Since 30 September 2021, Procurement Policy Note 06/21 has required suppliers bidding for UK government contracts worth over 5 million pounds (excluding VAT) to provide a Carbon Reduction Plan. The policy applies to all central government departments, their executive agencies, and non-departmental public bodies. Many local authorities and NHS trusts have adopted the same requirement voluntarily.

If your organisation supplies to the public sector, or if you manage a supply chain that includes public sector contracts, Carbon Reduction Plans are no longer optional. They are a commercial requirement that can determine whether you win or lose a bid.

What PPN 06/21 Actually Requires

PPN 06/21 applies to any procurement where the contract value exceeds 5 million pounds per year. The supplier (or the bidding consortium's lead member) must provide a Carbon Reduction Plan that demonstrates their commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050.

The plan must be published on the supplier's website. It is not a private document submitted only to the contracting authority. It is a public commitment.

A compliant Carbon Reduction Plan must include the following elements:

The supplier's current greenhouse gas emissions. This should cover at minimum Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Scope 3 is encouraged but not currently mandatory in most cases.

The supplier's emissions reduction targets. These should be specific, time-bound, and aligned with achieving Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. Interim targets are expected, for example a 50% reduction by 2030.

The carbon reduction measures already in place. This includes actions the supplier is already taking: energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy procurement, fleet electrification, waste reduction, and so on.

The carbon reduction measures planned for the future. What further actions will the supplier take to close the gap between current emissions and their targets?

The methodology used. How were the emissions calculated? What reporting framework was used?

Understanding Emission Scopes

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources that the organisation owns or controls. This includes fuel burned in company vehicles, gas used to heat company premises, and emissions from on-site manufacturing processes.

Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat, and steam. The UK Government publishes annual conversion factors that translate kilowatt hours of electricity consumed into tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions in the value chain. This is the broadest and most difficult category. It includes business travel, employee commuting, purchased goods and services, waste disposal, and the emissions generated by the use and disposal of your products.

For PPN 06/21 purposes, Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting is the baseline expectation. Scope 3 reporting strengthens a plan and is increasingly being asked for in evaluation criteria, particularly for large contracts.

What This Means for Procurement Teams

If you are responsible for managing a supply chain that includes public sector contracts, you face a practical challenge: how do you collect, verify, and report on the carbon data from your suppliers?

The first step is asking the right questions. A simple yes/no question about whether a supplier has a Carbon Reduction Plan is a start, but it tells you nothing about the quality of that plan. Structured ESG questionnaires that ask for specific data points give you something you can actually assess and compare across suppliers.

The second step is making it easy for suppliers to respond. Many suppliers, particularly smaller ones, have never been asked to report on their emissions. Providing structured input forms that guide them through what to include in each scope significantly improves the quality and completion rate of responses.

The third step is tracking progress over time. A Carbon Reduction Plan is not a one-off submission. It is a commitment to ongoing reduction. Year-on-year tracking lets you see whether suppliers are making progress against their targets or whether the plan is a paper exercise.

Common Gaps in Supplier Carbon Reporting

No baseline year. A plan that states emissions of 500 tonnes CO2e without specifying the year is impossible to track progress against.

Targets without actions. A plan that commits to Net Zero by 2050 but lists no specific reduction measures is a statement of intent, not a plan.

Missing Scope 2 data. Some suppliers report only their direct fuel usage and miss the electricity consumption of their offices, data centres, or other premises.

No publication. PPN 06/21 requires the plan to be published on the supplier's website. A plan that exists as an internal document but is not publicly available does not meet the requirement.

Preparing Your Supply Chain

The procurement teams that handle this well do three things early. They communicate the requirement to their supply chain before it becomes a bid condition. They provide guidance and templates rather than just making demands. And they use structured data collection tools that capture the information in a format that can be reported on and compared across the supplier base.

See how My Supplier List handles ESG and carbon reporting or request a demo to see it in action.