Fill in as much or as little as you like. The answers update as you type, and each one has its own copy button. Nothing leaves your browser, and we don't ask for your name or email.
1. About you
Leave blank to write "We"
A role, not a name
2. Your figures
Leave anything you don't know blank. It stays as a [placeholder] in the answers.
Gas, heating oil, fuel in your own vehicles
Electricity, at the grid average
Only if you're on a renewable tariff
Total of the categories ticked below
Average headcount in the period
For the same period
3. Targets and plan
For example 50
For example 2030
4. What you've done
For the share-of-emissions answer
42 gaps left in [square brackets] to fill in yourself.
1. Do you measure your greenhouse gas emissions?
Yes. We measure Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, following the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and using the UK government conversion factors for [year]. Our latest figures cover [period, such as April 2025 to March 2026].
2. What are your Scope 1 emissions?
[x] tCO2e for [period, such as April 2025 to March 2026]. This covers fuel we burn in our own buildings and vehicles[, and refrigerant leaks from air conditioning].
3. What are your Scope 2 emissions?
[y] tCO2e (location-based) for [period, such as April 2025 to March 2026], from the electricity we buy.
4. What are your Scope 3 emissions, and which categories do you measure?
We have not yet measured our Scope 3 emissions. We plan to measure upstream transport and distribution, waste, business travel, employee commuting and downstream transport and distribution for [period], and will share them by [date].
5. What methodology do you use?
The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, with the UK government conversion factors for [year] published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Activity data comes from [energy bills, meter readings, fuel and mileage records, travel bookings and our waste contractor's reports].
6. Are your emissions independently verified?
No. Our figures are calculated in-house from our own records using the method above, and approved by [role, such as our Managing Director]. We keep the underlying data and can share it on request.
7. What is your total footprint and emissions intensity?
Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) totalled [x] tCO2e for [period, such as April 2025 to March 2026]: [x] tCO2e per employee and [x] tCO2e per £1 million of turnover.
8. What is your baseline year, and how have your emissions changed since?
Our baseline year is [year]. [If this is your first year of measuring: "This is our first full year of measurement, so it is our baseline. We will report progress against it each year."]
9. Do you have a net zero target?
We are committed to reaching net zero by [2050 at the latest].
10. Do you have an interim reduction target?
Yes. We aim to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by [x]% from our [baseline year] baseline by [year]. [If you have no interim target yet: "We will set one once our baseline year is complete, by [date]."]
11. Are your targets science-based or validated by the SBTi?
Our targets have not been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). They are our own targets, set out in our Carbon Reduction Plan.
12. Do you have a Carbon Reduction Plan?
Yes. Our Carbon Reduction Plan follows the PPN 006 format, was approved by [role, such as our Managing Director] on [date] and is published at [web address]. [If not yet: "We are preparing a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan and will publish it by [date]."]
13. Who in your organisation is responsible for climate and the environment?
[Role, such as our Managing Director] is responsible for our carbon reporting and reduction plan, and reviews progress with the board [every year / every quarter].
14. Do you have an environmental policy?
We do not yet have a formal environmental policy. We are writing one and will have it approved by our directors by [date].
15. Are you certified to ISO 14001 or another environmental management standard?
No. We are not certified to ISO 14001. We manage our environmental impact through our environmental policy and Carbon Reduction Plan, which our directors review each year.
16. What have you done to reduce your emissions in the last 12 months?
In [period] we [replaced office lighting with LEDs / moved two vans to electric / introduced a cycle-to-work scheme]. [Add dates and, where you know it, the saving in kWh or tCO2e.]
17. What will you do next to reduce emissions?
Next, we plan to [action, such as replace our gas boiler with a heat pump] by [date], which we expect to cut our emissions by about [x] tCO2e a year.
18. Do you use renewable electricity?
[Yes / No]. Our electricity is supplied by [supplier] on a [renewable / standard] tariff.
19. Do you use carbon offsets?
No. Our figures are our actual emissions, and our plan focuses on cutting them rather than offsetting.
20. What emissions are associated with the goods or services you supply to us?
Allocated by revenue, your account is about [x] tCO2e of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions for [period, such as April 2025 to March 2026]: your spend with us is [x]% of our turnover, so we apply that share to our total. This is an estimate based on revenue share, not a measurement of the work we do for you.
How to use the answers
- Fill the gaps. Anything in [square brackets] is a fact only you know, such as a date, a web address or a supplier's name. Replace it, or delete the sentence if it doesn't apply.
- Match the question. Portals word things differently. Paste the answer that fits and trim anything the question didn't ask for.
- Keep one answer sheet. Save the full set in one document and copy from it for every customer, so nobody gets different figures for the same year.
- Update it once a year, when your new footprint is ready, and change the period and factor year at the same time.
What buyers look for in your answers
| They check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A period and a factor year next to every figure | A total with no dates or method can't be compared or added to their own Scope 3. |
| Location-based Scope 2, even on a green tariff | The GHG Protocol asks for both figures, and a market-based figure alone can hide your real electricity use. |
| The five Scope 3 categories in a PPN 006 plan | Upstream transport, waste, business travel, commuting and downstream transport are what government buyers expect. Our post on PPN 006 Scope 3 categories explains each one. |
| Real actions with dates | "We take sustainability seriously" scores nothing. "We moved two vans to electric in March 2026" does. |
| No offsets counted as reductions | Report actual emissions and describe any offsets separately. |
| Claims you can back up | Only say "verified", "certified" or "science-based" if a third party has actually done it. |
Don't have the figures yet?
A year of gas and electricity bills and vehicle fuel is enough for a first Scope 1 and 2 footprint. Our kWh to CO2e calculator turns them into tonnes in a few minutes, and our guide to calculating a business carbon footprint covers the rest. For wording when you can't answer a question yet, see how to answer a customer's carbon questionnaire, and for what a customer can fairly ask of a small supplier, see our guide to what to send when a customer asks for your carbon data.
How Carbon Recycling helps
Carbon Recycling works out your footprint from your bills and records with the government conversion factors, then produces your Carbon Reduction Plan and SECR figures from the same data. Every questionnaire gets the same numbers, with the factor year and method alongside, and next year's figures are one update away.