Net zero commitment wording for your Carbon Reduction Plan

Three reusable blocks cover the parts of a Carbon Reduction Plan that need set language: the net zero commitment, the baseline commentary and the director declaration. Copy each block, then adapt the square-bracketed fields as the note explains. Anything not in brackets can usually stay as written — and the declaration in particular should be reproduced verbatim.

Block 1 · Net zero commitment statement

Guidance: PPN 006 requires a commitment to Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. NHS supply-chain work targets 2045, and from 2027 NHS plans should state 2045. Replace [organisation name] with your legal entity name and [target year] with 2050 (or an earlier year you can back up, or 2045 for NHS bids).

Block 2 · Baseline emissions commentary starter

Guidance: Set [year] to the first year you measured — it stays fixed in every future update. In the bracketed details, name your organisational boundary (which sites and entities are in), state anything excluded and why, and flag any spend-based estimates so a reader knows which figures are measured and which are approximated.

Block 3 · Director declaration and sign-off

Guidance: Reproduce this paragraph exactly — it is the declaration published in the PPN 006 reporting standard and buyers look for it word for word. Do not paraphrase it. Fill in the Signed, Name, Title and Date lines by hand or electronically. The signatory must be a director or an equivalent management-body member with authority to commit the organisation, and the plan must be re-dated and re-signed each time you publish an update.

The blocks above do most of the work, but a compliant plan needs each one placed and completed correctly. Work through these points before you publish.

• Change only the bracketed fields. Organisation name, target year, baseline year and the baseline-detail notes are yours to fill in. Everything outside the square brackets is standard language that can stay as written.
• Keep the declaration verbatim. Unlike the commitment and baseline blocks, the director declaration is fixed wording from the reporting standard. Paraphrasing it — even to 'improve' it — is a common reason a plan is queried. Paste it as-is.
• Get genuine board sign-off. The declaration asserts that the board of directors (or equivalent management body) has reviewed and approved the plan. Make sure that is actually true before anyone signs, because the signatory is committing the organisation.
• Date it and publish it. A PPN 006 plan must be a dated, signed document that you can publish — typically as a PDF on your website. An undated or unsigned draft does not satisfy the requirement.
• Match your numbers to the wording. The commitment and baseline text only stand up if the emissions figures elsewhere in the plan reconcile with them. If you are unsure which Scope 3 lines to include, see the PPN 006 explainer.

If you sell to the NHS, the wording changes in one important way: the target year. The NHS runs the most demanding supplier programme in UK public procurement, and its expectations differ from the general PPN 006 baseline.

Since April 2024, the NHS applies a carbon requirement to all new procurements proportionately. For contracts and frameworks worth £5m a year or more, suppliers must publish a full PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan covering Scope 1, Scope 2 and the mandated Scope 3 categories. Below that threshold, a lighter-touch Net Zero Commitment is expected rather than a full plan — the requirement scales with contract value rather than applying identically to every procurement.

The target year also differs. The general PPN 006 commitment is net zero by 2050, but the Greener NHS programme targets 2045 for the emissions it can influence, and from 2027 NHS Carbon Reduction Plans should commit to net zero by 2045. So if you are bidding for NHS work, set [target year] in Block 1 to 2045, and check the current NHS England supplier roadmap for the threshold that applies to your contract. Our NHS Carbon Reduction Plan requirements guide sets out the timeline in detail.

Can I copy this wording?

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.

Who has to sign the declaration?

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.

What net zero year should I state?

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.

Do I need to change the wording each year?

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.