The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap: a guide for small suppliers

The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap is NHS England’s timetable for what suppliers must show about their carbon emissions, from 2022 to 2030. Today, every NHS tender weights net zero and social value at 10% or more, and you need a Net Zero Commitment or a Carbon Reduction Plan depending on contract size. From 1 April 2027, the commitment on its own is no longer enough: every in-scope contract needs a Carbon Reduction Plan with real emissions figures.

If you sell to a trust, an integrated care board or an NHS framework, this applies to you whether you employ three people or three hundred. The good news is that each step builds on the last, and you have time to get ready.

What is the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap?

In October 2020 the NHS published its plan for a net zero health service. Its targets are net zero by 2040 for the emissions it controls directly, and by 2045 for the emissions it can influence. Most of that second group sits in its supply chain: the medicines, equipment, services and building work it pays for.

In September 2021 the NHS England board approved a roadmap to bring suppliers along. It builds on central government procurement policy, in particular PPN 006 on Carbon Reduction Plans and PPN 002 on social value. The milestones are on NHS England’s suppliers page, the rules that apply today are in its Carbon Reduction Plan and Net Zero Commitment guidance, and the rules from April 2027 are in its 2027 guidance, published in June 2026.

What are the NHS roadmap milestones?

From	What the NHS requires
April 2022	Every NHS procurement includes a minimum 10% weighting for net zero and social value
April 2023	New contracts above £5 million a year need a published Carbon Reduction Plan covering UK Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories
April 2024	Extended to all new procurements: a full plan for contracts of £5 million a year or more and new frameworks, a Net Zero Commitment for smaller contracts above the procurement threshold
April 2027	Net Zero Commitment retired for new procurements. Smaller contracts need a standard Carbon Reduction Plan. Contracts of £5 million a year or more and new frameworks need a 2027 NHS plan covering all relevant global Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
April 2028	New requirements for carbon footprints of individual products supplied to the NHS
2030	Only suppliers who can show progress through published progress reports and continued emissions reporting can qualify for NHS contracts

Since February 2025 the £5 million threshold has included VAT, to match the Procurement Act 2023. Which rules apply depends on when the procurement started, not when you submit, so a tender that began in March 2027 still follows the current rules.

What does the NHS ask for right now?

Until 1 April 2027 there are two tiers, and the tender pack will say which applies.

A Net Zero Commitment is for contracts below £5 million a year and above the published procurement threshold, which is where most small suppliers sit. You publicly commit to net zero by 2050 or earlier for your UK operations, covering Scope 1, Scope 2 and the five Scope 3 categories below, and signpost it on your website. NHS England suggests a one-line format:

“[Supplier name] is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 20XX for emissions scopes X, X and X. The commitment was made on DD/MM/YY by the [approving board/equivalent management body].”

In the tender you confirm you are taking steps to cut your emissions, give your target year and provide the link. The commitment itself does not ask for an emissions breakdown.

A full Carbon Reduction Plan is for contracts of £5 million a year or more and new NHS frameworks of any value. It follows the central government template and reports baseline and current emissions in tCO2e for Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories:

• upstream transportation and distribution
• waste generated in operations
• business travel
• employee commuting
• downstream transportation and distribution

It also lists your carbon reduction measures, is approved by the board or a director, is published on your website and is updated at least once a year. A current plan written for a government contract is accepted as it stands. Our PPN 006 guide covers the template in detail.

Both are pass or fail. Nobody compares your plan with a competitor’s.

What changes on 1 April 2027?

This is the milestone that matters most to small suppliers. For procurements starting on or after 1 April 2027, the Net Zero Commitment tier disappears and is replaced by two kinds of Carbon Reduction Plan.

Contracts below £5 million a year (and above the threshold) need what NHS England calls a “2024 CRP”. In practice, this is exactly the standard PPN 006 plan described above: Scope 1, Scope 2 and the five Scope 3 categories, for your UK operations at minimum. If you have only ever published a commitment, this is the step up. You will need a baseline year, current figures and a list of reduction measures.

Contracts of £5 million a year or more, and new frameworks and dynamic markets, need a “2027 NHS CRP”. It uses the same template but goes further:

• it covers your whole organisation on a global boundary, not just UK operations
• it reports Scope 1, Scope 2 and all relevant Scope 3 categories under the GHG Protocol, with an explanation for any you treat as not relevant
• spend-based estimates are accepted for Scope 3
• the net zero commitment is still 2050 or earlier, with 2045 recommended

There is some breathing room built in. In 2027/28 tenders, gaps in the extra Scope 3 data pass if you give an acceptable explanation and a plan to report those emissions from the following year. Framework owners can also apply the lighter standard plan where the full 2027 version would be disproportionate.

How long will yours take?

Pick the option that sounds most like your business. You will see a realistic time, what to have nearby and a head start on the questions.

Which sounds most like you?

Sole trader working from homeConsultants, designers, developers, coaches10 to 15 minSole trader or freelancer in a co-working spaceA desk at a WeWork, Regus or local hub10 to 15 minSmall team in a co-working or serviced officeStartups and agencies with 2 to 25 people15 to 20 minSME with its own office and no vehiclesProfessional services, tech firms, studios20 to 30 minSME with vans, cars or regular staff travelTrades, field services, consultancies on the road30 to 45 minShop, cafe, workshop or product businessRetail, hospitality, makers and manufacturers30 to 45 min

Your estimate

About 20 to 30 minutes

Around 50 questions, most of them multiple choice

Still comfortably under half an hour.

You will add your electricity and gas use, plus a quick estimate of your bins. If you do not have the exact figures, the questionnaire works them out from your floor area instead.

Handy to have nearby

• A recent electricity and gas bill (or your office size in square metres)
• How many general waste and recycling bins you have
• Headcount and a rough idea of business trains and flights
• How your team usually gets to work

Missing something? Estimates are fine, and you can come back to any answer later.

Office-based firms usually have clear, low-cost ways to cut their footprint. Your action plan will list them in order.

Start with this profile

First report free. No card needed.

What happens in 2028 and 2030?

April 2028 brings requirements for the carbon footprint of individual products supplied to the NHS. NHS England says it will work with suppliers and regulators to set the scope and method. Service businesses are less likely to be affected directly.

From 2030, the bar becomes progress. Suppliers will only qualify for NHS contracts if they can show what they have achieved through published progress reports and continued emissions reporting. In practice that means measuring your footprint every year, with the same method, and publishing the result alongside your plan.

What is the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment?

Evergreen is NHS England’s online assessment where suppliers describe their sustainability work and net zero progress, giving NHS organisations a common way to collect it. It has been required for tenders run by NHS England Medicines Value and Access since January 2024, with a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan also required since April 2024. Most other small suppliers will not be asked for it, but the questions overlap heavily with what your footprint and ESG report cover.

What should a small supplier do at each stage?

Now, if your contracts are under £5 million a year:

1. Measure your footprint for your last financial year. This becomes your baseline.
2. Publish a Net Zero Commitment on your website, approved by a director or your board, for any tender that still asks for one.
3. Turn your figures into a standard Carbon Reduction Plan, so it is ready for tenders from April 2027.

Now, if you bid for contracts of £5 million or more, or frameworks:

1. Measure Scope 1, Scope 2 and the five Scope 3 categories, and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan.
2. Start widening your Scope 3: a spend-based estimate of what you buy is a sensible first pass.
3. Note which categories are not relevant to you and why, ready for the 2027 plan.

Every year from now to 2030:

1. Measure again with the same method, so you can show change.
2. Set a target against your baseline year. Our net zero commitment examples show sensible wording.
3. Work through the actions that cut your biggest sources, and publish a short progress update.

How ESG Now fits in

ESG Now gives you the footprint behind all of this. It follows the GHG Protocol and uses the UK Government’s conversion factors for your reporting year, with every calculation shown and every source labelled as measured, estimated or a data gap.

For the five Scope 3 categories in a standard plan, it covers waste, business travel (flights, rail, staff driving their own cars, taxis and hotels), employee commuting and courier deliveries you pay for. For a wider 2027 plan, it adds an optional spend-based estimate of purchased goods and services and the upstream emissions from your energy and fuel. It does not calculate goods suppliers deliver at their own cost, transport your customers arrange, the use or disposal of products you sell, or investments. If those apply, record them as data gaps or ask your hauliers and suppliers for figures.

ESG Now does not generate an NHS Carbon Reduction Plan or Net Zero Commitment document. It gives you the baseline and figures you need to complete them yourself. The report is not independently verified, and the NHS does not require it to be.

What if you cannot get all the data?

Both the current and the 2027 guidance allow a plan that reports the emissions you have, as long as you explain why the rest is missing and set out how you will improve the data. Each explanation is judged case by case. A footprint that clearly separates measured figures from estimates and gaps makes that explanation much easier to write.

A business with an office and no vehicles usually finishes the questionnaire in 20 to 30 minutes, and one with vans in 30 to 45. Answers save as you go. Your first report is free. Start your report and have your NHS baseline in place well before April 2027. For the commercial side, see our NHS suppliers hub.