Net zero commitment statement for small businesses (with example)

A net zero commitment statement is a short public declaration that your business will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by a set year. For a small business it should name the target year, the emissions it covers, your baseline, the main actions you will take, any interim target, and who is accountable. For UK government tenders under PPN 006, the year must be 2050 or earlier.

You do not need a sustainability team to write one. You need a footprint, a few honest actions, and about an hour.

What does net zero actually mean for a small business?

Net zero means cutting your emissions as close to zero as you can, then balancing the small amount left over with removals. It is different from being carbon neutral, which usually means offsetting today’s emissions without necessarily reducing them. Our guide to carbon neutral vs net zero goes into the difference.

In practice, for most small firms, net zero means switching to renewable electricity, moving away from gas heating over time, electrifying vehicles, travelling smarter and working with suppliers who are doing the same.

What should a net zero commitment statement include?

The essentials:

1. The target year. 2050 or earlier for PPN 006.
2. Scope. Which emissions it covers: at minimum your Scope 1 and Scope 2, and ideally the Scope 3 categories you measure.
3. Your baseline. The year and total in tCO2e you are measuring progress against.
4. An interim target. A milestone within five years makes the long-term goal believable.
5. Three or four concrete actions. Real, dated steps.
6. Your position on offsets. Reductions first.
7. Accountability. Which director owns it and how often it is reviewed.

Example 1: the short version for a Carbon Reduction Plan

The PPN 006 template only needs one line: “[Supplier name] is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 20XX.” Many suppliers add a sentence or two of context. Here is an example for a fictional company:

Northgate Design Ltd is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2045 across our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and the Scope 3 categories required by PPN 006. Against our 2025 baseline of 18.4 tCO2e, we aim to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030.

That is all the CRP needs. The rest of the plan covers baseline, targets and measures. Our carbon reduction plan template guide walks through each section.

Example 2: the fuller version for your website

For a sustainability page, a tender appendix or a customer questionnaire, a slightly longer statement works better. Again, this is a fictional example:

Our net zero commitment

Northgate Design is a 14-person architecture studio in Bristol. We are committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Where we are starting from. Our first carbon footprint, for the 2025 calendar year, was 18.4 tCO2e. Around half came from heating and powering our studio, and most of the rest from site visits and business travel.

Our 2030 milestone. A 40% reduction against our 2025 baseline.

How we will get there.

• Move our studio to a renewable electricity tariff by April 2026.
• Make rail the default for site visits under 250 miles, from January 2026.
• Work with our landlord to replace the gas boiler with a heat pump at the next lease review in 2028.
• Measure staff commuting from 2026 and support cycling and public transport.

Offsetting. We will prioritise cutting emissions. We will only use high-quality carbon removals for residual emissions we cannot eliminate.

Accountability. Our Managing Director is responsible for this commitment. We measure our footprint every year and publish progress here.

It is specific without being long. Anyone reading it can see a real business with a real plan.

How to choose your target year and milestone

Work backwards from what you control. List your biggest emission sources from your footprint, then ask when each could realistically change. Electricity can go renewable at your next contract renewal. Vans can go electric at lease end. Gas heating often depends on your landlord or the boiler’s age. If most of that can happen within 15 years, 2040 is credible. If your heating or fleet will take longer, 2045 or 2050 is more honest. Set the interim milestone from the actions you can name for the next five years, and calculate the percentage from those, not the other way round.

How to make your commitment credible

Evaluators, customers and investors have seen a lot of empty pledges. A few things separate yours:

• A measured baseline. Without a number, a target is a wish. ESG Now calculates your footprint using the GHG Protocol and UK Government conversion factors, showing every calculation so others can check it.
• Actions with dates and owners. “We will explore renewable energy” is weak. “We will switch tariff by April 2026” is strong.
• Annual updates. PPN 006 expects your Carbon Reduction Plan, and so your commitment, to be reviewed at least once a year.
• Honesty about gaps. If you have not yet measured commuting or supply chain emissions, say so and say when you will. The ESG Now footprint covers energy, vehicles, waste, water, deliveries and business travel, estimates commuting and homeworking, and can add a spend-based estimate of purchased goods, but not inbound freight paid for by suppliers or downstream categories, so state which sources you have included.

Mistakes to avoid

• Claiming you are net zero already because you bought offsets. Under the CMA’s Green Claims Code, environmental claims must be truthful, clear and backed by evidence. Read our greenwashing entry before you publish.
• Picking a date with no route. If you cannot say what you will do in the next three years, the date will not convince anyone.
• Relying on a scheme pledge alone. The PPN 006 FAQs say commitments under schemes such as the Science Based Targets initiative or Race to Zero do not replace a Carbon Reduction Plan, though you can mention them as measures in it.
• Writing it and forgetting it. Put the annual review in your diary.

Getting started

The quickest route is to measure first, then write. Start your free report, and the questionnaire will ask about your carbon target and priorities as part of the commitments section. You will finish with a baseline, an action plan you can turn into dated commitments, and a report that backs your statement up. Most office-based small businesses finish in under 30 minutes. For the wider tender picture, see our public sector tenders hub.