PPN 006 makes a Carbon Reduction Plan a pass or fail condition for central government contracts above £5 million a year. The NHS, councils and main contractors now ask similar questions of their suppliers. I prepare the plan and the carbon wording your bids need.
The requirement started with central government, but it now reaches well beyond the largest contracts. If you supply the public sector, directly or through a main contractor, expect to be asked.
Required under PPN 006 on contracts above £5 million a year.
Its own supplier rules, and its Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment starts with a published plan.
Free to ask for a plan, and many now include carbon questions in tenders.
Passing the question down to their suppliers and subcontractors.
Procurement Policy Note 006 (previously PPN 06/21) requires suppliers bidding for central government contracts worth over £5 million a year to provide a Carbon Reduction Plan. It applies at the selection stage, as a pass or fail condition rather than a scored criterion. For suppliers and subcontractors it matters too, because public sector clients and main contractors pass the requirement down their supply chains. Even as a subcontractor, you may be asked for carbon evidence as part of a Tier 1's bid.
In short: without a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan, a supplier cannot bid for central government work above the threshold.
The PPN 006 technical standard is specific, and buyers check plans against it: a Net Zero commitment, a baseline and current footprint, reduction targets and projects, director sign-off, and publication on your website with an update each year. The Carbon Reduction Plan page sets this out in full, with what your footprint is likely to include.
PPN 006 is the most common, but two other requirements are reaching construction and manufacturing supply chains.
Live now
A pass or fail condition for central government contracts above £5 million a year, increasingly passed down to subcontractors.
From January 2027
A carbon charge on imported iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser and hydrogen goods. It creates a cost risk on fixed-price contracts that have not allowed for it.
Live now
Whole-life carbon management for infrastructure, required by National Highways from its Tier 1 and 2 contractors and passed on to their supply chains on major projects.
Public buyers and large customers assess the same five areas. The free Sustainable Procurement Health Check scores 20 statements in about ten minutes and shows your strengths and gaps on screen.
Take the health check →The Carbon Reduction Plan is the starting point. A bid usually needs more than the plan itself, written so an evaluator can find and score it.
Carbon and environmental answers for PQQs and selection stages, consistent with your published plan.
Method statements and quality answers on carbon, written for the contract in front of you.
Commitment statements that match your plan, so what you say in a bid stands up if checked.
Supplier carbon and social value evidence, built once and reused for each tender.
Got a tender coming up, or a buyer asking for your plan? Book a 20-minute conversation and tell me what they have asked for. I will say plainly whether I can help.