Carbon Management Kickstart for 2026: How to Plan a Low-Carbon Year

A new year is always a good time to reset, refocus and start bringing sustainability into the day-to-day of your business. A simple way to begin is by looking at your carbon footprint. It shows you where reductions are possible and where things could be running more efficiently.

Carbon management doesn’t need to be overwhelming. A few practical steps repeated consistently can make a real difference for your organisation and everyone connected to it.

Follow our guide to planning a low-carbon year and get started early.

1. Starting With What You Can Measure

Before you can plan any reductions, it is important to know what your emissions look like today (and it is good for tracking progress later on).

We use the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, the most widely recognised framework, because it keeps everything consistent and clear. It divides your operations into three areas:

Scope 1: Direct emissions
Company vehicles, gas heating and anything you burn onsite or own directly.
Scope 2: Purchased energy
For most businesses, this is your electricity.

Scope 3: Value chain emissions
Everything else: travel, waste, deliveries, suppliers, digital services, materials and more.

Don’t worry too much about the terminology. All it does is sort your operational activities into categories so you can make decisions later.

If you are starting from scratch, you can measure your full footprint or begin with Scope 1 and 2 and expand into Scope 3 as your capacity grows. If you’re responding to a tender, check the requirements. Most public tenders that are looking for you to report your emissions and reduction efforts, such as PPN006, expect Scope 1, 2 and at least five specific categories of Scope 3.

Scope 1 and 2 are typically the most controllable. Scope 3 is usually made up of the greatest sources of emissions. Measuring everything properly helps you identify your hotspots, and that’s where your most effective reductions come from.

2. Set Clear Goals

Clear goals help you set direction and understand what you’re working towards. It’s helpful to think in three layers:

A) Long-Term Goals

These are your big-picture commitments. A net zero target means reducing emissions as much as possible and then balancing the remainder through certified removals.

We recommend following SBTi guidance for your sector or using the SME pathway if applicable. It gives you a realistic and science-based view of what the transition should look like and where to aim for.

Net Zero by 2050 is written into UK law and is usually the minimum for most sectors. Some sectors may have preferred dates. For example, NHS suppliers often target 2045 to align with the Evergreen Assessment.

Overall, our advice is: be ambitious, but realistic.

B) Near-Term Goals

These sit within the next 5-10 years and help turn long-term aims into something actionable. For example, Reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions to 0 tCO₂e by 2030.

Near-term goals can help the work feel manageable rather than distant.

C) KPIs

KPIs keep you on track and show your progress throughout the year. They work best when they link back to your biggest emission sources.

Here are some examples:

10% reduction in electricity use by 2027

5% increase in active travel (walking or cycling)

20% reduction in business travel emissions

They also give you moments to celebrate, and sustainability is much easier when you can recognise the small wins along the way.

3. Build a Plan

Once you have measured your emissions and set your goals, you can build your plan. Look at where you’re heading and what matters most, then decide what you’re going to focus on.

From your measurements, you will already know where your main hotspots are. Choose reduction initiatives that are specific to your business and achievable, not just ones that look good on paper.

Instead of trying to implement everything at once, focus on a small number of core actions that you can deliver well and bring your team along with you. Don’t worry if you only have a handful of initiatives planned for the year, particularly if they are big projects; achieving a few big steps each year is better than overpromising, not achieving, and losing momentum.

Different sectors have different hotspots, so here are some ideas to get you thinking:

Sector	High Impact Areas	Reduction Ideas
Service-based businesses	Energy use, commuting, business travel and digital services.	IT settings, hybrid working, choosing lower-impact suppliers, renewable energy hosting, data storage considerations.
Construction & Built Environment	Transport, materials and onsite energy.	Low-carbon materials, efficient site lighting, route planning, renewable site power
Healthcare	Energy use, medical waste, procurement, pharmaceuticals, staff and patient travel	Waste segregation improvements, energy optimisation, sustainable procurement
Manufacturing & production	Material choices, energy-intensive processes and logistics.	Process optimisation, renewables, and lower-carbon materials.
Hospitality & food	Food waste, refrigeration, energy and packaging.	Waste audits, menu tweaks, behaviour nudges and equipment upgrades

Tailor your communication:

Internal teams – share detailed results and celebrate milestones.

Suppliers and partners – give feedback and set joint reduction goals.

Attendees and the public – use visuals and plain language.

Event checklist:

Meet with your team to clarify objectives and data needs.

Map out what to collect and when – before, during, and after the event.

Encourage sustainable attendee behaviour such as using public transport.

Identify your biggest emission sources.

Capture quick wins and refine after each event.

4. Put Your Plan Into Action

A plan only works when it moves off the page. This is the point where you bring people in, share responsibilities, and actually start making the changes. Below are a few tips to help make this stage smoother and more manageable.

Include Your Team

Assign responsibilities, set timelines, and keep things moving. If you’ve got people in the team who naturally care about sustainability, let them take the lead on some of the actions.

People also connect more when they understand why something matters. Try linking actions to things like cost savings, smoother operations, compliance or customer expectations. It helps make it feel relevant.

Celebrate the Positives

Share your wins, even the small ones. It keeps people motivated and shows that the work is worth it. A bit of positivity really does go a long way, nobody wants sustainability to feel like another task on the list.

Choosing actions your team will actually notice helps too. When people see things changing, it builds confidence and makes the next steps feel more achievable.

Build it Into Existing Workflows

Where you can, link sustainability actions to what already happens in the business, such as procurement, travel booking, site checks, team meetings.

This keeps things simple and avoids adding unnecessary complexity.

Make it Part of Your Culture

Sustainability works best when it’s part of everyday decision-making, not a side project. Share goals and progress, ask for ideas and involve your team. They know your business better than anyone and can usually spot easy wins you might miss.

Once you have got the basics in place, you can start exploring other areas of sustainability too, such as circularity, biodiversity, nature, social value. There’s a lot you can build on once you get going.

Our advice: start small, stay consistent, involve your team and make 2026 the year you begin your impact journey.

Ready to start?

Book a free 15-minute discovery call with us – we’ll help you shape your plan and get things moving.

Book a 15-minute discovery call with our carbon experts

On the discovery call, we will ask you about your business, to understand your goals and advise how 5D Net Zero can help you on your net zero journey.

To start the process, just use our calendar to book a discovery call.