It usually arrives as one line in an email. Your biggest client is updating its supplier records and wants your carbon footprint. A tender you're bidding for has a sustainability section worth real marks. Or a prospect asks, halfway through a pitch, what your net zero plans are.
If you don't have an answer ready, you're in good company. Most businesses your size have never been asked before, and nobody sends a template with the question.
This article covers why the question is turning up, what a good answer contains, what to avoid sending, and a quick way to check where you stand.
Why you're being asked: you're not regulated, your customers are
Most small and mid-sized businesses have no legal duty to report their emissions. Their customers often do, or their customers' buying rules do. That obligation flows down the supply chain until it lands on your desk as a question.
It tends to arrive from one of four places:
- Public sector and NHS contracts. Under PPN 006 (formerly PPN 06/21), suppliers bidding for central government contracts worth over £5m a year need a Carbon Reduction Plan, a short public document setting out your emissions and how you'll reduce them. All new NHS frameworks require one whatever the contract value.
- Large customers' supplier programmes. Bigger organisations increasingly ask suppliers for emissions data as part of onboarding or annual reviews, usually through a form or portal with a deadline.
- Scored sections in private tenders. Many private bids now include a weighted sustainability question. A vague answer costs marks you could have won.
- Investors, buyers and partners. If you're raising money, being acquired or joining a large partner programme, climate data is now a common request.
A note on CSRD, the EU's corporate sustainability reporting rules. Since changes in 2026, they only apply to very large companies with over 1,000 employees and more than €450m turnover, so you are almost certainly out of scope. That hasn't stopped the questions. Procurement teams and tenders still need your data, and those requests aren't affected by the change.
What a good answer contains
The forms look different, but they're nearly always asking for the same five things. A Carbon Reduction Plan for a public sector bid needs all five. A client questionnaire may only need the first two. Build it once and you can answer all of them.
- A measured carbon footprint. Your emissions calculated from your own data, such as energy bills, fuel use and travel, not an online estimate. It should cover Scope 1 (fuel you burn directly), Scope 2 (electricity you buy) and the relevant parts of Scope 3 (emissions in your supply chain, like business travel and waste).
- A base year. The year you measure against, so anyone can see whether you're improving.
- A reduction plan. Targets with dates, and the named actions you'll take to hit them. Public sector plans also need a commitment to net zero by 2050.
- Senior sign-off. A director or owner who has approved the plan and stands behind it.
- A published version, kept up to date. For public sector work, the plan must be on your own website and refreshed every year.
The common thread is evidence. A buyer wants to see figures they could check and a plan someone is accountable for.
What not to send
When the deadline is close, it's tempting to send whatever you have. These are the answers that tend to cost marks or come back with follow-up questions.
- A policy with no numbers. "We are committed to reducing our environmental impact" tells the buyer nothing they can score. A policy is a claim. A measured footprint is evidence.
- A figure you can't explain. A number from a free online calculator might fill the box, but if the client asks how you got it, you need to be able to show the working.
- A carbon neutral badge instead of a plan. Offsetting has its place, but buyers want to see what you're doing to cut your own emissions first. A badge with no reduction behind it can do more harm than leaving the box blank.
- A promise to sort it out next year. The client's deadline is the one that counts, and the next form will ask the same question.
A two-minute check: where do you stand?
Answer yes or no to each of these.
- If your biggest client asked for your carbon footprint tomorrow, could you send a figure the same day?
- Was that figure calculated from your own business data, rather than estimated?
- Do you have a written plan to reduce emissions, with targets and dates?
- Has a director or owner signed it off?
- Is there anything on your website about your footprint or your plan?
- Could you answer a sustainability section in a bid without writing something vague and hoping for the best?
Mostly yes: you're in a strong position. The job now is keeping your figures current, because most buyers expect an update every year.
A mix: you have some of the pieces, but they may not hold up if a client looks closely. Your weakest answer is the place to start.
Mostly no: you're likely to be caught out by the next request. It's very fixable, and you don't need perfect data to begin.
It's also worth looking at your three biggest competitors' websites. If they're talking about their footprint and you aren't, buyers will notice.
If you're starting from nothing
Three things worth knowing before you start.
- You don't need perfect data. A credible footprint can be built from the records you already keep. Precision improves each year you measure.
- You don't need to hire anyone. You need an expert to do the calculation, not a sustainability manager on the payroll.
- You shouldn't pay big-company prices. Large consultancies are priced for businesses that are legally required to report. You aren't, so you shouldn't be paying for that.
How Switch2Zero helps
We work with small and mid-sized businesses that need a credible answer when a client, tender or investor asks.
- We calculate your footprint from your own data, covering Scope 1, 2 and 3.
- Or we verify one you've already done, so you can stand behind it.
- We build your Carbon Reduction Plan, with targets, named actions and everything a public sector buyer expects to see.
- We give you the tools to keep it current, so next year's update doesn't mean starting again.
If a request is sitting in your inbox, or you can see one coming, book a call with our team. We'll tell you what you're likely to be asked for and what it takes to answer it properly.
