Manned guarding, mobile patrol, and alarm and CCTV installation businesses work across hundreds of client sites. As with facilities management, the boundary matters most: you report the vehicles you run and the buildings you control, not the client buildings you guard or the systems you install.
Who asks for it
- Central government and the NHS, on guarding and security systems contracts above £5 million a year, under PPN 006 and the NHS supplier rules.
- Public sector frameworks, which often ask every supplier for a Carbon Reduction Plan whatever the call-off value.
- Facilities management companies and large corporate clients, which pass carbon questions down to security subcontractors.
- Your annual report, if you are large enough for SECR. Guarding firms often pass the 250-employee test, so check the turnover and balance sheet tests too.
Where security emissions come from
| Source | Scope | What to collect |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile patrol, response and supervisor vehicles | Scope 1 | Fuel cards in litres, or mileage by vehicle |
| Installer and engineer vans | Scope 1 | Fuel cards in litres, or mileage by van class |
| Generators for welfare cabins or temporary towers you supply | Scope 1 | Fuel deliveries in litres |
| Offices, control rooms and alarm receiving centres you run | Scope 1 and 2 | Gas and electricity bills in kWh; these sites run all day and night |
| Air conditioning for control rooms and server rooms | Scope 1 | Refrigerant top-ups from service records |
| Officers using their own cars during shifts | Scope 3, category 6 | Mileage claims |
| Officers getting to their rostered site | Scope 3, category 7 | A commuting survey, scaled to headcount and shifts |
| Packaging and old equipment from installations | Scope 3, category 5 | Waste and WEEE recycling records |
| Deliveries of equipment you pay a carrier for | Scope 3, category 4 | Supplier delivery data, or weight and distance |
Which government conversion factors apply
Most of the work is in the DESNZ Passenger vehicles and Delivery vehicles factors, or Fuels if you have litres from fuel cards. Offices and monitoring centres use UK electricity and Fuels, leaks use Refrigerant & other, and installation waste uses Waste disposal, including the electrical equipment rows for old panels and cameras.
Boundary questions and common mistakes
- Mixing up commuting and patrol miles. Keep rostered-site commuting separate from miles driven during a shift. They go in different places in the plan.
- Subcontracted guarding. Officers supplied by another security company are that company's footprint; the cost to you is purchased services, category 1, which a PPN 006 plan does not require.
- Electric vehicles charged at home. Charging that staff claim back is still your vehicle's energy. Use the DESNZ electric vehicle factors by mileage if you have no kWh.
- Fuel cards shared between vehicles. Make sure every card is tied to a vehicle type, so diesel vans, petrol cars and hybrids get the right factor.
Reductions buyers recognise
- Electric or hybrid patrol cars and installer vans, with charging at your offices;
- route planning and telematics for mobile patrols and engineers;
- remote monitoring and remote fault-finding that avoid site visits;
- battery or solar welfare units and towers instead of diesel generators;
- a renewable electricity tariff for control rooms and offices.
How Carbon Recycling handles it
Import fuel card exports and mileage claims from a spreadsheet, record vehicles by type and fuel, and add each office or control room as a site. Carbon Recycling applies the matching DESNZ factor to every line, and produces your PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan and, if you need one, the SECR report from the same figures.
Check SECR with the SECR checker, download the free Carbon Reduction Plan template, or see prices.