Carbon reporting blog for small businesses
Short, practical answers to the questions small business owners ask about carbon reporting: writing and signing a Carbon Reduction Plan, turning bills, mileage and waste records into emissions, and which numbers to report. Every figure uses the UK government's 2026 conversion factors.
Can you write a Carbon Reduction Plan without a consultant?
What PPN 006 actually requires, what you need to collect, and the few places where outside help is worth paying for.
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The five Scope 3 categories PPN 006 actually asks for
Categories 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 in plain English, with a worked example for a 25-person firm using the 2026 government factors.
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How to publish your Carbon Reduction Plan on your website
Where the plan should live, what the page needs to show, and how to keep the link working when you update it each year.
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Who signs off a Carbon Reduction Plan?
A director, on behalf of the board or equivalent management body, with a date. No auditor or consultant signature is needed.
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How to pick a baseline year when your records are patchy
Choosing a baseline year you can evidence, filling gaps honestly, and when to recalculate it later.
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How to convert gas meter readings to kWh and CO2e
Metric and imperial meters, the volume correction factor, calorific value and the 2026 gas factor, with a worked example.
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Company car and grey fleet emissions: how to calculate them
Litres or miles, which 2026 car factor to use, and why company cars are Scope 1 but employees' own cars are Scope 3.
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Employee commuting emissions without surveying everyone
Survey a sample, scale it up to your headcount, add homeworking, and explain the method in your plan.
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Waste emissions for small businesses: using your waste contractor's data
Tonnes by waste stream and disposal route, the 2026 waste factors, and what to do when you only know the number of bin lifts.
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Location-based vs market-based: does a green tariff cut your footprint?
The two Scope 2 figures, what REGOs do, and which number goes in your Carbon Reduction Plan.
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PPN 006 vs PPN 06/21: what actually changed
The new note side by side with the old one, and the few things to update in a plan written under PPN 06/21.
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Evergreen Level 1: what NHS suppliers need before tender close
The three things Level 1 needs, in plain English, and a checklist to finish before an NHS Supply Chain tender closes.
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What changes for NHS suppliers in April 2027
Global boundaries and all relevant Scope 3 for larger contracts and new frameworks, and what to start gathering now.
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Why your carbon footprint dropped this year (and why it's not your doing)
The 2026 electricity factor fell sharply. A worked example that separates the factor change from your own savings.
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How much does a Carbon Reduction Plan cost in 2026?
Doing it yourself, per-report software, subscriptions and consultants, with published prices and the yearly cost.
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Do small companies need to do SECR?
Almost never. The three SECR tests, the 2025 size change trap, and who asks small firms for the same figures anyway.
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Can I use a Word document for my Carbon Reduction Plan?
Yes. What the plan must contain whatever the format, tips for writing it in Word, and whether to publish a PDF.
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How to answer a customer carbon questionnaire as a small firm
Model answers to the common questions, and what to write when you don't have the figures yet.
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What large customers can and can't reasonably ask of small suppliers
Standard carbon data requests, the ones worth questioning, and how to respond without refusing outright.
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Are UK SMEs required to report carbon emissions? The 2026 answer
What the law requires, where tenders and customers make it a condition of winning work, and what is changing.
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Corporate reporting reform 2026: what it means for SECR
The directors' report is going, a DESNZ review of SECR and ESOS is coming, and today's thresholds still apply.
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UK CBAM starts 1 January 2027: what your customers will ask you
Which goods are covered, who registers at £50,000, the key dates, and what suppliers of steel, aluminium and cement will be asked.
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Is PAS 2060 withdrawn? What ISO 14068 means for carbon neutral claims
PAS 2060 has gone and ISO 14068:2026 replaced it. The dates, what changed, and whether a small business should claim carbon neutral at all.
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Your 2027 carbon calendar: every UK deadline in one place
CBAM, UK SRS, Simpler Recycling, the new NHS rules, ESOS and your own SECR and Carbon Reduction Plan dates, on one page.
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Hotel stays and business travel: how to count them in your footprint
Room nights times the government factor for the country: the 2026 figures, a worked example, and the mistakes to avoid.
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Flights for business: why the radiative forcing uplift matters
What radiative forcing is, how much it adds to the 2026 flight factors, and the 8% distance mistake to avoid.
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Working from home emissions: should a small firm count them?
The 2026 homeworking factor per full-time-equivalent hour, what it covers, a worked example for a hybrid team, and where it sits in Scope 3.
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Refrigerant leaks and air conditioning: the Scope 1 most firms miss
Kilograms topped up times the 2026 factor for the gas, where your F gas records come in, and why one leak can outweigh a year of electricity.
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