Carbon Reduction Plan

Executive summary

BlueBow Research & Consultancy Ltd is a UK-registered professional services consultancy specialising in digital transformation, user-centred research and government service design. This Carbon Reduction Plan sets out the Company’s commitment to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 at the latest, in accordance with the UK Government’s Net Zero target and the requirements of Procurement Policy Note PPN 06/21.

BlueBow operates a fully remote business model. The Company holds no owned or leased office premises and operates no vehicle fleet. This shapes the Company’s carbon profile directly: emissions in Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (purchased electricity for controlled premises) are structurally zero, because the Company controls no premises or vehicles from which such emissions could arise. The Company’s carbon impact sits almost entirely in Scope 3 (indirect emissions), principally business travel, home working and purchased digital services.

As a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the early stages of formal carbon measurement, the Company is establishing quantified Scope 3 measurement during the current reporting period, with first measured figures to be published no later than September 2027. This plan sets out the Company’s commitment, the measurement approach being put in place, and the concrete emissions-reduction practices already in operation.

1. Commitment to Achieving Net Zero

BlueBow Research & Consultancy Ltd is committed to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, and to reducing its absolute emissions over time as measurement matures.

The Company recognises that climate change is a serious risk to the environment, society and the economy, and that every organisation, whatever its size, has a responsibility to measure, reduce and report its emissions. The Company is committed to:

• Measuring and reporting its greenhouse gas emissions transparently, and improving the quality of that measurement year on year
• Setting science-aligned reduction targets once a measured baseline is established
• Reducing absolute emissions across all applicable scopes
• Embedding low-carbon practices into how the Company delivers its work
• Engaging its team, associates and suppliers in carbon reduction
• Reviewing and updating this plan annually as data quality and business practices develop

This commitment is aligned with the UK Government’s target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and with the requirements of PPN 06/21 for suppliers to central government contracts.

1.1 Board-Level Endorsement

This Carbon Reduction Plan is endorsed by the Chief Executive Officer of BlueBow Research & Consultancy Ltd, who holds board-level accountability for the Company’s carbon reduction commitment and for allocating the resources needed to deliver it. It sits alongside the Company’s documented Environmental Policy, signed at CEO level, which covers carbon reduction as one of five environmental management areas.

2. Emissions Measurement and Baseline

2.1 Operating Model and Its Effect on Emissions

BlueBow operates a fully remote model. The Company holds no owned or leased office premises and operates no owned or leased vehicles. The registered office address is an administrative registered address only and is not a staffed working premises. This has a direct and material effect on the Company’s emissions profile:

• Scope 1 (direct emissions): structurally zero. The Company owns and controls no vehicles, no fuel combustion and no heating plant from which direct emissions could arise.
• Scope 2 (purchased electricity): structurally zero. The Company controls no premises for which it purchases electricity. Electricity used by team members working from home is accounted for under Scope 3 (home working), consistent with the GHG Protocol treatment of home working for a remote organisation.
• Scope 3 (other indirect emissions): the Company’s principal and effectively sole source of emissions. The material categories are business travel, home working and purchased goods and services (principally cloud and software services).

2.2 Baseline Year

The Company has selected 2025 as its baseline year. As an SME in the early stages of systematic carbon measurement, the Company is currently establishing quantified Scope 3 measurement and does not yet hold verified figures for the baseline year. In line with the PPN 06/21 provision for organisations without fully established emissions data, the Company is transparent that measurement is in progress and commits to publishing its first measured Scope 3 figures no later than September 2027, updating this plan at that point to carry the quantified baseline.

2.3 Measurement Approach

The Company is establishing its Scope 3 measurement using the UK Business Climate Hub SME carbon tools, appropriate to an organisation of its size and profile. The approach covers:

• Business travel: captured through a travel log recording mode and distance for all business travel, from which emissions are calculated using current UK Government (DEFRA) conversion factors
• Home working: estimated using recognised per-head home-working conversion factors applied across the team
• Purchased goods and services: estimated from supplier spend on cloud and software services, refined as supplier-level emissions data becomes available

The Company will register an SME climate commitment through the UK Business Climate Hub as part of establishing this measurement.

2.4 Data Quality Statement

The Company is transparent that, as an SME beginning formal carbon accounting, its early Scope 3 figures will be estimates built from activity data and standard conversion factors rather than metered or supplier-verified data. Data quality will improve year on year as travel logging, supplier engagement and home-working estimation mature. The Company considers honest, improving measurement more valuable than a precise-looking figure that cannot be substantiated.

3. Emissions Reduction Targets

3.1 Net Zero Target

The Company commits to Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, reducing absolute emissions as far as reasonably practicable and offsetting only genuinely unavoidable residual emissions through high-quality, certified schemes in the final stages of the transition.

3.2 Interim Targets

Because Scope 1 and Scope 2 are structurally zero, the Company’s reduction effort focuses entirely on Scope 3, principally business travel. The Company will set quantified interim reduction targets, including a 2030 and a 2035 milestone on the pathway to 2050, once its measured 2025 baseline is established in 2027. Setting percentage targets against a measured baseline, rather than against an unverified estimate, ensures the targets are meaningful and the Company can be held to them.

In advance of those quantified targets, the Company already operates the concrete reduction practices set out in Section 4, which act directly on its largest emissions source.

4. Carbon Reduction Initiatives

The following practices are in operation now, and apply to the delivery of every client engagement.

4.1 Digital-First Delivery

All reports, specifications and stakeholder materials are produced and shared digitally, with no routine printing. Client and stakeholder engagement defaults to video conferencing, reducing travel-related emissions at source.

4.2 Business Travel Hierarchy

Where in-person attendance is genuinely required, the Company applies a defined travel hierarchy: rail travel is taken in preference to domestic flights wherever journey time reasonably allows, and separate site visits are consolidated to reduce the number of individual trips. Business travel is the Company’s single largest emissions source, so this hierarchy is the most material lever available to a remote firm.

4.3 Carbon-Aware Digital Services

The Company factors sustainability into its choice of cloud and digital services, favouring providers with published renewable-energy and carbon commitments, and reviewing its own cloud and software footprint to remove unused services.

4.4 Remote Operating Model

The Company’s remote model is itself its most significant structural carbon measure: with no owned premises and no fleet, the emissions associated with a conventional office, daily commuting to a central site, and company vehicles do not arise.

4.5 Supplier and Team Engagement

The Company engages its team, associates and suppliers in its carbon commitment, including guidance on sustainable travel choices and, over time, engagement with key suppliers on their own emissions reporting.

5. Governance, Monitoring and Reporting

5.1 Accountability

The Chief Executive Officer holds board-level accountability for this Carbon Reduction Plan and for the Company’s progress against it. The Company’s Operations Lead is responsible for carbon measurement, maintaining the travel log and supporting data, and preparing the annual review.

5.2 Monitoring and Review

The Company collects activity data (principally travel) on an ongoing basis and reviews its carbon position and this plan annually, with the next review due by September 2027. The annual review assesses progress against commitments, incorporates improved measurement, and updates targets as the measured baseline and subsequent data allow. This plan and the Company’s reported emissions are published and kept publicly accessible in line with PPN 06/21.

6. Carbon Offsetting

The Company prioritises absolute emissions reduction over offsetting. Offsetting will be used only for genuinely unavoidable residual emissions, and only in the later stages of the transition to Net Zero. Where the Company does purchase offsets, they will be certified to a recognised standard (for example the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard), additional, and permanent. The Company is not currently purchasing offsets, and will review its offset position once its measured emissions and reduction pathway are established.

7. Declaration

I confirm that BlueBow Research & Consultancy Ltd is committed to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest.

I confirm that this Carbon Reduction Plan has been prepared in accordance with Procurement Policy Note PPN 06/21 and with reference to the UK Government Greenhouse Gas Reporting Guidance and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.

I confirm that, as a fully remote organisation, the Company’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are structurally zero, and that the Company is establishing quantified Scope 3 measurement with first measured figures to be published no later than September 2027.

I confirm that the commitments and initiatives set out in this plan are realistic, achievable and genuinely in operation or in progress for an organisation of the Company’s size and model.