The figure the requirement is usually quoted around is £5 million: a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan is a prerequisite for bidding on UK government contracts over that value. That is the number to plan against if you are deciding whether this will reach you.
But the threshold for any particular procurement is the buyer's to set, and it is stated in the contract notice. Contracts above defined thresholds reference the policy note's requirements and expect a publicly accessible plan; what those thresholds are, and which policy note version applies, varies between departments and across the wider public sector. Checking the notice takes a minute and is the only way to be certain.
Two things make the threshold less decisive than it looks. Buyers below it increasingly ask for the same document voluntarily, because it is a useful way to compare suppliers. And private-sector buyers ask for it with no policy note at all, as part of their own scope 3 reporting. In practice the question is less often whether you are above a threshold than when someone will ask.
Failing to provide a compliant plan when one is required can materially damage bid competitiveness, and a plan cannot be produced credibly at short notice: it needs a measured baseline behind it.
Last reviewed: September 2026