Net zero consultancy · UK
Net zero consultancy: what a consultant actually delivers
Net zero consultancy sells a strategy, but it is bought as six deliverables: a baseline, a target, a plan, a Carbon Reduction Plan, a credits policy and a claims check.
Almost none of them is required by UK law: the national target in the Climate Change Act 2008 binds the Secretary of State, not companies.
What is required is honesty about them — in disclosures, in bids and in marketing — and this page shows where each rule bites.
What you are buying
Six deliverables, and which rule asks for each
Ask any net zero carbon consultancy which of these it will produce, to what standard, and in what order.
| Deliverable | What it is | Which rule asks for it |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | A Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory for a base year, to the GHG Protocol | None directly; SECR, UK SRS S2 and PPN 006 all need the underlying figures |
| Target | A near-term and long-term reduction target, often validated by the SBTi | None; UK SRS S2 asks you to describe targets you have |
| Transition plan | How the organisation will move to a lower-carbon economy: targets, actions, resources | None; the FCA asks listed companies whether one exists and where |
| Carbon Reduction Plan | The published PPN 006 template | In-scope central government bids above £5m a year |
| Credits policy | Whether, when and which carbon credits will be used | UK SRS S2 ¶36(e), only if you have a net emissions target |
| Claims check | Whether “net zero” or “carbon neutral” can be said, and how | Consumer protection law and the CAP Code |
The compliance end — which statutory regimes catch you — sits with carbon compliance consultancy, and its deliverables with carbon compliance services.
The two share one inventory, which is why they are so often bought from the same firm.
Baseline and target
The target standard to use in 2026 is not the newest one
Every net zero engagement starts with a baseline: the Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory for a chosen base year, drawn to a documented boundary.
How the three scopes are drawn is explained in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and the value-chain end in Scope 3 emissions reporting.
Most targets are then validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, whose new net-zero standard was published on 11 June 2026.
Version 2.0 takes effect from 1 February 2027, and the SBTi’s transition guide keeps version 1.3.1 open for submissions until 31 January 2028.
So a company setting or renewing a target in 2026 builds it to version 1.3.1, and a company with a validated target does not need a new one.
The SBTi publishes its own validation fees: for UK-registered SMEs, £933 or £1,493 for a near-term target excluding VAT, by turnover tier; corporate fees start at $13,000.
Those are the validator’s fees, and an adviser’s time is on top.
The criteria themselves, and how a UK company qualifies for the SME route, are covered in science-based targets.
SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard
- 11 Jun 2026Version 2.0 published
- NowSubmit against V1.3.1
Near-term criteria V5.3.1 apply.
- 1 Feb 2027V2.0 validations open
- 31 Jan 2028Last day for V1.3.1 submissions
Source: SBTi V2.0 transition guide and announcement
Transition plans
No duty to have a plan — a duty to be clear about it
No UK entity is under any legal duty to have, implement or publish a climate transition plan.
The government’s transition plan consultation closed on 17 September 2025 and no outcome has been published.
UK SRS S2 asks an entity to describe any transition plan it has, including its key assumptions and dependencies — a duty about a plan that exists, not a duty to write one.
The FCA’s final rules for listed companies, published on 30 September 2026, ask whether a plan exists and where; the FCA says it is not requiring listed companies to produce one.
The Transition Plan Taskforce no longer exists, and its framework is archived guidance hosted by the IFRS Foundation.
The IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 pathway, updated each year since 2021, and the carbon budget advice of the Climate Change Committee are the reference points most plans use.
The national picture those plans sit inside is the government’s 2021 Net Zero Strategy.
More: transition plans in the UK.
Under the FCA’s final rules, a listed company says in its annual report whether it has a climate transition plan and where it can be found.
A UKLR 6 company without a published plan says why not.
Nothing requires it to have one.
Carbon Reduction Plans
The one net zero document a customer can require
A Carbon Reduction Plan is where net zero stops being optional for many suppliers.
PPN 006 asks bidders for in-scope central government contracts worth more than £5m a year to publish one, following the Technical Standard, and to update it within six months of each financial year end.
It is procurement policy rather than a legal duty on companies, and it applies only where an in-scope authority has used it in a specific procurement.
Anyone searching for carbon reduction plan consultancy should read carbon reduction plans for public-sector bids first: for a small footprint, the template is often manageable in-house.
| Template heading | Content |
|---|---|
| Commitment | Net zero by 2050 in the UK |
| Baseline | Base-year footprint; first reporting year if none exists |
| Current emissions | Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories |
| Targets | Emissions reduction targets |
| Projects | Carbon reduction projects completed or planned |
| Declaration | Signed off by the board of directors or equivalent |
Carbon reduction consultancy
Reductions come from energy, fleet and suppliers
Carbon reduction consultancy is the part of net zero work that changes the number rather than describing it.
For large UK organisations the most common starting point is already paid for: the ESOS audit, which the scheme’s 2025 review found identified 47 TWh a year of potential savings in Phase 3, against 900 TWh consumed.
How that audit works, and the action plan that now follows it, is on the ESOS Phase 4 page.
Beyond energy efficiency the levers are electrification of heat and fleet, procurement of lower-carbon inputs, and supplier engagement on the largest Scope 3 categories.
For some companies those tonnes already carry a price: installations in the UK emissions trading scheme surrender allowances for what they emit, and importers of aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel pay UK CBAM on the emissions embodied in those goods from 1 January 2027.
A ghg emission reduction consultant should be able to put an estimated tonnage and a payback against each measure, and say which of them the baseline can actually show.
Measures that only change a contractual instrument — a green tariff, for example — change market-based Scope 2 but not the location-based figure UK SRS S2 requires.
Where offsets fit
Carbon offsets never reduce the reported number
Carbon offset consultants and carbon offsetting consultancy are the most searched part of this subject, and the rule that governs them is simple.
UK SRS S2 requires absolute gross emissions, so credits are never deducted from the reported figure.
A company with a net emissions target discloses its planned use of credits separately: how far the target relies on them, which scheme verifies them, and what kind of credit they are.
The government’s voluntary market integrity principles put credits after ambitious value-chain action; they are guidance, and the formal government response to the 2025 consultation is still awaited.
The ICVCM’s CCP label approves methodologies, 44 of them as at 12 August 2026, and says nothing about how a given credit performs.
The VCMI Claims Code governs what a company may claim for credits it buys, and its highest tier is not a carbon neutral claim.
An offset adviser who also sells credits has an interest in the answer, so ask.
How a net zero plan and the statutory regimes share one inventory is shown on the carbon compliance consultancy map.
Four labels, four different things
| Label | What it certifies |
|---|---|
| ICVCM CCP-Approved | A methodology and version — not a credit’s performance |
| VCMI Silver, Gold, Platinum | A company’s claim, after its own reductions |
| Crediting programme | Issuance and registry of the credit |
| Rating agency grade | A private opinion with no legal effect |
Claims
Carbon neutral claims after PAS 2060 and ISO 14068-1
Carbon neutral consultancy has lost both of the standards it used to sell.
PAS 2060 left the accreditation schedule at the end of 2025, and its named successor, ISO 14068-1:2023, was withdrawn on 11 September 2026 and replaced by ISO 14068:2026.
The detail is in PAS 2060 carbon neutrality and ISO 14068 carbon neutrality.
The law that governs a claim is general: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits misleading practices, and the ASA applies CAP Code section 11.
The ASA treats an unqualified “carbon neutral” or “net zero” claim as misleading, so the basis — including reliance on offsetting — must be stated in the ad itself.
Certification schemes differ: the Carbon Trust’s Route to Net Zero Standard, for example, sets out its own tiers and requirements, and only its top tier is 1.5°C-aligned.
Choosing
How to choose a net zero strategy consultant
Deliverables first
Ask for the six deliverables above as separate line items, each with the standard it will be built to.
Standard and version
For targets in 2026 the answer is SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1.3.1; an adviser selling “V2.0 validation” now is early.
Credits and interest
Ask whether the firm sells, brokers or earns commission on credits, equipment or software it may recommend.
Claims
Ask what the organisation will be able to say at the end, and on what basis the ASA would accept it.
Data ownership
The baseline model should be yours, in a format another firm can reopen.
The second year
Ask what the refresh costs and what makes it cheaper.
No price appears here for an adviser’s work, because none is published by any regulator; the SBTi’s own fees, above, are the only published figures in the chain.
Another independent guide covers the same choice from a different angle: uksrs.org.uk on choosing a net zero consultant, including what net zero consultants are asked to deliver.
The UN Race to Zero campaign is a pledge network, not a validation or certification scheme.
This site is an independent reference and sells no consultancy; to talk through what you need, book a free 15-minute call or use the contact page.
Frequently asked
Net zero consultancy: questions answered
What does a net zero consultant do?
A net zero consultant helps an organisation measure its emissions, set a reduction target, plan how to meet it and describe the result honestly. The usual deliverables are a baseline inventory, a target (often validated by the Science Based Targets initiative), a transition or reduction plan, a Carbon Reduction Plan for public-sector bids, a policy on carbon credits, and a review of any claims the organisation wants to make.
Is a net zero target a legal requirement in the UK?
No. The UK’s net zero target and carbon budgets in the Climate Change Act 2008 bind the Secretary of State, not companies. No UK company is required to have a net zero target or a transition plan. What exists is a set of disclosure and procurement rules that ask about a target or plan if you have one, and PPN 006, which asks bidders for large central government contracts to commit to net zero by 2050.
Which SBTi standard should we use in 2026?
Version 1.3.1 of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard. The SBTi published version 2.0 on 11 June 2026, but it takes effect from 1 February 2027, and companies may keep submitting under version 1.3.1 until 31 January 2028. Companies with existing validated targets do not need to set new ones.
How much does SBTi target validation cost?
The SBTi publishes its own fees, which depend on turnover. For UK-registered SMEs its Target Validation Service Offerings (version 6.1, effective 5 January 2026) list £933 or £1,493 for a near-term target, excluding VAT, by turnover tier; corporate fees are priced in US dollars from $13,000 for a near-term target in the lowest tier. These are the SBTi’s fees, separate from any adviser’s.
Can carbon offsets reduce our reported emissions?
No. UK SRS S2 requires absolute gross greenhouse gas emissions, and credits are never deducted from the reported figure. A company with a net emissions target discloses its planned use of carbon credits separately, including how far the target relies on them and which scheme verifies them.
What should a carbon offset consultant be able to tell us?
Which crediting programme and methodology a credit comes from, whether the methodology is CCP-Approved by the ICVCM (a label that attaches to the methodology and version, not to a credit’s performance), what claim the purchase supports under the VCMI Claims Code, and whether the adviser earns anything from the credits it recommends.
Can a company still be certified carbon neutral?
PAS 2060 cannot be obtained any more: verification stopped on 1 January 2025 and the last opinions were issued by the end of 2025. Its successor, ISO 14068-1:2023, was itself withdrawn on 11 September 2026 and replaced by ISO 14068:2026. In the UK, the ASA treats an unqualified “carbon neutral” claim as misleading, so any claim must state its basis, including reliance on offsetting.
What is a carbon reduction plan consultancy?
Help writing the Carbon Reduction Plan that PPN 006 asks bidders for on central government contracts worth more than £5m a year. The plan follows a set template: a net zero by 2050 commitment, a baseline, current Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories, reduction targets and projects, and board sign-off, updated within six months of year end.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner. Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCorporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 released (11 June 2026)
Publication date of V2.0.
- Science Based Targets initiativeThe Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 is here: what comes next
V1.3.1 remains the standard to submit against in 2026.
- SBTi ServicesTarget Validation Service Offerings (V6.1, effective 5 January 2026)
The SBTi’s own published validation fees.
- SBTi ServicesGuide to the transition to Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2
Validation under V2.0 opens 1 February 2027; V1.3.1 until 31 January 2028.
- Science Based Targets initiativeSBTi
The target-validation body.
- legislation.gov.ukClimate Change Act 2008, section 4
Carbon budgets are a duty of the Secretary of State, not of companies.
- HM GovernmentNet Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener
The government’s own plan for the national target.
- Climate Change CommitteeClimate Change Committee
The statutory adviser on carbon budgets.
- International Energy AgencyNet Zero by 2050 (2021)
The original pathway report; the NZE Scenario has been updated each year since.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures
¶29(a)(i) gross emissions; ¶14(a)(iv) any transition plan the entity has; ¶36(e) planned use of credits.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — final rules on UK SRS for listed companies
Whether a transition plan exists and where; no duty to have one.
- DESNZ / DBTClimate-related transition plan requirements — consultation
Closed 17 September 2025; no outcome published.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 006 Technical Standard for completion of Carbon Reduction Plans
Template, scope and sign-off of a Carbon Reduction Plan.
- DESNZPrinciples for voluntary carbon and nature market integrity (15 November 2024)
Six principles; guidance, not law.
- ICVCMAssessment status — CCP-Approved methodologies
44 approved methodologies as at 12 August 2026; approval is version-level.
- VCMIClaims Code of Practice (2025 update)
Silver, Gold and Platinum claims.
- UKASTechnical bulletin: ISO 14068-1 migration from PAS 2060
PAS 2060 removed from the accreditation schedule at 31 December 2025.
- ISOISO 14068-1:2023 catalogue record
Withdrawn 11 September 2026; revised by ISO 14068:2026.
- ISOISO 14068 — Climate change management — Carbon neutrality
The successor edition.
- ASACAP Code, section 11 — Environmental claims
Unqualified claims could mislead.
- legislation.gov.ukDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Part 4
The misleading-practices law a green claim sits under.
- DESNZESOS Regulations 2014 — second post-implementation review (2025), ¶20
47 TWh of potential annual savings identified in Phase 3 audits.
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