Professional firms have small direct footprints but are asked about them often: on government panels and frameworks, by public sector clients and by corporate clients whose own climate targets cover the services they buy. A clear, well-documented footprint is usually enough to answer them all.
Who asks for it
- Central government and the NHS, for advisory, audit, legal and consultancy contracts above £5 million a year.
- Public sector frameworks and panels, many of which ask every supplier for a Carbon Reduction Plan whatever the call-off value.
- Corporate clients, especially banks and listed companies, through supplier sustainability questionnaires such as the CDP supply chain programme or EcoVadis.
- Your annual report, if the firm is a quoted company or a large company or LLP under SECR.
Where professional services emissions come from
| Source | Scope | What to collect |
|---|---|---|
| Office gas heating | Scope 1 | Bills in kWh, or your landlord's apportionment |
| Office air conditioning leaks, if you are responsible for the units | Scope 1 | Service records: gas type and kilograms topped up |
| Company cars | Scope 1 | Fuel cards in litres, or mileage by car size and fuel |
| Office electricity | Scope 2 | Bills in kWh, or your share of the building's use |
| Flights, rail, taxis and hotels | Scope 3, category 6 | Travel agency reports and expenses, with origins, destinations and class |
| Staff driving their own cars for work | Scope 3, category 6 | Mileage claims |
| Commuting and homeworking | Scope 3, category 7 | A staff survey: office days, home days and how people travel |
| Office waste, confidential paper shredding and old IT | Scope 3, category 5 | Waste, shredding and WEEE recycling records |
| Couriers and document deliveries you pay for | Scope 3, category 4 | Courier data, if material |
Which government conversion factors apply
Most of the work is in the DESNZ Business travel- air factors (by haul and cabin class), Business travel- land for rail and taxis, Hotel stay by country, and Passenger vehicles for cars. Homeworking gives a factor per hour worked from home. Office energy uses UK electricity and Fuels, and waste uses Waste disposal.
Boundary questions and common mistakes
- Flights without cabin class. Business and first class seats take more space and carry a higher factor. Ask your travel agent for class in its reports.
- Grey fleet left out. Mileage claims for staff using their own cars are business travel. They are easy to miss because they sit in payroll, not travel bookings.
- Several offices, one footprint. Include every office the firm runs, including small regional ones and serviced offices where you can get a share of the energy.
- Group structures. For firms in an international network, a PPN 006 plan covers the UK bidding entity's operations. Be clear which entities and offices are included.
Reductions buyers recognise
- A travel policy that prefers rail to domestic and short-haul flights, and economy for shorter flights;
- video meetings in place of some client visits;
- a renewable electricity tariff, or moving to an office with one;
- electric or hybrid company cars, with workplace charging;
- reusing and recycling laptops and phones.
How Carbon Recycling handles it
Import mileage claims and office bills from a spreadsheet, and enter flights by airport code: Carbon Recycling works out the distance, applies the DESNZ factor for the haul and cabin class, includes radiative forcing by default (you can turn it off), and includes the homeworking factor for hybrid teams. The same figures produce your PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan and, for large companies and LLPs, the SECR disclosure.
Check whether you need SECR with the SECR checker, download the free Carbon Reduction Plan template, or see prices.