What is PPN 006?

Background and origin

Procurement Policy Note 06/21 — universally referred to as PPN 006 — was issued by the Cabinet Office in June 2021. It forms part of the UK government's commitment to reach net zero by 2050 and directs central government departments to use their purchasing power as a lever to reduce supply chain emissions.

The policy became a mandatory contract condition for qualifying procurements from 30 September 2021. Buyers cannot waive the requirement for in-scope contracts; it operates as a pass/fail pre-qualification standard, not a scored evaluation criterion.

Who it applies to

PPN 006 applies to any supplier bidding on a central government contract with an annual value above £5 million. "Central government" covers UK government departments, executive agencies, and non-departmental public bodies listed in Annex A of the original PPN.

Critically, there is no SME exemption. A ten-person IT consultancy bidding on a £6m government digital contract faces exactly the same CRP requirement as a multinational. This is by design — the policy is intended to drive carbon accountability through the entire supply chain, not just large primes.

Beyond the strict scope of the original note, many devolved administrations, NHS trusts, local authorities, housing associations, and arm's-length bodies have adopted equivalent carbon requirements for their own procurement. Effective compliance readiness therefore requires treating PPN 006 not as a narrow legal threshold but as the baseline standard for any serious public sector supplier.

What a Carbon Reduction Plan must contain

The six mandatory elements of a PPN 006-compliant Carbon Reduction Plan are:

1. 1
   Baseline carbon footprint — a current-year total emissions inventory covering at minimum Scope 1 and Scope 2, expressed in tonnes CO₂e. Scope 3 is strongly encouraged and increasingly expected by buyers.
2. 2
   Net zero commitment — a formal declaration to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest, aligned with the UK Government's statutory Climate Change Act target.
3. 3
   Interim reduction milestones — measurable targets for specific waypoint years, typically 2030, 2035, and 2040, with percentage reductions against the baseline year.
4. 4
   DESNZ emission factors — all Scope 1 and 2 calculations must use the official DESNZ Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors for the reporting year. Using unofficial or outdated factors invalidates the CRP.
5. 5
   GHG Protocol scoping — emissions must be structured following the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, which PPN 006 explicitly adopts as its methodology framework.
6. 6
   Senior sign-off — the CRP must be signed by a board director or equivalent. It is a formal supplier declaration and unsigned plans are non-compliant.

Publication and submission requirements

Your Carbon Reduction Plan must be published on your company website before the tender deadline and remain publicly accessible throughout the contract period. Buyers verify the URL during evaluation — a plan that exists only as a PDF attachment and is not live on your website will typically be treated as non-compliant.

The CRP must also be submitted as part of your formal tender response. Most procurement portals (Jaggaer, Bravo, Delta eSourcing) include a specific question asking for the URL of the published plan alongside a declaration of compliance.

Annual update requirement

A CRP is not a one-time document. PPN 006 requires suppliers to update their Carbon Reduction Plan annually, reflecting the most recent complete financial year's emissions data. Stale plans — particularly those without updated DESNZ factors — are increasingly being challenged during contract reviews and re-tenders.

CarbonVerified stores your underlying data and flags when your CRP is due for renewal, so you are never caught with an outdated plan when a new tender lands.