diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3b52188..99be127 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ all: bin/example
 test: lint unit-test
 
 PLATFORM=local
+UTIL_TAG=1.16.5-alpine
 
 .PHONY: bin/example
 bin/example:
@@ -22,3 +23,11 @@ unit-test-coverage:
 .PHONY: lint
 lint:
 	@docker build . --target lint
+
+.PHONY: tidy
+tidy:
+	@docker run -t -i -v `pwd`:/src --workdir /src --rm golang:${UTIL_TAG} /usr/local/go/bin/go mod tidy
+
+.PHONY: init
+init:
+	@docker run -t -i -v `pwd`:/src --workdir /src --rm golang:${UTIL_TAG} /usr/local/go/bin/go mod init
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 63fdf52..ddfdf95 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ The [Makefile](./Makefile) is purely used to script the required `docker build`
 commands as these can get quite long. You can replace this file with a scripting
 language of your choice.
 
+Additional targets 'init' and 'tidy' are provided for updating the project
+metadata in go.mod and go.sums. `make tidy` should be run whenever new requirements are added.
+
 ### CI
 
 The CI is configured in the [ci.yaml file](./.github/workflows/ci.yaml). By