Carbon Reduction Plan template

Word document, 6 sections. No sign-up needed.

Download the template

What's in the template

  1. Commitment to achieving net zero. One sentence with your net zero year, which must be 2050 or earlier.
  2. Baseline emissions footprint. The year you measure progress against, with a table for Scope 1, Scope 2 and the five Scope 3 categories, and space to explain any estimates.
  3. Current emissions reporting. The same table for your most recent full year.
  4. Emissions reduction targets. Your target, and where you expect emissions to be in five years.
  5. Carbon reduction projects. What you have already done since the baseline, and what you plan next.
  6. Declaration and sign-off. The standard wording, with the director's name, position and date.

How to fill it in

1. Pick your baseline year

Use the earliest full year you have reliable records for, ideally your last financial year. If you have never measured before, your baseline and current year can be the same year.

2. Gather a year of data

For each year you report, collect:

  • electricity and gas bills, in kWh, for every site you control;
  • fuel for company vehicles, in litres, or mileage by vehicle type;
  • refrigerant top-ups for air conditioning or chillers, from your service records;
  • business travel: flights, rail, hire cars, taxis, hotels and staff mileage claims;
  • how your staff get to work, from a short survey, and how many days they work from home;
  • waste collected, by type and how it was treated, from your waste contractor;
  • deliveries you pay for, in and out, by weight and distance.

3. Convert to tonnes of CO2e

Multiply each amount by the matching UK government conversion factor for that year, then add up each scope. Our freekWh to CO2e calculator does this for energy and fuel. For the full plan, every row in the table needs a figure, even if it is zero.

4. Set a target and list your projects

A common choice is a percentage cut from the baseline by a year five or more years out, on a straight line to net zero. List real projects with the year you did them: a renewable tariff, LED lighting, electric vans, a cycle-to-work scheme.

5. Get it signed and publish it

A director signs on behalf of the board, and the plan goes on your website where buyers can find it. Update it at least once a year, within six months of the end of your financial year.

Want it filled in for you?

Carbon Recycling produces this plan from your bills, with the right government factor for each year applied to every line, and keeps it marked as a draft until a director has signed it off. Read our complete guide to PPN 006 for the rules in full.