Carbon management · cited
Carbon management plan: measures, owners, tonnes
A carbon management plan is a list of measures, each with an owner, a date, a cost and the emissions it should remove.
This page sets out how to build one and which UK rules ask for a plan, cited to the provision.
How to manage carbon emissions
Five steps, from inventory to result
Start from an inventory built to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard; a plan built on a weak inventory manages the wrong number.
| Step | What you record |
|---|---|
| 1 · Target | Scopes, gases, base year, gross or net |
| 2 · Measures | Each tied to the sources and sites it would change |
| 3 · Cost and size | Capital and running cost, and expected tonnes avoided |
| 4 · Owner and date | Who delivers it and the year the saving should appear |
| 5 · Plan against actual | The saving delivered, read from the next inventory |
A marginal abatement view orders measures by cost per tonne avoided. It is a planning technique, and no UK rule requires one.
Who asks for a plan
Four instruments, four forms of plan
| Instrument | Status | The plan it asks for |
|---|---|---|
| UK SRS S2 ¶14(a)(v), ¶14(c) | Voluntary; comply or explain for listed companies in scope of PS26/19 | How targets will be achieved, and progress on plans disclosed before |
| PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan | Procurement policy; a condition of bidding above £5m a year | Targets and carbon reduction projects, signed off by the board |
| ESOS action plan (Part 6A) | In force for ESOS participants | Energy-saving measures, then three progress updates |
| SECR Sch 7 ¶15(3D), ¶20D(4) | In force for SECR companies | A description of principal efficiency measures already taken |
A PPN 006 plan is reviewed within six months of the financial year end; the position is on carbon reduction plans under PPN 006.
For ESOS Phase 4 the action plan is due by 5 December 2028, with progress updates by 5 December 2029, 2030 and 2031, per the Environment Agency’s Phase 4 guidance; the detail is on ESOS action plan.
DESNZ’s 2026 review describes SECR as backward-looking, with no forward targets or transition plans.
In software
Plan against actual, without retyping
Software holds the plan well when each measure keeps its owner, date, cost and expected tonnes, then its actual result a year later.
The demonstration to ask a vendor for is on carbon management software; the price used to rank measures is on internal carbon price.
Nothing here is a rating or recommendation of any product.
Frequently asked
Carbon management plan, answered
What is a carbon management plan?
A list of reduction measures, each with an owner, a date, a cost and the emissions it should remove, tracked against a measured inventory.
No UK rule defines the term; UK SRS S2, PPN 006, ESOS and SECR each ask for a plan or its parts in their own form.
How do you manage carbon emissions?
Measure the inventory to the GHG Protocol, set targets from a base year, list measures with owners, dates, costs and expected tonnes, then compare each measure’s result with its plan from next year’s inventory.
Restate the base year when the organisation changes shape.
Is a carbon management plan a legal requirement in the UK?
Not as such.
UK SRS S2 asks how an entity plans to achieve its targets (¶14(a)(v)); a Carbon Reduction Plan is a condition of bidding for in-scope central government contracts above £5 million a year under PPN 006; an ESOS action plan is required of ESOS participants; SECR asks only for the principal energy-efficiency measures taken.
What is a marginal abatement cost curve?
A view that orders reduction measures by cost per tonne avoided, cheapest first. It is a planning technique, and no UK rule requires one.
When is the ESOS Phase 4 action plan due?
By 5 December 2028, with progress updates by 5 December 2029, 2030 and 2031, according to the Environment Agency.
There is no penalty for a missing action plan or update, but the failure is published.
Sources
Primary sources
Every requirement on this page traces to the provision listed here.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (PDF), ¶14(a)(v) and ¶14(c)
How targets will be achieved, and progress on plans disclosed before.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 006 Technical Standard for completion of Carbon Reduction Plans
Targets and carbon reduction projects; review within six months of the financial year end.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, Part 6A — ESOS action plans and progress updates
The ESOS reduction-plan duty.
- Environment AgencyHow to comply with ESOS Phase 4
Action plan by 5 December 2028; progress updates 2029 to 2031.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7, ¶20D(4)
The SECR description of principal energy-efficiency measures.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero2026 post-implementation review of the SECR regulations
SECR is backward-looking, with no forward targets or transition plans.
- GHG Protocol (WRI, WBCSD)A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
The inventory every plan is measured against.