Staffing agencies are asked for Carbon Reduction Plans more often than their small direct footprint suggests, because public sector staffing contracts are large in value. The footprint itself is usually straightforward. The judgement is where your organisation ends and your clients' begins.
Who asks for it
- Central government, for temporary and permanent staffing contracts above £5 million a year, under PPN 006.
- The NHS, which asks for a Carbon Reduction Plan on contracts above £5 million a year and a Net Zero Commitment below that.
- Public sector staffing frameworks, which often ask every supplier for a plan whatever the call-off value.
- Large corporate clients, through supplier sustainability questionnaires.
- Your annual report, if the agency is large enough for SECR.
Where agency emissions come from
| Source | Scope | What to collect |
|---|---|---|
| Branch and head office gas heating | Scope 1 | Bills in kWh, or your landlord's apportionment |
| Company cars for consultants and managers | Scope 1 | Fuel cards in litres, or mileage by car size and fuel |
| Minibuses or vans for taking workers to sites, if you run them | Scope 1 | Fuel cards in litres |
| Branch and head office electricity | Scope 2 | Bills in kWh, for every branch |
| Consultants' mileage in their own cars, rail, hotels and flights | Scope 3, category 6 | Mileage claims and expenses |
| Permanent staff commuting and homeworking | Scope 3, category 7 | A staff survey |
| Temporary workers' commuting, if you include it | Scope 3, category 7 | A sample survey, scaled by hours or shifts worked |
| Office waste and confidential shredding | Scope 3, category 5 | Waste and shredding records |
Which government conversion factors apply
Use the DESNZ UK electricity and Fuels factors for branches, Passenger vehicles for company cars and staff mileage, Business travel- land and Business travel- air for trains and flights, Hotel stay, Homeworking for office staff working from home, and Waste disposal for office waste.
Boundary questions and common mistakes
- Changing the temporary worker decision. Adding or removing temporary workers' commuting between years can swing your total more than anything else. Decide in your baseline year and stick to it, or restate the baseline.
- Missing small branches. Include every branch you run, including serviced offices and on-site offices you staff at a client's premises if you pay for them.
- Intensity ratios. Emissions per £ million of fee income or per employee helps a buyer compare agencies of different sizes. Gross billings inflated by temporary payroll can make the ratio look smaller than it is, so say which figure you used.
- Umbrella companies and limited company contractors. Workers paid through another business are not on your payroll. If you include temporary workers at all, be clear which groups are counted.
Reductions buyers recognise
- Video interviews and registration, cutting consultant and candidate travel;
- electric or hybrid company cars, with a salary sacrifice scheme for staff;
- consolidating branches and moving to energy-efficient offices;
- a renewable electricity tariff across branches;
- placing temporary workers closer to home where the role allows it.
How Carbon Recycling handles it
Add each branch as a site, import bills and mileage claims from a spreadsheet, and record staff commuting and homeworking from your survey results. Carbon Recycling applies the matching DESNZ factor to every line and produces your PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan and, if you need one, your SECR report, with room in the baseline notes to explain who is included in commuting.
Check SECR with the SECR checker, download the free Carbon Reduction Plan template, or see prices.