Bidder Climate Change Plans in Scotland: SPD 4C.7 explained

A Bidder Climate Change Plan is a short document that Scottish public buyers can ask for at question 4C.7 (Environmental Management) of the Single Procurement Document, where it is relevant and proportionate to the contract. There are two templates. The relevant contract plan asks for your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emission sources and the actions you are taking to reduce emissions. The priority contract plan also asks for your calculated Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a timeline for planned reductions. Plans are pass or fail, not scored.

So if a Scottish tender asks for one, you are not being graded against bigger competitors. You need a complete plan, signed off by someone with authority.

What is SPD question 4C.7?

The Single Procurement Document (SPD) is the standard selection questionnaire for Scottish public contracts. Question 4C.7 covers environmental management. Scottish Government’s Procurement Journey guidance lets buyers use it to ask bidders for a Bidder Climate Change Plan at selection stage.

The requirement should be stated in the contract notice, or in the criteria box at 4C.7 if the buyer uses the SPD module on Public Contracts Scotland (PCS). The buyer must attach the right template to the procurement documents, along with a supplier guidance document introduced in 2026.

It sits within Scotland’s wider climate framework. Scotland’s legal target is net zero emissions by 2045, set by the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, and public bodies are expected to use their buying power to help.

What is the difference between a relevant and a priority contract plan?

The buyer decides which applies, and the contract notice or SPD module will show it.

	Relevant contract plan	Priority contract plan
When it is used	Contracts with a clear climate impact where the buyer has identified an opportunity to embed climate criteria	Contracts with a total value of £4 million or more, and/or covering commodities the buying organisation has identified as climate change priorities
Emission sources (Scopes 1, 2 and 3)	Yes	Yes
Calculated Scope 1 and 2 emissions	No	Yes
Timeline for planned reductions	No	Yes
List of reduction actions	Yes	Yes
Assessment	Pass or fail	Pass or fail

The priority definition comes from Scottish Government’s climate standardised statements guidance. Buyers can also choose the lighter relevant template for a priority contract to reduce barriers, for example on frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems where smaller businesses are expected to bid.

How is a Bidder Climate Change Plan assessed?

The scoring table in the guidance is short:

• Pass: a Bidder Climate Change Plan has been produced and submitted, and reviewed and signed off by a person in the business with authority.
• Fail: no plan has been produced and submitted with that sign-off.

The guidance says the signatory should be able to make the commitments “on behalf of the company as a whole”. In a small business that is usually a director or the owner.

In June 2026 Scottish Procurement refreshed the guidance after surveying buyers. It received 83 responses. The changes confirm that plans are assessed on a pass or fail basis only and should not be scored, emphasise relevance and proportionality, remove earlier references to progression timescales and add a step-by-step supplier guide. The SPD 4C.7 standardised statement wording was also updated to reinforce pass or fail assessment.

Because the plan covers your whole organisation, it can look generic. That is expected. Buyers who want contract-specific climate commitments are told to ask for them through the specification or award criteria, and those parts can be scored. The guidance gives examples such as cutting single-use plastics by a set percentage, efficient driver training and a risk register covering flooding, heatwaves and high winds.

How is this different from England’s PPN 006?

PPN 006 is a UK government policy for central government departments and their agencies. It does not apply to Scottish public bodies. If you bid for a UK government contract delivered in Scotland, though, PPN 006 may still apply to that contract.

Point	Scotland: Bidder Climate Change Plan	England: PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan
Where asked	SPD 4C.7, where relevant and proportionate	Condition of participation for in-scope contracts
Value trigger	Priority: £4 million or more total value, or a priority commodity	Above £5 million a year including VAT
Calculated emissions	Scope 1 and 2, priority template only	Scope 1, 2 and five Scope 3 categories
Net zero commitment	Not part of the templates described in the guidance	Net zero by 2050 at the latest
Assessment	Pass or fail	Pass or fail

A PPN 006 plan holds more than a Scottish priority plan asks for, so if you already have one, most of your Scottish answers are already written.

How do ESG Now outputs map onto each template?

ESG Now does not fill in the template for you. It gives you the figures and lists to complete it yourself.

Template section	What ESG Now gives you	What you add
Scope 1 sources	Gas, heating oil, LPG, plant and generator fuel, refrigerant top-ups, company cars, vans and HGVs, each shown if present	Nothing
Scope 2 sources	Purchased electricity and EV charging	Nothing
Scope 3 sources	Business travel, commuting, homeworking, waste, water, paid courier deliveries, optional spend-based purchases	Any other material sources, such as freight in supplier prices
Calculated Scope 1 and 2 (priority)	Totals in tCO2e, Scope 2 both location-based and market-based, every calculation shown	State which Scope 2 figure you are using
Reduction actions	A private, prioritised action plan	The actions you commit to
Reduction timeline (priority)	Your target type, baseline year and target year	Dates for each action
Sign-off	Not applicable	A director or owner signs

The footprint follows the GHG Protocol and uses UK Government conversion factors matched to your reporting period. Each source is labelled measured, estimated from activity data, estimated from a benchmark, or a data gap, so you can be clear about where numbers came from. It is not independently assured, so describe it as a self-assessed footprint with the method shown. See the methodology.

How long will yours take?

Pick the option that sounds most like your business. You will see a realistic time, what to have nearby and a head start on the questions.

Which sounds most like you?

Sole trader working from homeConsultants, designers, developers, coaches10 to 15 minSole trader or freelancer in a co-working spaceA desk at a WeWork, Regus or local hub10 to 15 minSmall team in a co-working or serviced officeStartups and agencies with 2 to 25 people15 to 20 minSME with its own office and no vehiclesProfessional services, tech firms, studios20 to 30 minSME with vans, cars or regular staff travelTrades, field services, consultancies on the road30 to 45 minShop, cafe, workshop or product businessRetail, hospitality, makers and manufacturers30 to 45 min

Your estimate

About 20 to 30 minutes

Around 50 questions, most of them multiple choice

Still comfortably under half an hour.

You will add your electricity and gas use, plus a quick estimate of your bins. If you do not have the exact figures, the questionnaire works them out from your floor area instead.

Handy to have nearby

• A recent electricity and gas bill (or your office size in square metres)
• How many general waste and recycling bins you have
• Headcount and a rough idea of business trains and flights
• How your team usually gets to work

Missing something? Estimates are fine, and you can come back to any answer later.

Office-based firms usually have clear, low-cost ways to cut their footprint. Your action plan will list them in order.

Start with this profile

First report free. No card needed.

What makes a good plan, even though it is pass or fail?

A pass is a pass, so there is no prize for length. Still, the plan tells the buyer how seriously you take climate, and the same facts often reappear in scored questions later in the tender. A few habits help.

• Be complete on sources. List every source that applies to you under each scope, and say “not applicable” for the ones that do not. A consultancy with no vehicles should say so rather than leave Scope 1 blank.
• Make actions concrete. “Reduce energy use” is vague. “Switch our office to a renewable electricity tariff at contract renewal in April 2027” is clear and checkable.
• Match actions to your biggest sources. If vans make up most of your Scope 1, a lighting upgrade on its own looks odd. Your footprint shows where the tonnes are.
• Keep your figures consistent. If you quote Scope 1 and 2 totals, use the same numbers in any later sustainability question.
• Date your plan. Note the reporting period your figures cover so you know when to refresh it.

If your business is small and office based, your plan may be short. That is fine. A sole trader with a laptop, a home office and two train trips a year can write an honest, complete plan on a single page.

How to complete your Bidder Climate Change Plan

1. Check which template the buyer attached. Relevant or priority, and read the supplier guidance document that comes with it.
2. Look at the worked examples. The Supplier Journey publishes completed examples, including for an adult at-home care contract, a catering contract, an office supplies contract and a works contract. They say clearly that examples are guidance only and must not be copied into bids.
3. List your emission sources by scope. Start your ESG Now report and you will have every source in one place. A sole trader working from home takes 10 to 15 minutes; an office SME 20 to 30.
4. Add calculated Scope 1 and 2 if it is a priority plan. Take the totals straight from your report.
5. Choose realistic actions with dates. Pick from your action plan, such as switching to a renewable tariff, moving a van to electric or setting a rail-first travel rule.
6. Get it signed and save it in PCS. Then reuse it, updated, for your next Scottish bid.

Your first report is free, with no card needed, and your answers save as you go. For other public sector requirements, see our public sector tenders hub.