What is PPN 06/21 and Does It Affect My Business?

When I first came across the term "PPN 06/21", I did what most people do - I Googled it, got halfway through a government PDF, and gave up.

The thing is, once you strip away the policy-speak, it's actually pretty simple. And if you're running a business that works with - or wants to work with - the public sector, it's genuinely worth understanding. So let me save you the PDF.

So what actually is it?

PPN 06/21 stands for Procurement Policy Note 06/21. The government introduced it back in 2021 with a clear aim: any business bidding on a central government contract worth £5 million or more per year now has to show what it's doing about its carbon emissions.

Not vaguely. Not in a "we care about the planet" kind of way. In writing. With numbers. Published on your website.

The document you need to produce is called a Carbon Reduction Plan, and it needs to show your current emissions, a commitment to reaching Net Zero by 2050, and the steps you're actually taking to get there.

One thing worth knowing - since February 2025, PPN 06/21 has been quietly rebranded as PPN 006 under the Procurement Act 2023. Same requirements, new name. You'll see both terms used, so don't let that catch you out.

Is this just for big companies?

Honestly, that's what most SME owners assume. And it's understandable - a £5 million contract threshold sounds like it's aimed at the big players.

But here's where it starts to matter for smaller businesses too.

The large contractors who win those government contracts? They're now under pressure to understand the carbon footprint of their supply chain. That means they're asking their suppliers - businesses like yours - for carbon data, even when you're not bidding directly on anything yourself.

And it doesn't stop there. The NHS has gone further and requires a Carbon Reduction Plan for all NHS procurement, regardless of contract value - that's been the case since April 2024. Wales has adopted the policy as best practice. And in the private sector, larger corporates with their own Net Zero commitments are increasingly expecting their suppliers to have something in place too.

The direction of travel is pretty clear. The businesses getting ahead of this now won't be scrambling later.

What goes into a Carbon Reduction Plan?

It's less daunting than it sounds. A Carbon Reduction Plan essentially needs to cover:

Your current emissions - split across what's called Scope 1 (things you directly control, like fuel in company vehicles or gas for heating), Scope 2 (the energy you buy, like your electricity), and a portion of Scope 3 (things a bit further out, like business travel, employee commuting, and waste).

A baseline year - so there's a fixed starting point to measure your progress against.

A formal commitment to Net Zero by 2050 - signed off by a director or the business owner.

Your reduction targets and the steps you're taking to hit them.

That's it. It then needs to live on your website and get updated each year to show how you're progressing. The government has an official template format you need to follow - but the content itself comes from you and your data.

The important bit: this is pass/fail. No CRP, no bid. It doesn't matter how competitive your price is or how strong your track record - without a compliant plan, you won't get through the door.

Why is the government doing this?

The public sector spends an enormous amount of money - and it's using that spending power to push decarbonisation through the supply chain. Rather than just setting targets for its own operations, it's saying: if you want a slice of public contracts, you need to be on this journey too.

It's actually a pretty smart lever. And for businesses that get their reporting in order, it becomes a genuine competitive advantage rather than just a box to tick.

Where CarbonVerified comes in

This is exactly why I built Carbon Verified. When I was looking at what was available for SMEs trying to navigate this stuff, most of it was either too expensive, too complex, or clearly built for large enterprises.

Carbon Verified is designed for businesses that don't have a sustainability team or a big budget - just a need to get this right. You enter your energy, travel, and operational data, and the platform does the calculations using the official DESNZ 2025 conversion factors (the UK government's own figures). You get a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan, a verified PDF certificate, and a shareable public profile - all ready for tender submissions.

The Pro plan is £90 a year. Which, when you weigh it against the cost of losing a contract because your compliance paperwork wasn't in order, is really a no-brainer.

Give it a go

If you've been putting this off, or you're not sure whether it applies to you, the best thing to do is just start. You can create a free account and get a feel for the platform without committing to anything.

And if you've got questions, feel free to get in touch. I'd rather answer a question now than have someone miss out on a contract later.