What does 2.38-2.41-OFF require?

Buying credits from projects that avoided or removed carbon elsewhere is offsetting. It can deal with residual emissions that are not yet technically or economically abatable, but it is rare in departments and any wider use would need cross-government agreement on value for money and environmental integrity. The priority for public bodies should be cutting their own emissions quickly; where credits are bought they should meet the high-integrity criteria set by government policy. Whenever credits have been bought, held or retired, the annual report shall state the volume bought, held and retired in the period in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent; the kind of credit, distinguishing reduction from removal and, for removals, nature-based projects such as woodland creation or forest restoration from technology-based ones such as direct air capture; and the integrity of the credits bought and used. Total spend on credits by category completes the disclosure.

UK HM Treasury Sustainability Reporting Guidance 2026-27...

Other controls in Chapter 2: greenhouse gas emissions, energy, carbon offsets, Scope 3 and value chain, renewable, sequestered and embodied carbon (paragraphs 2.1 to 2.88) – UK HM Treasury Sustainability Reporting Guidance 2026-27 (FReM)

2.12-2.16 Set the carbon accounting boundary to match the financial reporting boundary, choose the equity share or control approach per the GHG Protocol with judgement for joint ventures, associates and leases, and apply the chosen allocation consistently across the group with explanations
2.17-2.19 Where disclosures refer to the GHG Protocol scopes and categories, explain the three scopes and state which emission categories are included
2.20-2.24 Minimum emissions disclosure aligned with the TCFD metrics and targets recommendation: Scope 1, Scope 2 and, if appropriate, Scope 3 emissions and related risks, with set information where material emissions fall outside the GGC measurement and where carbon offsets are used
2.25-2.27 Financial information on emissions: report gross expenditure directly attributable to energy consumption and to accredited offset purchases, matched to the reported emissions, with breakdowns by type and material emissions-reduction spend where useful
2.28-2.31 Presentation of emissions: support the total with a segmental breakdown, use the grid average conversion factors for electricity, show renewable tariff and offset reductions only as reconciling items from gross to net, and prepare all figures under the stated carbon accounting policies
2.32-2.37 Energy accounting: report energy consumption and expenditure alongside emissions on a gross basis in kWh, state renewable and on-site generated energy separately rather than netting it off, follow the carbon accounting boundaries, and attach an explanatory note to any estimates
2.42-2.45 Baselines and double counting: set a baseline for progress measurement, reconcile and explain any re-baselining, and keep Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions separately distinguishable for consolidation
2.46-2.48 Overseas operations and other Scope 1 and 2 emissions outside the GGC framework: where material to primary users, disclose them on a comply-or-explain basis even though they do not count towards the domestic net zero target

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The graph holds this control, the 0 it maps to, and the evidence behind each claim, over MCP and REST.

MCP endpoint All UK HM Treasury Sustainability Reporting Guidance 2026-27 (FReM) controls