---
title: How our model clauses became part of the UK government’s standard services contract
date: 2026-07-23T11:33:19Z
modified: 2026-07-23T11:33:22Z
permalink: "https://chancerylaneproject.org/news/our-model-clauses-became-part-of-the-uk-governments-standard-services-contract/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: "Climate clauses developed by The Chancery Lane Project's global community of legal volunteers are now part of the UK Government's Model Services Contract. The milestone sees TCLP's open-source legal drafting embedded within the Government's standard contracting framework, helping bring climate-aligned contracting into public procurement."
wpid: 11520
categories:
  - Press and media
  - Project updates
featured_image: "https://chancerylaneproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/alicja-ziaj-AOjmfr3ofSY-unsplash-scaled.jpg"
timestamp: 2026-07-23T11:33:22Z
tags:
  - Press and media
  - Project updates
---

We’ve seen our climate clauses move from our free clause library into government procurement policy, and then into the UK government’s own Model Services Contract. This means they are now part of the machinery through which public money can drive emissions reduction at scale.

The [Model Services Contract](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/model-services-contract) (MSC) is the UK government’s standard form contract for high-value, complex services, typically worth £20 million or more. Its optional Schedule 28 addresses carbon reduction and incorporates two mechanisms adapted from The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) clauses: the gain-share mechanism, based on [Jess & Rory’s clause](https://chancerylaneproject.org/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/clause/gain-share-incentive-for-reducing-ghg-emissions.md), and the net zero modification procedure, adapted from [Luna’s clause](https://chancerylaneproject.org/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/clause/net-zero-aligned-construction-modifications.md).

While Schedule 28 is optional and can be used where the contracting authority considers it appropriate, it means that model clauses drafted by TCLP’s community of legal volunteers are now embedded within the UK government’s standard services contracting framework.

### What the clauses do

The gain-share mechanism based on Jess & Rory’s clause rewards suppliers that cut emissions faster than the contract requires. Where a supplier reduces the contract’s carbon footprint by more than its agreed annual target, the authority shares the value of that extra reduction with the supplier. The target becomes a floor, not a ceiling.

The net-zero modification procedure adapted from Luna’s clause lets either party change how the contract runs in order to cut its carbon footprint – for example, where a lower-carbon method becomes available mid-contract. It builds decarbonisation into the live management of the contract, not just its opening terms.

These two mechanisms sit within the wider carbon reduction provisions of Schedule 28, whose broader terms align with core climate contracting approaches developed by TCLP and exemplified in clauses like [Kori’s clause (consolidated sustainability clauses for supply chain contracts)](https://chancerylaneproject.org/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/clause/consolidated-sustainability-clauses-for-supply-chain-contracts.md). These include building climate commitments into contracts, gathering emissions data, tracking progress over time, encouraging and enforcing reductions, and cascading climate obligations down the supply chain to sub-contractors.

Schedule 28 is available for use in any in-scope services contract where the contracting authority determines it is relevant and proportionate. It’s optional by design, providing flexibility that ensures that the requirements are practical and achievable across different supply chains. Optionality doesn’t diminish the achievement. Being available as a ready-made option in the government’s own standard form contract schedules is a different order of reach from one-off adoption. The terms sit in the document that contracting authorities start from – drafted, reviewed and ready to use. When adopted, the terms become part of the contractual risk allocation and governance framework between the contracting authority and the supplier.

### How the clauses got there

TCLP’s work with UK government procurement was built over several years. By 2022, the [Government Commercial Function](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-commercial-function) was already treating procurement as a way to cut emissions, and pointed contracting authorities to climate contracting resources, including TCLP. The Government Commercial Function’s ‘[Promoting Net Zero Carbon and Sustainability in Construction’ Guidance Note, September 2022, section 4.11 ](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/631222898fa8f54234c6a508/20220901-Carbon-Net-Zero-Guidance-Note.pdf)names TCLP as a resource for contracting authorities, for example.

In March 2024, the Cabinet Office issued Procurement Policy Note 01/24 ([PPN 01/24](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-0124-carbon-reduction-contract-schedule)) containing a carbon reduction contract schedule that introduced into procurement policy a contract-specific approach to reducing supplier emissions in in-scope government services contracts. A Cabinet Office policy adviser explained in a 2025 [webinar for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors](https://www.rics.org/news-insights/wbef/climate-contracting-in-real-estate-the-role-of-greener-deals-in-reducing-global-carbon-emissions) that before the introduction of the contract-specific carbon reduction schedule, [PPN 06/21](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0621-taking-account-of-carbon-reduction-plans-in-the-procurement-of-major-government-contracts) had required suppliers tendering for contracts over £5 million per year to have a carbon reduction plan in place for their entire organisation and commit to achieving net zero by 2050 or earlier.

To develop the contract-specific model, the Cabinet Office adapted TCLP’s Jess & Rory’s and Luna’s clauses – and named them as the basis for the gain share mechanism and net zero modification clauses in the schedule, in related [guidance](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-0124-carbon-reduction-contract-schedule/carbon-reduction-schedule-guidance-html). The Cabinet Office’s ambition behind the contract-specific approach to emissions reduction was clear:

> _“As environmental and carbon considerations feature in the aspects of delivery of most public contracts, this is an opportunity to take further steps to support the reduction of GHG emissions through public procurement.” –_ Cabinet Office, PPN 01/24, March 2024

PPN 01/24 was updated to [PPN 016](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-016-carbon-reduction-contract-schedule) in February 2025 to align with the Procurement Act 2023 and migrated from procurement policy into the government’s standard contractual architecture when it was incorporated into the MSC’s optional Schedule 28.

### Why it matters

Public sector buying power is one of the most significant levers for decarbonisation in the economy. The UK government is one of the country’s largest buyers of services, and the Model Services Contract is the standard form it uses for its highest-value, most complex services contracts. Climate mechanisms built into that form are therefore positioned where they can shape some of the largest services contracts the government signs.

Here, TCLP clauses were drafted once, adopted into policy, then migrated into the government’s standard contractual architecture – compounding toward wider adoption. Embedding climate terms into standard contracts is how a single drafting idea reaches scale.

The work is not finished. Schedule 28 is optional, and its reach depends on contracting authorities choosing to use it. But the mechanism for scale is now in place, in the government’s own documents – and every authority that adopts it carries these climate obligations into another live contract, and down its supply chain to sub-contractors.

### **Get in touch**

Have you used any of the provisions in Schedule 28 or used TCLP-based mechanisms in a public sector contract?

We are building a clearer picture of how these provisions are being used in practice. If your organisation has used or adapted Schedule 28 or implemented similar carbon reduction mechanisms inspired by TCLP clauses, we’d love to hear from you. Real-world examples help us demonstrate impact, share learning across the sector, and support the continued development of climate-aligned contracting.

Please get in touch with the TCLP team to share your experience.

[Contact us](mailto:contact@chancerylaneproject.org)

## Topics

**Categories:** [Press and media](https://chancerylaneproject.org/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/taxonomy/category/press-and-media.md), [Project updates](https://chancerylaneproject.org/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/taxonomy/category/project-updates.md)