The Chancery Lane Project’s climate clauses become part of the UK Government’s standard services contract London, 7 September 2026: UK-based legal nonprofi…
The Chancery Lane Project’s climate clauses become part of the UK Government’s standard services contract
London, 7 September 2026: UK-based legal nonprofit, The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP), has reached a significant milestone in the mainstream adoption of climate-aligned contracting. Clauses developed by its global community of legal volunteers now form part of the UK Government’s Model Services Contract (MSC).
The Model Services Contract is the Government’s standard form agreement for many of its highest-value and most complex services contracts, typically those worth £20 million or more. Its optional Schedule 28 on carbon reduction incorporates two mechanisms adapted from TCLP model clauses: a gain-share mechanism based on Jess & Rory’s Clause, and a net zero contract modification procedure adapted from Luna’s Clause.
The inclusion marks the culmination of a multi-year journey in which TCLP’s model clauses moved from an open-access clause library, into UK procurement policy, and now into the Government’s own standard contractual framework.
The gain-share mechanism rewards suppliers that reduce emissions beyond agreed contractual targets by allowing contracting authorities to share the value created by additional carbon savings. The net zero modification procedure enables either party to propose changes during the life of a contract where lower-carbon methods become available, helping ensure decarbonisation remains part of contract management rather than a one-off procurement exercise. Together, these mechanisms support a wider approach to climate contracting that includes measuring emissions, monitoring progress, encouraging continuous improvement and cascading climate obligations through supply chains.
The clauses’ inclusion in the Model Services Contract follows the Government’s earlier adoption through Procurement Policy Note 01/24, which introduced a contract-specific carbon reduction schedule for in-scope government services contracts. That policy was subsequently updated to align with the Procurement Act 2023 as Procurement Policy Note 016 before being incorporated into the Model Services Contract’s optional Schedule 28.
Recent updates to the Government’s Social Value Model further reinforce the importance of contractual mechanisms for delivering environmental outcomes. With environmental and net zero outcomes no longer a core part of the Social Value Model itself, environmental sustainability matters like carbon reduction, responsible sourcing and climate resilience will continue to be addressed through mechanisms like procurement policy notes PPN 016 (Carbon Reduction Schedule), PPN 006 (Carbon Reduction Plans), commercial and technical requirements, award criteria and contract management.
While Schedule 28 is optional and contracting authorities decide when it is appropriate to use, its inclusion in the Government’s standard form contract represents an important step in embedding climate considerations into the contracts governing public procurement. Rather than requiring authorities to develop bespoke provisions, the mechanisms are now drafted, reviewed and available within the standard contractual framework used across government.
Ben Metz, Executive Director of The Chancery Lane Project, said: “This is exactly what The Chancery Lane Project was created to achieve. We work with our global community of volunteer lawyers to develop practical legal solutions that can be adopted at scale. Seeing mechanisms adapted from our model clauses incorporated into the Government’s standard services contract means contracting authorities have practical, ready-made ways to reduce emissions through the contracts they already use.
“As climate considerations become increasingly embedded through contractual requirements, standard contract provisions such as Schedule 28 will become an increasingly important way of delivering carbon reduction across public procurement.”
Public procurement represents one of the UK’s most significant opportunities to drive emissions reduction. By embedding practical climate mechanisms into standard contracts, legal drafting has the potential to influence not only government suppliers but also the wider supply chains that support public service delivery.
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