The carbon figures your NHS tender asks for, ready today

What does the NHS ask suppliers for?

The NHS has committed to net zero by 2040 for the emissions it controls and 2045 for the emissions it can influence, which includes everything it buys. Its Net Zero Supplier Roadmap sets out what suppliers must show, and the answer depends on the contract size and when the procurement started.

For procurements started before 1 April 2027:

• £5 million a year or more (including VAT), and new NHS frameworks of any value: a full Carbon Reduction Plan.
• Below £5 million a year and above the published procurement threshold: a Net Zero Commitment.

For procurements starting from 1 April 2027:

• £5 million a year or more, and new frameworks and dynamic markets: a “2027 NHS” Carbon Reduction Plan covering all relevant Scope 3 emissions on a global basis.
• Below £5 million a year and above the threshold: a standard Carbon Reduction Plan, the same format central government uses today. The Net Zero Commitment is no longer accepted on its own.

On top of that, every NHS procurement gives at least 10% of the evaluation to net zero and social value. The details are in NHS England’s current guidance and its 2027 guidance, which apply to trusts, integrated care boards and anyone buying on their behalf, healthcare services included. Plans and commitments are pass or fail, never scored against other bidders. Subcontractors are not in scope, though your main contractor may still ask for your figures.

Carbon Reduction Plan or Net Zero Commitment: what goes in each

A Net Zero Commitment is short. It is a public statement that your business will reach net zero by 2050 or earlier for its UK operations, covering Scope 1, Scope 2 and the five Scope 3 categories, signposted on your website. NHS England’s suggested format is one sentence naming the target year, the scopes covered and who approved it. Our net zero commitment examples show how to word one.

A Carbon Reduction Plan follows the central government PPN 006 template and includes:

1. your net zero commitment
2. baseline and current emissions in tCO2e for Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories: upstream transportation and distribution, waste, business travel, employee commuting, and downstream transportation and distribution
3. the carbon reduction measures you have in place and plan to take
4. board or director approval, publication on your website, and an update at least once a year

The 2027 NHS plan for larger contracts uses the same template but widens it: your whole organisation, a global boundary, and every relevant Scope 3 category, with a short explanation for any you treat as not relevant. NHS England accepts spend-based estimates for Scope 3, and in 2027/28 tenders, gaps in the extra Scope 3 data pass if you explain them and show how you will report them next year.

How your footprint maps onto what the NHS asks for

ESG Now calculates your footprint using the GHG Protocol and the UK Government’s conversion factors, with every line of working in the appendix. It covers:

• Scope 1: gas, heating oil and LPG, company cars and vans, fuel for generators and machinery, and refrigerant top-ups on air conditioning or refrigeration
• Scope 2: electricity (location-based and market-based) and EV charging
• Waste: general waste and recycling, from tonnages or estimated from your bins
• Business travel: flights, rail, staff driving their own cars for work, taxis and hotel nights
• Employee commuting and homeworking
• Upstream transport you pay for: courier deliveries and parcels
• Optional extras for the wider 2027 plan: a spend-based estimate of purchased goods and services, and the upstream emissions from producing and delivering your energy and fuel

To be straight about the gaps: goods your suppliers deliver at their own cost, downstream transport your customers arrange, and the use or disposal of products you sell are not calculated. If they apply, record them as data gaps with a plan to close them, or ask your hauliers for a figure. For many service businesses they do not apply, and you can simply say so.

Why measure now, before April 2027

If your NHS contracts are under £5 million a year, a Net Zero Commitment is probably all you have needed so far. From 1 April 2027 that changes, and new tenders will ask for a plan with real baseline and current figures. Measuring now means you go into those tenders with a full year of data, a commitment you can stand behind, and some reductions already under way. The roadmap also says that from 2030 only suppliers who can show progress through published reports will qualify for NHS contracts, so the sooner your baseline year is set, the sooner progress starts to count.

Social value: the other half of the 10%

The 10% weighting is shared between net zero and social value, and the social side is often where small suppliers score well. Buyers want specific, checkable answers about how you treat people.

Your ESG report records the evidence they look for: whether you pay the Real Living Wage, training days per person, written risk assessments and health and safety incidents, your harassment policy, community activity, data protection and ICO registration, supplier checks and payment terms. Having it in one dated document makes the social value questions far quicker to answer. Our guide to social value for small suppliers shows how to turn modest activity into strong answers.

How long it takes

An office-based business with no vehicles usually finishes in 20 to 30 minutes. With vans, or a clinic, workshop or other premises, allow 30 to 45. Have a recent energy bill, your bin details, a rough count of work trips and an idea of how your team gets to work. Answers save as you go, so you can stop to find a figure and pick up where you left off.

Your first report is free, with no card needed. Start your report and have your NHS carbon figures ready before you open the tender portal.