Guidance

PFI Decarbonisation Toolkit

Four practical tools to support public sector contract managers with developing a decarbonisation plan for PFI estates projects

Documents

NISTA PFI decarbonisation group terms of reference template

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NISTA PFI decarbonisation group actions checklist template

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NISTA PFI project emissions calculator 2025

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NISTA LED QCIL technical note

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Details

Reducing the carbon emissions of PFI projects supports public sector estates decarbonisation commitments and can improve the energy efficiency of public sector facilities provided through PFI.

These four practical tools build on the three-part operational PFI decarbonisation guidance document on NISTA’s PFI Centre of Excellence webpage. An e-learning module for public sector PFI contract managers is also available on the Government Commercial College platform.

The PFI decarbonisation group terms of reference template and PFI decarbonisation group actions checklist template support the recommendation to set up a project decarbonisation working group for each PFI project, bringing together the contracting authority, project company and facilities management providers to develop a decarbonisation plan for the PFI assets.

The LED Qualifying Change in Law technical note has been developed in response to a small number of qualifying change in law claims brought by PFI projects in connection with installation of LED lighting systems. The advice note sets out eligibility tests for Qualifying Change in Law contract provisions under standard form PFI contracts and explains why claims are not expected to be valid in most cases.

The PFI project emissions calculator is an excel workbook developed by NISTA and Local Partnerships as a tool to calcuate energy use and emissions from a PFI project, to inform decarbonisation planning and support emissions reporting. The Calculator uses emissions factors published by DESNZ in June 2025 and will require updates for successive reporting years.

Updates to this page

Published 12 March 2026

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