Further information on CNGP reporting

2024 reporting covers emissions from the financial year 2023/24 and calendar year 2023. For earlier reporting, go to the Reporting dashboard.

Participating organisations are required to report:

• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their base year and current year
• 2025 and 2030 reduction targets
• Emissions reduction initiatives to achieve these targets.

Organisations report this information to the programme lead by 1 December each year.

Agencies are required to obtain independent third-party assurance that their emissions inventory has been prepared in accordance with ISO 14064-1 and/or the GHG Protocol for their base year and current year of reporting. Acceptable assurance levels include reasonable and limited assurance.

Organisations select their own base year, no earlier than 2015/16 and no later than 2023/24. The ‘Base Year’ referred to at the programme level represents the cumulative total of emissions from each agency's base year.

CNGP organisations are required to set gross emissions reduction targets for 2025 and 2030 according to the reduction potential within their agency, and with reference to an emissions pathway consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5-degrees.

A recommended framework was developed based on a simplified version of the Science Based Targets initiative, as described below:

2025 target-setting guidance

• For organisations with a base year of 2019/20 or earlier:
  
  • Set a minimum target of 21% for 2025. This is calculated from the launch of CNGP in 2020 and is half of the 2030 target, for half of the time period. It recognises the early action these organisations have taken to reduce their emissions.
• For organisations with a base year after 2019/20:
  
  • 2025 minimum target is a pro-rated proportion of the 2030 target (the point on a linear graph between base year and a 42% reduction in 2030).

Following this methodology, combining base years, a cumulative 1.5-degree aligned target for 2025 would be 17.6% for Tranches 1 and 2, and 18% for Tranche 3.

Further information on CNGP target-setting

The GHG Protocol places emission sources into scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 activities.

• Scope 1
  Direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company (i.e., within the organisational boundary). For example, emissions from the combustion of fuel in vehicles owned or controlled by the organisation.
• Scope 2
  Indirect GHG emissions from the generation of purchased energy (in the form of electricity, heat or steam) that the organisation uses.
• Scope 3
  Other indirect GHG emissions occurring because of the activities of the organisation but generated from sources it doesn’t own or control (e.g., air travel). The CNGP separates scope 3 emissions into two further groups:
  
  • Scope 3 (mandatory):
    Emissions that an organisation can reasonably be expected to measure and have access to data. These include
    • staff travel for work (e.g., domestic and international air travel, hotel stays, taxi, private car, public transport, rental vehicles),
    • freight,
    • staff working from home,
    • transmission and distribution losses,
    • water supply,
    • wastewater services and waste to landfill.
      
      
  • Scope 3 (other material):
    Includes all other significant scope 3 emissions sources. These tend to be value chain emissions, such as embodied emissions in construction, purchased goods and services and emissions from investments. These emissions sources are generally more difficult to measure and reduce, and are therefore reported separately to the above mandatory sources.

The emissions reported from CNGP organisations cover Scope 1, 2 and mandatory Scope 3 emissions. Some organisations have chosen to expand their reporting to include further non-mandatory Scope 3 sources, such as commuting or supply chain emissions, under their official target as they may have significant reduction potential.  The diagram below shows the mandatory emission sources from Scope 1-3, and some examples of non-mandatory sources which can be incorporated.

Carbon Neutral Government Programme