Net zero consultancy: work and rules

A net zero consultant helps an organisation measure its baseline emissions, set reduction targets, design a pathway of actions, write a transition plan with owners, dates and costs, and support delivery.

The measurement step is the same as a carbon footprint; what is added is the forward-looking plan.

No. The Climate Change Act 2008 puts the 2050 net zero target on the Secretary of State, not on companies.

No UK company is under a legal duty to have or publish a transition plan.

Listed companies in scope of the FCA’s rules must say whether they have published one, and government contracts above £5 million a year ask bidders to commit to net zero by 2050.

No. Section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008 still requires the Secretary of State to ensure the net UK carbon account for 2050 is at least 100% lower than the 1990 baseline, and the seventh carbon budget was set in 2026.

They need to say whether they have one.

Under PS26/19, companies in UKLR 6, 16 and 22 state in the annual financial report whether they have published a climate-related transition plan and where, or why not.

There is no duty to have one, and UKLR 14 and 15 companies do not make the statement.

No. Targets are validated by SBTi Services, which says it does not offer consultation services.

A consultant can help prepare the inventory and the targets for submission.

Version 1.3.1 of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard governs today.

V2.0 was published on 11 June 2026 and takes effect on 1 February 2027; companies may submit under either from the first quarter of 2027 until 31 January 2028.

Not towards reported emissions, which stay gross under UK SRS S2 and SECR.

Under UK SRS S2 a company with a net target discloses its planned use of credits.

Under SBTi V2.0, market instruments are accounted for separately from the inventory.

Net zero is a long-term target to reduce emissions deeply and address the residual.

Carbon neutrality is a claim, under ISO 14068:2026 since ISO 14068-1:2023 was withdrawn on 11 September 2026, that puts reductions within the value chain ahead of offsetting.

PAS 2060 is withdrawn.

No firm in the directory publishes a price, and this site does not estimate one.

Ask each shortlisted firm for a written scope by stage, with days by grade, and price the baseline separately from the strategy work.

This site recommends none and has assessed none.

The directory lists firms alphabetically from their own descriptions; use the questions on this page to compare their proposals.

The strategy stages of the work: targets against a stated baseline, a pathway of sized actions and a transition plan with owners, dates and costs.

Ask for the baseline to be scoped and priced separately, because it has an objective standard behind it and the strategy does not.

The phrases describe the same market.

Decarbonisation consultancy usually puts more weight on delivery: energy efficiency, heat, electrification, fleet and renewable power.

If the driver is ESOS, the work is an energy assessment reviewed by a lead assessor on an approved register.

ESOS opportunities often feed the pathway stage of a net zero plan, but the assessment itself is a separate, regulated piece of work.

Commission it from an adviser who did not prepare the plan, and give them the baseline, targets and costed actions.

If the review covers the emissions figures themselves, verification to ISO 14064-3 by a body accredited under ISO 14065 is the recognised route.

Software produces and tracks the numbers.

Choosing the boundary, the targets and the actions is judgement.

Many organisations use a consultant to set up the baseline and plan, then software to run the annual tracking.