Win Government & NHS Contracts with a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan

PPN 006 is the current UK Government Procurement Policy Note covering Carbon Reduction Plans in major central government procurements. It applies to relevant contracts worth more than £5 million per year, including VAT, where the requirement is relevant and proportionate.

Bidding suppliers must provide a Carbon Reduction Plan that confirms their commitment to achieving net zero by 2050, reports the required emissions and sets out the environmental management measures they will use when delivering the contract.

PPN 006 replaced PPN 06/21 for relevant procurements advertised from 24 February 2025.

Source: UK Government – PPN 006
NHS Policy: NHS England – CRP Requirements

Yes. PPN 006 is determined by the value and nature of the procurement, not the supplier’s turnover or number of employees. A small business bidding for an in-scope contract may therefore need to provide the same compliant Carbon Reduction Plan as a larger supplier.

Separate NHS requirements can also apply to some procurements below the central government £5 million threshold.

PPN 006 requires suppliers to report five Scope 3 categories: business travel, employee commuting, waste generated in operations, upstream transportation and distribution, and downstream transportation and distribution. A category can sometimes be reported as zero or not applicable, but the basis for that conclusion should be clear and supportable.

Source: UK Government

Your Carbon Reduction Plan is normally assessed as a condition of participation. The contracting authority checks whether the supplier has made the required net zero commitment and whether its CRP meets the technical standard. Failure to meet the requirements may prevent your business from being awarded the contract.

No. A general CSR policy, sustainability statement or environmental policy does not normally contain all the information required by PPN 006. Your CRP should follow the required technical standard and the structure of the government template, although its visual styling can differ.

PPN 006 software helps suppliers measure Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, create compliant Carbon Reduction Plans, and publish audit-ready reports for government and NHS procurement. TrackZero guides you through measurement, planning and publication. Unlike a blank template, it also retains the underlying data, factors and methodology, making the plan easier to evidence and update each year.

The time depends mainly on whether your emissions data is already available. A straightforward organisation with utility, fuel, travel, waste, commuting and freight information to hand may be able to calculate its emissions and produce a first draft in a day. Organisations with multiple sites, entities or incomplete records may need longer to collect and validate the data.

TrackZero allows users to delegate questions and engage third parties in the assessment, making data collection easier across complex sites or supply chains.

A standard PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan reports the bidding supplier’s UK emissions. Organisations may also choose to disclose global emissions, provided the required UK figures remain clearly identifiable.

From 1 April 2027, the higher-tier NHS Carbon Reduction Plan will require global Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and all relevant Scope 3 emissions.

No. PPN 006 does not require your Carbon Reduction Plan to be independently verified. However, your data and calculations should be complete, supportable and prepared to a reasonable level of assurance. Some organisations may choose independent verification where customers, contracts or internal governance require it. TrackZero supports verification.

NHS suppliers may need a Carbon Reduction Plan even where a contract is worth less than £5 million per year.

For procurements commenced before 1 April 2027, the current NHS Carbon Reduction Plan and Net Zero Commitment requirements continue to apply.

For procurements commencing from 1 April 2027, contracts worth £5 million or more per year, including VAT, and generally all new NHS frameworks and dynamic markets will require a 2027 NHS Carbon Reduction Plan. Lower-value contracts above the relevant published procurement threshold will require a PPN 006-aligned 2024 Carbon Reduction Plan.

PPN 006 requires UK Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and five specified Scope 3 categories.

A 2027 NHS Carbon Reduction Plan goes further. It must cover the supplier’s global Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and all relevant Scope 3 categories, alongside its targets, environmental management measures and formal approval. A CRP that fully meets the 2027 NHS requirements will also meet the requirements of PPN 006.

TrackZero and NHS Evergreen do different jobs, and they work best together.

TrackZero is where you do the actual carbon accounting. It helps you calculate your emissions, build and update your Carbon Reduction Plan, set reduction targets, and keep all your data and methodology in one place so you can reuse it year after year.

Evergreen is the NHS’s supplier self-assessment tool. It’s where you report your sustainability progress and receive a maturity score. It doesn’t calculate emissions or generate your Carbon Reduction Plan. Because TrackZero stores the underlying data, completing Evergreen is much easier.