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Definition

Carbon Reduction Plan (UK procurement)

A UK Carbon Reduction Plan is a supplier's published PPN 006 statement of its emissions, net-zero commitment, reduction targets, completed and planned measures, and senior approval for specified central government procurements.

What is a Carbon Reduction Plan?

A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is the supplier document required by UK Procurement Policy Note 006 for relevant central government procurements. It records the bidding entity's UK emissions, net-zero-by-2050 commitment, reduction targets, measures, and senior sign-off.

Why does a Carbon Reduction Plan matter to you?

For relevant contracts above £5 million a year including VAT, it can be a pass-fail condition of participation. A missing or non-compliant CRP can prevent your company from being awarded the contract. PPN 006 applies to procurements advertised on or after 24 February 2025.

How does a Carbon Reduction Plan work?

Use the Cabinet Office template. Report baseline and current tCO2e for Scope 1, Scope 2, and required Scope 3 categories 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9. Add a five-year projection, completed and future measures, and those applicable to contract performance. Review and update the CRP annually, within six months of your financial year-end. For a bid, it must have been published since the tender notice or in the preceding 12 months. Publish it on your UK website, and obtain board or equivalent approval plus director-level sign-off.

What mistakes should you avoid?

  • Submitting a sustainability policy or case study instead of the CRP template.
  • Using a reporting period more than 18 months before the tender notice without an accepted explanation.
  • Omitting a required Scope, publication date, net-zero commitment, declaration, or sign-off.
  • Listing measures without confirming which ones will apply during contract performance.

Is a Carbon Reduction Plan mandatory for every UK contract?

No. It covers specified government bodies and relevant contracts above the threshold, except special regime contracts. The authority must also judge it relevant and proportionate.

Can a parent company's plan cover the bidding supplier?

Only temporarily. The bidder must be wholly owned, adopt the parent's UK net-zero commitment, be able to apply the measures, meet every CRP requirement, and publish the plan on its own website. It must prepare its own CRP as soon as reasonably practicable.

Example

Jurisdiction adjustment: Because PPN 006 concerns UK operations, this example uses the UK bidding subsidiary of the assigned construction materials producer in Canada.

Suppose the subsidiary sees a tender notice on 3 March 2026 for a three-year contract worth £27 million including VAT. £27 million divided by three years is £9 million a year, above the £5 million threshold. The subsidiary published its CRP on 15 January 2026, within the 12 months before the tender notice. Its CRP reports the year ended 31 December 2025, so the reporting period ends about two months before the notice and is within 18 months.

The plan uses a 2023 baseline of 12,000 tCO2e and projects 9,000 tCO2e by 2028. The reduction is 12,000 minus 9,000 = 3,000 tCO2e; 3,000 divided by 12,000 = 25%. It names the operations director as owner of kiln-efficiency measures, gives the 2027 completion date, and states that the measures will apply when performing the contract.

Where it comes up

PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan condition of participation for relevant central government procurementsPPN 006 paragraphs 9-11, advertised on or after 24 February 2025 (checked 2026-08-20)Official sourceAnnex A Questions 1 and 2, published compliant CRP and net-zero commitmentPPN 006 conditions-of-participation guidance, Annex A Questions 1-2 and Table 1 (checked 2026-08-20)Official sourceCRP emissions boundary, annual update, publication, approval, and sign-off requirementsPPN 006 Technical Standard paragraphs 8-16 and 23-25 (checked 2026-08-20)Official source

Related terms

Sustainability criterion in a tender

A sustainability criterion in a tender is a scored or pass-fail environmental or social requirement that a bidder must answer and support before a buyer awards the contract.

Net-Zero

Under the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, net zero means deeply cutting greenhouse gas emissions across a company's value chain, then permanently neutralising the small amount that remains.

Scope 3 Emissions

Scope 3 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions from goods, services, transport, product use, investments, and other upstream and downstream activities outside your company's Scope 1 and Scope 2 boundary.

Climate transition plan

A climate transition plan turns a climate target into dated actions, assigned resources, governance, financial assumptions, and progress measures for changing a company's strategy and business model toward a lower-carbon economy.

Sources

  • UK Cabinet Office

    PPN 006 scope, timing, condition of participation, required CRP contents, and template

    2026-08-20

  • UK Cabinet Office

    Pass-fail questions, assessment criteria, 12-month publication test, and 18-month reporting-period test

    2026-08-20

  • UK Cabinet Office

    UK emissions boundary, required Scopes, annual update, publication, approval, and sign-off

    2026-08-20

Last verified 2026-08-20

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Carbon Reduction Plan (UK procurement) Definition | Keslio