Why publishing matters
A PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan is meant to be public. Buyers don't just read the copy you attach to a bid: they can expect to find the same plan on your website, and an evaluator who can't find it, or finds a different version, has a reason to mark you down. "Not published where the buyer can see it" is one of the common reasons plans fail, listed in our PPN 006 guide. The good news is that publishing is the easiest part of the whole job.
Where to put it
- On your UK website. If your group has several sites, use the one for the business that is bidding.
- On a page that is easy to find. A sustainability, environment or about page works well. Add a link from your website footer so it is one click from any page, including the home page.
- At a web address that won't change. Something like
/carbon-reduction-planis ideal. You will paste this link into bids for years, so don't put the year or a version number in it. - Not behind a login, form or cookie wall. Anyone should be able to open it.
Web page or PDF?
Either works, and many businesses do both: a short web page that introduces the plan, with the full signed plan as a PDF download. That approach has three advantages. The page address stays the same when you replace the PDF each year. You can put the key figures in text on the page, which search engines and buyers can read without opening a file. And the page is a natural home for previous years' plans.
What the page should show
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| The full plan, in the government template's order | Evaluators check each section in turn |
| Your company name, as it appears in the bid | So the buyer knows it is the right legal entity |
| The date of board approval | This is the plan's publication date and shows it is current |
| The signing director's name and position | Part of the declaration PPN 006 requires |
| The baseline year and the current reporting year | So readers can see the period each figure covers |
| Links to previous years' plans | Shows progress against your baseline |
A one-paragraph summary at the top helps too: your net zero year, your total emissions for the current year and your main reduction projects. Keep it consistent with the plan itself.
Keeping it up to date
The technical standard asks for the plan to be reviewed and updated at least once a year, within six months of the end of your financial year, with new board approval. In practice that means:
| Financial year ends | Updated plan published by |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | 30 June 2026 |
| 31 March 2026 | 30 September 2026 |
| 30 June 2026 | 31 December 2026 |
Put a reminder in the diary a couple of months before the deadline, because you will need the year's bills, a fresh commuting survey and a board meeting. When the new plan is approved, replace the current version on the page, move the old one to the previous plans list, and check the link from your footer still works.
A quick checklist before you publish
- The plan has a director's name, position and the approval date.
- All five Scope 3 categories have a figure or a reason they don't apply.
- The page opens without logging in, on a phone as well as a computer.
- The link in your footer works, and so does the one you will paste into bids.
- The figures on the page match the plan, and the plan matches the copy in your bid.
If you are not sure who should sign, read who signs off a Carbon Reduction Plan.
How Carbon Recycling helps
Carbon Recycling produces your plan in the government's format, uses the approval date as the publication date, and keeps it marked as a draft until the board approval and signing director are recorded. Every report can be saved as a PDF for your website, and when you add next year's data the updated plan is ready to approve. If you would rather start from a blank document, our free Carbon Reduction Plan template follows the same structure.