPN 006 technical standard, not who or what produced it. There is nothing in the standard that requires a plan to be written by a consultant, and no field on the assessment checklist asks about authorship. A software-generated plan that contains every required section is treated identically to one drafted by hand.

The common failure modes are all about missing content: fewer than the five mandatory Scope 3 categories, a structure that does not follow the official template, no stated baseline year, no director-level sign-off, and — surprisingly often — a plan that was never actually published on the supplier’s website. Any one of these can see a plan rejected at the selection stage regardless of how it was produced.

Yes, provided it meets the PPN 006 content criteria: the official template structure, Scope 1, 2 and the five required Scope 3 categories, GHG Protocol methodology with current DEFRA factors, a Net Zero by 2050 commitment, director sign-off and website publication. CarbonPass is built to satisfy every one of these, so its output stands on the same footing as a consultant’s document.

The £100 Completion Check is a human completeness review. A person confirms that every PPN 006 section is present, that the figures are internally consistent, that the methodology is declared, and that the plan is ready to publish. It is not a certification, an audit, or a guarantee that you will win a contract — it is a second pair of eyes before you submit.

Yes. Procurement teams assess a Carbon Reduction Plan against the content requirements of the PPN 006 technical standard — the official template structure, Scope 1, 2 and the five mandatory Scope 3 categories, GHG Protocol methodology with current DEFRA factors, a Net Zero commitment, director sign-off and website publication — not against who or what produced the document. A compliant software-generated plan sits on exactly the same footing as a consultant’s. See our guide on whether CRP generators are accepted at /guides/are-crp-generators-accepted for the detail.

Typically £1,700 to £4,200 plus VAT as a one-off, though quotes vary widely with your headcount, number of sites and how complex your Scope 3 data is. A small single-site service business sits at the lower end; a larger operation with fleet vehicles, multiple sites and difficult supply-chain data sits at the upper end. Remember that PPN 006 requires an annual refresh, so a consultant fee recurs each year you go back to them.

Yes, and many bid-heavy SMEs do exactly that. You can generate a compliant plan with software to meet an immediate tender deadline for a fixed low cost, then bring in a consultant for your largest or most scrutinised bids, or when you move to science-based targets. Because the plan is a structured document built to the same standard either way, a consultant can pick up and extend what the software produced rather than starting from scratch.

No. No reputable consultant can guarantee a contract award, and neither can any software. A Carbon Reduction Plan is assessed as a pass/fail compliance gate under PPN 006 — a compliant plan lets your bid be scored, but the award decision rests with the buyer against the whole tender, including price and quality. A consultant can improve the quality and defensibility of the plan; they cannot promise the outcome.

Yes. The director declaration is the exact wording published in the PPN 006 reporting standard, and it is meant to be reproduced verbatim — copying it word for word is expected, not discouraged. The commitment statement and baseline commentary are templates: copy the structure and fill in the square-bracketed fields with your own organisation name, target year, baseline year and scope notes. The only parts you must change are the bracketed placeholders; the rest can stay as written.

A company director, or the equivalent management body. The declaration itself states that the plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body), so the signatory must have authority to commit the organisation. For a limited company that is a director; for a charity it is typically a trustee, for a partnership a partner, and for a public body the relevant senior responsible owner. A named individual signs, dates and gives their title — an unsigned or undated plan is routinely queried by buyers.

For a general PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan, commit to Net Zero by 2050 at the latest; you may state an earlier year if you can back it up. For NHS supply-chain work the target is 2045 for the emissions the NHS can influence, and from 2027 NHS Carbon Reduction Plans should commit to net zero by 2045. If you are bidding for NHS contracts, state 2045 rather than 2050 so your plan aligns with the Greener NHS supplier roadmap.

The commitment statement and the declaration wording stay the same from year to year — what changes is the data and the sign-off. Your baseline year stays fixed once set, but you update the current reporting-year emissions, your progress against the target, and any new reduction measures. Crucially, the declaration must be reviewed and signed off afresh each time you publish an updated plan, so you re-date it and obtain a new director signature every year.

DEFRA publishes updated conversion factors annually, typically in June. We update CarbonPass within 30 days of publication to ensure all calculations use the latest authoritative factors.

Yes. If you have REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin) certificates from your electricity supplier, CarbonPass applies a zero emission factor for that electricity. Without a valid REGO certificate, we use the UK grid average (location-based method).

CarbonPass provides estimation tools for common scenarios — estimating annual usage from partial bills, generator fuel from operating hours, waste tonnage from bin counts, and refrigerant leaks from charge weight. All estimates are clearly marked in your report and CRP.

Yes. Carbon Reduction Plans generated by CarbonPass meet the structure and content requirements of Procurement Policy Note 06/21, including baseline emissions, reduction targets, Scope 3 category reporting with justified exclusions, and a formal board approval statement.

Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources your company owns or controls. For most small businesses, this means natural gas burned in boilers and fuel used in company-owned vehicles.

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling. For most UK businesses, this is simply the electricity you buy from the grid.

Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions that occur in your value chain — both upstream and downstream. For PPN 006, you must report at least five categories, typically including business travel, employee commuting, waste, water, and purchased goods and services.

No. PPN 006 requires a minimum of five Scope 3 categories. Most small businesses report business travel, employee commuting, waste disposal, water supply, and one purchased goods category. CarbonPass guides you through the most relevant categories.

DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) publishes annual conversion factors that translate activity data — like kWh of gas or litres of fuel — into tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Using DEFRA factors is mandatory for PPN 006 compliance.

Your gas and electricity bills show your consumption in kWh. If you only have costs, your energy supplier can provide consumption data. CarbonPass can also extract kWh figures from uploaded bill images automatically.

That is perfectly normal. Many service businesses that rent office space and do not own company vehicles have zero Scope 1 emissions. You still report zero in your CRP — it is a valid and honest figure.

According to the GHG Protocol, you should use the best available data and recognised conversion factors. DEFRA factors are the accepted standard for UK businesses. Estimates are acceptable for Scope 3 categories where exact data is unavailable, provided you document your methodology.

The UK Government's legally binding target is net-zero by 2050. For PPN 006 compliance, your CRP must include a commitment to net-zero by 2050 at the latest. Many SMBs set more ambitious targets of 2035 or 2040, which demonstrates leadership without being unrealistically aggressive. Choose a date that allows genuine progress, not just aspiration.

Carbon neutral means offsetting all your current emissions, typically by purchasing carbon credits. Net-zero means reducing your emissions as far as possible (typically by 90% or more) and only offsetting the small residual amount. Net-zero requires actual emission reductions; carbon neutral can be achieved purely through purchasing offsets without changing operations.

SBTi validation is not required for PPN 006 compliance, but it adds significant credibility to your targets. SBTi-aligned targets are based on climate science and demonstrate that your reduction pathway is consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. For SMBs, the SBTi offers a streamlined validation process.

Set targets for every five years between your baseline and your net-zero year. For example, if your baseline is 2024 and your net-zero target is 2050, set interim targets for 2030, 2035, 2040, and 2045. Each interim target should represent a meaningful reduction - typically 10 to 20% per five-year period, front-loaded where possible.

Offsets should be a last resort, not a primary strategy. The Science Based Targets initiative requires at least 90% of emissions to be reduced through operational changes before offsets can be used for the residual. PPN 006 evaluators prefer to see genuine reduction measures rather than reliance on offsetting.

PPN 006 requires your CRP to include a commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050 in line with the UK Government target. It does not prescribe specific interim targets or percentage reductions, but your targets must be credible for your sector and organisation size. Evaluators assess whether your trajectory is plausible.

Update your carbon footprint annually using the same methodology and emission factors source. Compare each year against your baseline to calculate absolute and percentage reductions. CarbonPass tracks year-on-year emissions automatically and shows your progress against your stated targets in your CRP.

The official DEFRA emission factors are published annually on GOV.UK under the title "Government conversion factors for company reporting." The 2026 dataset was released in June 2026 and is available as a downloadable Excel spreadsheet from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

kgCO2e stands for kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. It is the standard unit for measuring greenhouse gas emissions, where all gases (methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) are converted to their equivalent warming impact in CO2. One tonne of CO2e (tCO2e) equals 1,000 kgCO2e.

DEFRA factors are specific to the UK energy mix and supply chain. For international operations, the GHG Protocol recommends using country-specific factors. However, for PPN 006 compliance, DEFRA factors are the required standard regardless of where your operations are located.

Location-based factors reflect the average grid carbon intensity for your region (the DEFRA default). Market-based factors reflect the specific electricity tariff you have purchased, such as a 100% renewable energy contract. PPN 006 requires location-based reporting using DEFRA factors, but you may report market-based figures alongside them.

CarbonPass automatically applies the latest DEFRA 2026 conversion factors to your uploaded utility bills and activity data. When you enter kWh of electricity or litres of fuel, the platform multiplies by the correct DEFRA factor and categorises the result into the appropriate scope for your Carbon Reduction Plan.

Yes. PPN 006 requires the CRP to cover your entire organisational carbon footprint. You cannot exclude sites simply because they are small or have limited data. If a site falls within your organisational boundary, its emissions must be included - even if you need to use estimates for some data points.

New sites opened after your reporting period do not need to appear in the current CRP data, but you should mention them in your narrative and commit to including them in the next reporting year. Procurement evaluators want to see that you have a plan for capturing new sites going forward.

Home offices where employees work remotely should be captured under Scope 3 Category 7 (employee commuting and homeworking). You do not need to treat each home as a separate site, but the aggregate homeworking emissions should be estimated and included in your Scope 3 reporting.

The CRP does not require a site-by-site breakdown in the published document, but your underlying data must cover all sites. Most organisations present consolidated totals by scope and include a brief narrative explaining the types of sites included. CarbonPass generates the correct format automatically.

Remote workers are typically captured as an aggregate figure under Scope 3 using the EcoAct or BEIS homeworking emission factors. You calculate the number of remote working days across your workforce and apply a per-day emission factor. This does not require treating each home as a separate site.

Procurement teams may ask to see your underlying data, calculation methodology, or the tool used to generate the CRP. Having site-level data organised in a platform like CarbonPass means you can provide evidence quickly. Some contracting authorities also check that your CRP is published on your website as required.

No. PPN 006 requires one Carbon Reduction Plan per organisation, not per site. Your CRP must consolidate emissions from all locations under your operational control into a single document. You may include a per-site breakdown for transparency, but the submission is always one unified plan.

Apply the same methodology consistently across all office types. Use DEFRA 2026 emission factors for electricity, gas, and other fuels regardless of whether the site is a warehouse, retail unit, or traditional office. The key is to collect the same categories of data from each location and apply the same conversion factors throughout.

Large sites will naturally dominate your total footprint, and that is expected. Include a per-site breakdown in your CRP so procurement teams can see the distribution. Focus reduction targets on your highest-emitting sites first, as this will have the greatest impact on your overall organisational emissions.

Yes. Under PPN 006, all site types must be aggregated into one organisational footprint. You should report total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions across all locations. However, separating site types in your internal methodology helps identify where emissions are concentrated and where reductions are most achievable.

For sites that opened partway through your reporting year, report actual emissions for the period they were operational. Do not annualise or extrapolate the data. In your baseline year calculation, note which sites were operational for partial periods and adjust your year-on-year comparisons accordingly to ensure fair comparison.

Use DEFRA 2026 UK Government conversion factors for all UK sites. These factors cover electricity, natural gas, transport fuels, and other common emission sources. If you have sites outside the UK, the GHG Protocol recommends using country-specific grid emission factors for electricity and DEFRA factors for other sources where local equivalents are unavailable.

CarbonPass Business plan lets you enter energy and activity data for each site separately, then automatically consolidates everything into one organisational footprint. It applies the correct DEFRA emission factors, calculates per-site and aggregate totals, and generates a single CRP document ready for procurement submission.

At a minimum you need energy bills (electricity and gas), fuel usage for company vehicles, business travel records, and waste disposal data. If a site has refrigeration or air conditioning, you will also need F-gas servicing records. Water consumption data is useful for Scope 3 but not always required.

Yes. The GHG Protocol allows the use of spend-based or average-data methods where activity data is unavailable. However, you should flag estimated figures clearly in your report and plan to improve data collection for future reporting periods. Procurement evaluators prefer measured data but accept estimates with justification.

Operational control means you consolidate 100% of emissions from every site where your organisation has operational control, regardless of ownership percentage. Equity share means you consolidate emissions proportional to your equity stake. Most UK SMBs use operational control as it is simpler and aligns with PPN 006 expectations.

For shared buildings or serviced offices, ask your landlord for sub-metered data or request an energy allocation based on floor area. If neither is available, use a per-square-metre benchmark from CIBSE or BEIS to estimate consumption for your occupied area.

Normalise emissions using intensity metrics such as tCO2e per full-time employee, per square metre, or per unit of revenue. This allows fair comparison between a warehouse and an office. CarbonPass calculates intensity metrics automatically for each site.

Yes. On the Business plan you can add multiple locations, input data per site, and CarbonPass automatically aggregates totals by scope, calculates intensity metrics, and generates a single consolidated Carbon Reduction Plan covering all sites.

No. PPN 006 requires one Carbon Reduction Plan per organisation, not per site. Your CRP must cover emissions from all locations under your operational control. Submitting separate plans for individual offices would not meet the procurement requirement and could lead to disqualification from the bidding process.

Your CRP should cover all sites under your operational control, including international locations. Use DEFRA emission factors for UK sites and country-specific grid factors for overseas locations. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard provides guidance on applying consistent methodology across international operations while accounting for regional differences in electricity grid carbon intensity.

Include a site breakdown table within your single CRP showing each location, its type, and its Scope 1 and 2 emissions. This is not required by PPN 006 but is considered best practice and helps procurement evaluators understand your footprint distribution. Your total organisational figures should be the sum of all individual site contributions.

It depends on operational control. If the franchisor controls operating policies at each location, all franchise sites should be included in the franchisor organisation CRP. If individual franchisees operate independently and bid for contracts in their own right, each franchisee would need their own CRP covering only the sites they control.

Joint ventures require careful consideration of your consolidation approach. Under the operational control method, you include 100% of emissions from joint ventures where you have operational control, and exclude those where you do not. Under the equity share approach, you report emissions proportional to your ownership stake. Most organisations use operational control for PPN 006 compliance.

CarbonPass Business plan allows you to enter data for each site individually, then automatically consolidates everything into one CRP document. The platform calculates per-site emissions, aggregates totals across all locations, and generates a single Carbon Reduction Plan that meets PPN 006 requirements for multi-site organisations.

Not all — your tender pack is the source of truth. NHS tender packs commonly ask suppliers for a published Carbon Reduction Plan as part of the submission, across NHS trusts, foundation trusts, Integrated Care Boards, and NHS England procurement.

A full CRP includes quantified Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, reduction targets, and board sign-off. A Net Zero Commitment is a lighter-touch declaration confirming commitment to net zero by 2050 without requiring full emissions data. Your tender pack tells you which is required.

If your tender pack asks for one, no — the CRP check is treated as a pass/fail criterion at the selection stage. Procurement teams will not evaluate your technical or commercial submission if the CRP check fails.

NHS procurement teams verify that a CRP is published on your website and follows the required structure. Increasingly, trusts are also checking that emissions data is current and that reduction targets are credible.

No. You need one Carbon Reduction Plan for your organisation. It should be published on your website and you provide the URL in each bid. The same CRP covers all NHS and government contracts.

Yes. Agency staff suppliers, locum providers, and temporary staffing frameworks all fall under the NHS procurement rules. If you are bidding for any NHS contract or framework, you need a published CRP.

Greener NHS is NHS England's programme to reach net-zero by 2040 for direct emissions and 2045 for the full supply chain. The CRP requirement for suppliers is one of the key tools used to achieve this target.

Yes. CarbonPass generates a fully PPN 006 compliant CRP that meets all NHS procurement requirements. Most businesses complete the process in under 20 minutes.

Since April 2024 the NHS applies a carbon requirement to all new procurements, but proportionately. A full PPN 006-compliant Carbon Reduction Plan is required for contracts of £5 million a year or more and for all new frameworks; for lower-value procurements the NHS accepts a lighter Net Zero Commitment (a subset of the full plan). In practice many NHS buyers ask for a full CRP regardless, so most suppliers bidding for NHS work will need one — your tender or framework documents are the source of truth.

A standard PPN 006 CRP commits to Net Zero by 2050. For NHS work the target is tighter: the NHS aims for net zero across its wider supply chain by 2045, and from 2027 it expects supplier plans to commit to that 2045 date. Build your plan so the target year can be set to 2045, and refresh it as the NHS net-zero supplier roadmap tightens.

The document format and content are the same PPN 006 structure — Scope 1, 2 and the five Scope 3 categories, a Net Zero commitment, reduction measures, director sign-off and website publication. The NHS-specific differences are the trigger (all values, not just above £5m), the tighter 2045 net-zero target from 2027, and the fact that the plan feeds the NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment as its Level 1 foundation.

The most common reasons are the same failure modes as any CRP: missing one or more of the five required Scope 3 categories, no clear baseline year, no board-level sign-off, or the plan not actually being published on the supplier’s website. NHS evaluators check the document against the PPN 006 content requirements, so a plan that follows the official template and is genuinely published is what passes.

The assessment itself is a self-assessment that NHS suppliers are increasingly asked to complete, and the NHS is embedding it across its procurement and framework routes (such as NHS Supply Chain). While completing Evergreen may be voluntary on a given tender, the underlying requirement it measures — a published PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan — has applied to all new NHS procurements since April 2024, proportionately (a full CRP for contracts of £5 million a year or more and for frameworks, a lighter Net Zero Commitment below that, with many buyers asking for a full CRP regardless). In practice, suppliers who cannot evidence Level 1 risk being screened out as requirements tighten.

PPN 006 defines the Carbon Reduction Plan itself — the document, its content, and the pass/fail selection check. Evergreen is a broader maturity framework the NHS uses to measure a supplier’s overall sustainability journey over time, across several levels. A PPN 006 CRP is the entry requirement (the foundation of Level 1); the higher Evergreen levels then ask for deeper commitments such as validated targets, Scope 3 supplier engagement and public reporting.

You may still be able to bid today if the specific tender does not require Evergreen, but you would be missing the CRP that PPN 006 requires for NHS procurements, and you would fall behind as the NHS raises the bar year on year. From 2027 the NHS expects supplier plans to commit to net zero by 2045, and later stages of the roadmap tie continued eligibility to demonstrable progress. Completing Level 1 now — starting with a published CRP — protects your access to NHS work.

Yes. Every PPN 006 CRP must be refreshed at least annually. For NHS suppliers there is an additional angle: from 2027 the plan is expected to commit to net zero by 2045 (the NHS supply-chain target), rather than only the general 2050 date. CarbonPass regenerates your CRP from updated bill data in minutes and lets you set the target year your buyer requires.

Yes. CarbonPass.co generates CRPs with all mandatory sections: net zero commitment, Scope 1 & 2 baseline, 5 Scope 3 categories, DEFRA factors, GHG Protocol declaration, interim targets, reduction initiatives, and director sign-off.

Fair use covers typical SMB usage — around 500 AI messages per month. Normal business use won't be affected. If you consistently exceed it, we'll reach out to discuss upgrading.

Yes. Upgrade instantly, downgrade at the end of your billing cycle. No penalties, no lock-in contracts.

No. The free plan is completely free with no credit card required. You can upload up to 6 bills, generate a PPN 006 CRP, and publish your public Carbon Passport — all free. Upgrade to Starter when you need more than 6 bills, the full Carbon Report, or all 12 emission sources.

Every plan is 12 months of full access that renews automatically at the same rate — we email you 14 days before. Cancel anytime before renewal to avoid being charged; there's no lock-in.

Free is a real account: upload up to 6 bills, generate a PPN 006-compliant CRP, and publish a public Carbon Passport. Starter removes the 6-bill cap (unlimited bills), unlocks all 12 emission sources, the full Carbon Report, and higher AI limits.

Yes — both are live today. Business (multi-user, multi-site, industrial emission sources) and Partner (client accounts, white-label CRPs, API access) can be purchased directly from the pricing above. Starter remains the right choice if you just need PDF reports, Carbon Passport, and a PPN 006 CRP for a single entity.

A human review of your finished Carbon Reduction Plan for completeness against the PPN 006 template — every section present, figures internally consistent, methodology declared, publish-ready. It is included with Business and available as a £100 one-off on Starter. It is not a certification or audit, and it cannot guarantee any evaluator accepts your bid.

Yes. CarbonPass.co generates CRPs that include all mandatory PPN 006 sections: net zero commitment, Scope 1 & 2 baseline, all 5 required Scope 3 categories, DEFRA 2026 conversion factors, GHG Protocol methodology declaration, interim targets, reduction initiatives, and director sign-off. We recommend your solicitor reviews any document before submission for high-value contracts.

No problem. CarbonPass.co can estimate missing months from your average — clearly flagged in the document as estimated. Regulators accept estimated data for months where bills aren't available, as long as it's disclosed. You can replace estimates with real bills at any time.

Most users have their first CRP ready in under 20 minutes. The longest part is uploading your bills — the AI extraction, calculation, and document generation takes under 2 minutes once your data is in. If you only have one or two bills to hand, you can generate a CRP with partial data and top it up later.

Yes — PPN 006 requires your CRP to be updated at least annually, and all previous versions must remain published on your website. CarbonPass.co sends you an annual renewal reminder, and regenerating with the next year's data takes under 10 minutes.

PPN 006 only requires a CRP from the primary bidder, not subcontractors — unless the subcontractor is also bidding in their own right. However, NHS contracts and framework agreements increasingly ask all supply chain participants. And as large companies cascade Scope 3 requirements, having a CRP ready will increasingly be expected regardless.

Yes. CarbonPass calculates Scope 1 (gas, fleet fuel), Scope 2 (electricity), and Scope 3 (commuting, business travel, waste, purchased goods). Scope 1 and 2 use your actual bill data. Scope 3 is calculated through guided AI questions using DEFRA-approved estimation methods — you don't need receipts or invoices for Scope 3.

CarbonPass uses the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting Standard with DEFRA 2026 UK emission conversion factors — the same methodology used by sustainability consultants. Our full methodology is published at carbonpass.co/methodology.

No — CarbonPass is a self-reported tool, not a third-party audit. Activity data (kWh, litres, kg) comes from you; we apply the official UK Government DEFRA 2026 conversion factors and the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard methodology to produce a PPN 06/21-formatted Carbon Reduction Plan ready to submit for UK government and NHS bids. Procurement evaluators review the document against the template; they don't audit the underlying data. For regulated reporting or contractual commitments we recommend independent professional review.

It depends on what you need. For most SMEs that just need a compliant PPN 006 plan for a tender — fast and at a fixed price — a self-serve generator such as CarbonPass (from £199/year, unlimited CRPs) or Gopher Zero (from £199 per report) is the practical choice. If you want a human adviser embedded and broad framework coverage, Seedling fits; if you run your books in Xero or resell to clients, EcoHedge suits; and for complex, high-value or scientifically demanding bids, a consultancy such as Tunley Environmental is worth the higher, quote-based fee.

We rated every tool — including CarbonPass — on the same seven criteria using each product's publicly available information as of July 2026: PPN 006 output, NHS Evergreen readiness, Scope 3 depth, speed to first CRP, price transparency, human review, and best-fit segment. We are the makers of CarbonPass, so we have tried to be even-handed and to show where rivals are stronger (for example, deeper Scope 3 tooling or an included human adviser). Prices and features change — treat this as a starting point and check each provider's site.

Yes — acceptance depends on methodology and required content, not on price or who produced the document. A Carbon Reduction Plan is compliant when it covers the PPN 006 sections (net-zero commitment, Scope 1, 2 and the mandated Scope 3 categories, baseline year, targets, initiatives and director sign-off) using recognised DEFRA emission factors, and is published on your website. A £199 plan that meets those requirements is as acceptable to procurement teams as a consultant's.

If your operations are straightforward and you can do a little data entry, self-serve software produces the same compliant document faster and cheaper. If your data is messy, your Scope 3 is complex, or you want an expert to build and defend the plan for a high-value or NHS bid, a consultancy can be worth the fee. See our consultant-vs-software decision guide for a checklist.

Yes, if you want an annual plan rather than paying per report. Both are UK self-serve tools that produce a PPN 006-compliant Carbon Reduction Plan for SMEs bidding for public-sector work, at a similar ~£199 entry point. CarbonPass is an annual subscription with unlimited CRPs while active, reads your uploaded utility bills, and adds a public Carbon Passport page and a £100 human Completion Check. Gopher Zero charges per prepared report and bundles broader decarbonisation-planning tools.

Both start around £199. CarbonPass is a Free/£199/£499/£1,499-per-year plan (unlimited CRPs while active), plus an optional £100 Completion Check. Gopher Zero (per its live pricing page) is pay-per-report: Silver £199+VAT for a single premises, Gold £299+VAT for multiple locations, and Platinum from £499+VAT with bespoke expert support, with a free account to build and a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you only ever need one CRP, the entry cost is similar; if you update or generate more than one, an annual plan can work out cheaper.

Both are quick. CarbonPass targets about 20 minutes by reading your uploaded electricity, gas and fuel bills with AI extraction. Gopher Zero markets a Carbon Reduction Plan "in as little as 30 minutes" using guided manual data entry. If you prefer answering prompted questions to uploading bills, Gopher Zero's workflow may suit you better.

Yes. Both produce a PPN 006-compliant CRP that NHS suppliers can publish and submit. Since April 2024 the NHS applies a carbon requirement to all new procurements proportionately — a full CRP for contracts of £5m/year or more and for frameworks, and a lighter Net Zero Commitment below that. CarbonPass also publishes guidance on the NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment; Gopher Zero markets NHS procurement compliance but does not name Evergreen on its site.

Yes, if you want a fast, fixed-price self-serve route rather than an adviser-led platform. Both are UK tools that produce a PPN 006-compliant Carbon Reduction Plan for SMEs bidding for public-sector work. CarbonPass is annual self-serve software — Free, then £199, £499 or £1,499 a year, with unlimited CRPs while active — reads your uploaded utility bills in about 20 minutes, and adds a public Carbon Passport page and an optional £100 human Completion Check. Seedling pairs GHG-Protocol software with a dedicated 1:1 human adviser and covers many frameworks beyond a single CRP.

CarbonPass publishes fixed annual prices: Free, then £199, £499 or £1,499 a year (unlimited CRPs while active), plus an optional £100 Completion Check. Seedling does not publicly list its prices as figures — there is a free Seedling Starter tier, with its Core and Advanced plans quote-based via a personalised quote or a booked demo. We won't guess a number; check seedling.earth for current pricing. If you want a known, fixed cost you can budget upfront, CarbonPass's published pricing is straightforward; if you want a bespoke, adviser-supported engagement, Seedling quotes to your specific needs.

CarbonPass targets about 20 minutes by reading your uploaded electricity, gas and fuel bills with AI extraction. Seedling markets being "compliant within a week" with its dedicated adviser if your data is ready, and "10x faster than spreadsheets"; a third-party review estimates a fuller two-to-four-week implementation. If you have a near-term tender deadline and your bills to hand, self-serve upload is the quickest path; if you would rather an adviser validated the numbers with you and supported sign-off, Seedling's week-plus process builds that human check into the workflow.

Yes, if you are happy to do the data entry yourself and want fixed-price, self-serve software rather than consultant-led delivery. Both are UK routes to a PPN 006-compliant Carbon Reduction Plan for SMEs bidding for public-sector work. CarbonPass is an annual plan with unlimited CRPs while active, reads your uploaded utility bills, produces the plan in about 20 minutes, and adds a public Carbon Passport page and a £100 human Completion Check. Green Business pairs a short online scoping tool with expert, consultant-led delivery and can bundle its own certification and third-party verification.

CarbonPass publishes its price up front: a Free/£199/£499/£1,499-per-year plan (unlimited CRPs while active), plus an optional £100 Completion Check. Green Business prices its Carbon Reduction Plan by quote — costed by business size, type and level of support, with a call to get a tailored figure. The only public number on its site is carbon footprinting, which starts at £599+VAT; that is the footprinting entry price, not a stated CRP price, so treat the CRP as quote-based and ask them for a written quote before comparing.

You do not need a specific certification to prepare Carbon Reduction Plans for clients. A working knowledge of PPN 006, the GHG Protocol, and DEFRA emission factors is sufficient. CarbonPass Partner provides the calculation engine and compliant output, so you can focus on client relationships and data gathering.

Most consultants charge between £500 and £2,000 per CRP depending on the size and complexity of the client organisation. A 10-employee service business with simple energy use sits at the lower end, while a 200-employee logistics company with fleet vehicles and multiple sites commands the higher end.

You need a platform that handles emissions calculations using DEFRA factors, generates PPN 006 compliant documents, and supports multiple client organisations from one account. CarbonPass Partner is purpose-built for this, with a multi-client dashboard, white-label PDF output, and automated Scope 1, 2 and 3 calculations.

Target businesses that bid for government and NHS contracts. Search public tender databases like Contracts Finder for upcoming opportunities and approach the companies listed as current suppliers. Accountancy practices with SMB client bases are also strong referral partners.

Yes. CarbonPass Partner allows you to upload your firm logo, set an accent colour, and add prepared-by text so that the final CRP PDF carries your branding. The client sees your consultancy as the author, not the underlying platform.

With CarbonPass Partner, a single consultant can comfortably manage 20 to 50 active clients. The platform handles calculations and document generation, so your time is spent on data collection and client communication rather than spreadsheet work.

It is strongly recommended. If you are advising clients on compliance with procurement requirements, professional indemnity insurance protects you if a client suffers a loss due to an error in the CRP you prepared. Most consultancy insurers offer policies that cover environmental advisory work.

Absolutely. Many bid writers add CRP preparation as an upsell to their existing tender writing services. Since PPN 006 compliance is a pass/fail gate, clients who need help with their bid almost always need help with their CRP too.

No formal qualification is required to prepare a Carbon Reduction Plan for a client. The calculations follow a standardised methodology using DEFRA emission factors, similar to applying tax rates from HMRC tables. However, completing a short course from IEMA or the Carbon Literacy Project can build confidence and credibility with clients.

You need a carbon calculation tool that applies the correct DEFRA emission factors and outputs a CRP in the format required by PPN 006. CarbonPass Partner is designed specifically for accountants and consultants managing multiple clients, with white-label branding and centralised client management.

Most accountancy firms charge between 500 and 1,500 pounds for a basic Carbon Reduction Plan, depending on the client complexity. Using CarbonPass Partner, the platform costs from 49 pounds per month and you can generate unlimited CRPs, making the margin very attractive compared to the time investment.

Yes. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, over 200,000 UK SMBs bid for government contracts. UK public-sector tender packs commonly ask suppliers for a Carbon Reduction Plan as part of the submission. Many of these businesses are already your clients and will need help.

The direction of travel is clear. SECR already requires large companies to report energy and carbon data. The UK Government has signalled that carbon reporting requirements will expand to smaller businesses over time. Building carbon reporting capabilities now positions your firm for future mandatory reporting.

Start with an existing client who you know bids for government contracts. Offer to prepare their CRP as an add-on service, using CarbonPass Partner to handle the calculations and report generation. One successful CRP becomes your case study for offering the service to your wider client base.

CarbonPass Partner allows you to add your firm logo, company name, and contact details to generated CRP documents. The PDF output carries your branding on the cover page and headers. Your clients see your firm as the author, not CarbonPass.

The client-facing CRP documents carry your branding. The underlying platform is CarbonPass, and the methodology page references our calculation engine, but the deliverable your client receives is presented as your work product. This is standard practice for white-label tools across professional services.

CarbonPass Partner is a monthly subscription that covers unlimited client CRPs. You set your own client pricing independently. Most consultants charge between 500 and 2,500 pounds per CRP while paying a flat monthly platform fee, making the unit economics very favourable as you scale.

You and your client own the data. CarbonPass processes and stores the data to generate reports, but you retain full ownership and can export all data at any time. Our privacy policy clearly states that client data is never shared with third parties or used for purposes beyond report generation.

Yes. Some consultants prefer co-branding where both their firm name and CarbonPass appear on the document. This can add credibility if CarbonPass is recognised in your market. The choice between white-label and co-branding is yours to make per client.

All client data can be exported as CSV files at any time. Your CRP documents are yours to keep as PDFs. There is no lock-in period beyond the monthly subscription. We designed the platform to earn your continued business through quality, not contractual traps.