The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) will introduce carbon reduction mandates for suppliers with contract values worth $5 million and above from next year.
Releasing the ‘Carbon reduction plan requirements for the procurement of NHS goods, services and works’ policy in February, the NHS says the requirements come into play in April 2024.
It states: “NHS organisations will require all suppliers of new contracts for goods, services, and/or works with an anticipated contract value above £5 million per year (excluding VAT) to publish a carbon reduction plan (CRP) for their emissions from the sources included in scope 1 and 2 of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, and a defined subset of scope 3 emissions.”
The NHS encourages suppliers to align with ‘future NHS roadmap milestones’ and “set a net zero target of 2045, although a target of 2050 will still meet the minimum requirements of CRPs.”
The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap has committed the NHS to reach net zero by 2040 for the emissions it controls directly. It has committed to net zero by 2045 for the emissions it “influences,” through the goods and services it buys from suppliers.
Last year the NHS introduced the requirement to provide a CRP is in addition to the inclusion of a minimum 10% weighting on net zero and social value in NHS procurement.
The supplier roadmap outlines that a carbon reductions will apply to all procurements from April 2024 and the following from then on:
- From April 2027: all suppliers will be required to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for global emissions aligned to the NHS net zero target, for all of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
- From April 2028: new requirements will be introduced overseeing the provision of carbon foot printing for individual products supplied.
- From 2030: suppliers will only be able to qualify for NHS contracts if they can demonstrate progress through published reports and carbon emissions reporting.
