Can I use a Word document for my Carbon Reduction Plan?

Yes, you can write your Carbon Reduction Plan in Word. PPN 006 cares about what the plan contains, not the file format: the government template's six sections, Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories, a net zero commitment by 2050 and a director's signed declaration. Write it in whatever you're comfortable with, then publish it on your website, usually as a PDF.

Updated 6 October 2026 by the Carbon Recycling team. Figures use the official UK government conversion factors and are checked against the current gov.uk guidance.

Content matters, not format

The government publishes a Carbon Reduction Plan template alongside PPN 006, and plenty of people assume that means they have to fill in that exact file. They don't. The technical standard describes what a plan must contain and how the figures are calculated. An evaluator reads your plan for those things. They don't check which program you typed it in.

So if the government's file is awkward to open on your computer, or you just prefer Word, use Word. Our free Carbon Reduction Plan template is a Word document that follows the government's structure and wording, with notes on each section.

What has to be in it, whatever the format

Keep the government template's six sections, in the same order. Evaluators expect that order and score faster when they find things where they look:

Commitment to achieving net zero, by 2050 at the latest.
Baseline emissions footprint, for a year you choose and explain.
Current emissions reporting, for your most recent full year.
Emissions reduction targets.
Carbon reduction projects, done and planned.
Declaration and sign-off, approved by the board or equivalent and signed by a director, with the date.

The emissions tables need a row for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 categories 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9, each in tonnes of CO2e, calculated with the UK government conversion factors. If a category doesn't apply to you, show zero and say why rather than deleting the row.

Tips for a plan written in Word

Use real tables for the emissions figures, not tabs and spaces. They survive conversion to PDF and stay readable on a phone.
Use Word's heading styles for the six section titles, so the PDF has proper headings and a reader can jump between them.
Put the reporting periods in the table headings, for example "Baseline year: April 2024 to March 2025", so nobody has to guess.
Say which factor year you used, in a note under each table.
Include the director's name, position and the date of approval in the declaration. See who signs off a Carbon Reduction Plan.
Turn off tracked changes and delete comments before you save the final version.

Publishing it: Word or PDF?

The plan has to be published on your website. You can link a Word file, but most businesses publish a PDF: it looks the same on every device, it opens in a browser without extra software, and nobody can change it by accident. Keep the Word file as your working copy, because you will update it every year, within six months of the end of your financial year.

Whichever format you publish, keep the link stable so the address you give in a bid still works next year. Our post on how to publish your plan covers where it should live and what the page should show.

Other buyers, same answer

The NHS accepts any current plan written to the PPN 006 standard, and councils and large companies that ask for a PPN 006-style plan care about the same content. If a tender asks you to upload the plan to a portal, check which file types it accepts; PDF is the usual safe choice.

The format is the easy part

Getting the template into the right program takes minutes. The real work is the numbers inside it: a year of bills, fuel, travel, commuting, waste and delivery records, converted to CO2e. Our post on writing a Carbon Reduction Plan without a consultant walks through it, and the complete PPN 006 guide covers what evaluators look for.

How Carbon Recycling helps

If you'd rather not fill in a template at all, Carbon Recycling produces the plan in the government format from your bills and records, with the right factor applied for each year. It stays marked as a draft until a director's sign-off is recorded, and you save the finished plan as a PDF to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Can I write my Carbon Reduction Plan in Word?

Yes. PPN 006 sets out what a plan must contain, not which program you write it in. A plan in Word, Google Docs or any other editor is fine as long as it follows the government template's sections and is signed and published.

Should I publish the plan as a Word document or a PDF?

Most businesses publish a PDF, because it looks the same on every device and can't be edited by accident. Keep the Word version for next year's update.

Do I have to use the government's wording exactly?

Keep the government template's section order and headings, and the declaration that the plan follows PPN 006 and its technical standard. The rest is your own words about your business.

Can I add my logo and brand colours?

Yes. Branding is fine. Just don't let design get in the way of the content: the emissions tables, the net zero year and the signed declaration should be easy to find.

Is the free Carbon Recycling template the official one?

It follows the structure and wording of the template published with PPN 006, in Word format, with notes on filling in each section.

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