PPN 006: Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts · first published 17 February 2025
PPN 006 (updated February 2025) requires any supplier bidding for a central government contract worth more than £5 million per year (including VAT) to submit a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) as part of the selection process — you cannot bid without one. The CRP must confirm your commitment to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 for your UK operations, report your current Scope 1, 2 and a defined subset of Scope 3 emissions in CO2e, and set out the environmental measures you have in place. It must be published on your website and signed off by a director or equivalent. This updated version replaces PPN 06/21 and aligns the language with the Procurement Act 2023; it applies to procurements advertised on or after 24 February 2025. Smaller contracts below £5m per year are outside the mandatory scope, but buyers are expected to apply the rule in the majority of relevant cases above that threshold.
WHO THIS APPLIES TO
THE ENKII VIEW
For SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) targeting larger central government contracts, a missing or non-compliant CRP is now an automatic disqualification gate — this is a pass/fail condition of participation, not a scored criterion. The good news is that the government provides a free template (Annex A of this PPN) and a technical standard, so smaller firms do not need to pay for a bespoke framework. SMEs that are subsidiaries of a parent company can temporarily rely on the parent's CRP, but the document makes clear this is only a stopgap — building your own CRP quickly is both a compliance necessity and a competitive signal.
1. Create and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) on your company website using the official government template in Annex A of PPN 006, ensuring it covers your net zero commitment, Scope 1, 2 and required Scope 3 emissions in CO2e, and your environmental management measures.
All SMEs bidding for central government contracts above £5m per year — A CRP is a mandatory condition of participation — without one, your bid will be excluded. The document states buyers 'should include, as a condition of participation, a requirement for bidding suppliers to provide a CRP'.
2. Get your CRP signed off by a director (or equivalent) before publishing it — the template requires board-level sign-off and the document specifies it 'has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body)'.
All SMEs bidding for central government contracts above £5m per year — Without director sign-off the CRP will not meet the required standard set out in the PPN and supporting technical guidance.
3. Set a calendar reminder to update your CRP at least once every 12 months, re-publish it on your website, and update the publication date — buyers may check this when verifying compliance.
All SMEs with a published CRP — The PPN states the CRP 'should be updated regularly (at least annually) and published and clearly signposted on the supplier's UK website'.
4. If you do not yet have your own CRP, check whether your parent's CRP explicitly names you, states the net zero commitment applies to your entity, and is published on your own website — if all criteria are met you may use it temporarily, but start building your own CRP immediately.
SMEs that are wholly owned subsidiaries of a larger parent company — Parent CRP reliance is permitted only as a temporary measure; the PPN states 'bidding entities must take steps to ensure they have their own CRP as soon as reasonably practicable'.
5. Check the estimated individual call-off value against the £5m per year threshold — if individual call-offs could exceed £5m per year, prepare your CRP before the framework is established, as the CRP requirement applies at that stage.
SMEs planning to bid via a framework agreement or dynamic market — The PPN explicitly applies to frameworks and dynamic markets 'where it is estimated that the individual value of any contract to be awarded… is greater than £5 million per year (including VAT)'.
6. Download the government's free Technical Standard and Guidance documents linked in PPN 006, and use the UK government's published greenhouse gas (GHG) conversion factors (available at gov.uk) to calculate your Scope 1 and 2 emissions — you do not need to hire a consultant to get started.
SMEs new to carbon reporting — The PPN directs suppliers to use 'the appropriate government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting' and provides a template; using these free tools keeps compliance costs down for small firms.
Every rule below quotes the official document verbatim.
The CRP requirement applies to contracts with an estimated value above £5 million per year (including VAT), averaged over the life of the contract. (Central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs); contracts above £5m per year inc VAT; procurements advertised on or after 24 February 2025)
“In-scope organisations should take action to apply this PPN when awarding public contracts for goods and/or services and/or works, other than special regime contracts, with an estimated contract value above £5 million per year (including VAT)”
For a multi-year contract, the £5m threshold is based on the total contract value averaged over the life of the contract — for example, a 4-year contract worth £21m total is in scope even if year-one spend is under £5m. (All in-scope organisations awarding contracts above £5m per year inc VAT)
“Based on advertised contract value, averaged over the life of the contract, e.g. a contract with a four year term with a total contract value of £21 million would be in scope, even if the value in the first year was under £5 million.”
Providing a CRP is a mandatory condition of participation (pass/fail) — suppliers cannot proceed in a procurement without one. (All suppliers bidding for relevant central government contracts above £5m per year inc VAT, from 24 February 2025)
“in-scope organisations should include, as a condition of participation, a requirement for bidding suppliers to provide a CRP”
The CRP must confirm commitment to net zero by 2050 for UK operations, report Scope 1 and 2 emissions plus a defined subset of Scope 3 emissions in CO2e, list environmental management measures, and be published on the supplier's website. (All bidding suppliers on relevant contracts, from 24 February 2025)
“CRPs must meet the required standard as set out by the supporting guidance to this PPN. This includes, but is not limited to: confirming the supplier's commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 for their UK operations; providing the supplier's current emissions for the sources included in Scope 1 and 2 of the GHG Protocol, and a defined subset of Scope 3 emissions; providing emissions reporting in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) for the six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol”
The CRP must be reviewed and signed off by the board of directors or equivalent management body. (All bidding suppliers on relevant contracts)
“This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).”
The CRP must be updated at least annually and clearly signposted on the supplier's UK website. (All bidding suppliers on relevant contracts)
“The CRP should be updated regularly (at least annually) and published and clearly signposted on the supplier's UK website.”
A subsidiary (bidding entity) may temporarily rely on its parent organisation's CRP, but only if it is wholly owned by the parent, the parent's net zero commitment explicitly applies to the subsidiary, the environmental measures can be applied by the subsidiary, and the CRP is published on the subsidiary's own website. (Subsidiary bidding entities whose parent holds a CRP; treated as a temporary measure only)
“a CRP covering the bidding entity and its parent organisation is only permissible where the detailed requirements of the CRP are met in full... and all of the following criteria are met: the bidding entity is wholly owned by the parent”
The updated PPN applies to procurements advertised on or after 24 February 2025; procurements commenced before that date continue under PPN 06/21. (All in-scope organisations; the cut-off is the advertisement date of the procurement)
“In-scope organisations must apply the provisions of this PPN to relevant procurements advertised on or after 24 February 2025.”
The PPN applies to frameworks and dynamic markets, but only where the estimated value of an individual call-off contract is greater than £5 million per year including VAT. (Framework agreements and dynamic markets let by central government)
“This PPN applies to frameworks and dynamic markets but only where it is estimated that the individual value of any contract to be awarded in accordance with the framework or by reference to a dynamic market is greater than £5 million per year (including VAT).”
Buyers must apply the CRP requirement in the majority of cases above the threshold, as environmental considerations are expected to be relevant to most contracts; case-by-case assessment is required. (Central government buyers assessing applicability of PPN 006)
“Environmental considerations and carbon reduction will be a factor in most, if not all, contracts and therefore it is expected that in the majority of cases, the application of this PPN will be relevant.”
Bidding entities relying on a parent CRP must take steps to produce their own CRP as soon as reasonably practicable, as parent reliance is only a temporary measure. (Subsidiary bidding entities currently relying on a parent CRP)
“Bidding entities must take steps to ensure they have their own CRP as soon as reasonably practical and should note that the ability to rely on a parent organisation's CRP may only be a temporary measure to satisfy this particular condition of participation.”
This briefing is enkii's interpretation of the official document — the official text always governs.
Source document © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0 via the GOV.UK Content API. enkii tracks every Procurement Policy Note and briefs changes the day they land — see all briefings.