NHS carbon reduction plans and net zero supplier roadmaps

NHS Carbon Reduction Plans and Net Zero Commitments

Secure your NHS supplier status and gain a competitive edge by developing a carbon reduction plan that meets UK government procurement legislation

Contact us

Get in touch with our Principal Consultant, Katie Moen.

What is an NHS Carbon Reduction Plan?

NHS England now requires all of its suppliers to publish an NHS Carbon Reduction Plan that quantifies their greenhouse gas emissions and that sets out when, and how, they will reach net-zero. This is designed to help the NHS reduce its own environmental impact and ensure it meets its net-zero goals.

Your plan must include:

A commitment to achieving net zero for your UK operations by 2050 at the latest,
Your baseline carbon footprint and your current emissions for scopes 1, 2, and 3, adhering to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) protocol (scope 3 categories 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 at a minimum),
Your emissions in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) for all seven greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol,
Your current carbon reduction initiatives and projects, and those that you will implement in the future to achieve net zero.

Recent carbon reduction clients include:

Your pathway to compliance

Carbon reduction glidepath example scopes 1 and 2 NHS

Bioregional will help you develop and publish your NHS Carbon Reduction Plan, including the carbon reduction measures you will need to achieve your emissions reduction targets and meet NHS compliance. If you don’t already have a baseline carbon footprint, we can help with that too.

We calculate your baseline carbon footprint, if you don’t already have one, and your current greenhouse gas emissions. We can do this for you with our full carbon accounting solution, or you could use our all-in-one carbon accounting toolkit.
We develop your emissions glidepath and work with you to agree your carbon reduction targets.
We create your net-zero action plan and support you with your NHS Carbon Reduction Plan submission by creating a summary document that’s fully in-line with UK government ‘Technical standard for completion of CRPs’ specifications.
If you would like, we can also support you to submit your net-zero target to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi is an international body that validates net-zero targets that follow the science-based trajectory needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

You’ll also need to ensure your Carbon Reduction Plan meets the following requirements to be fully compliant:

It must be approved by your board, or by a company director if no board is in place,
It must be clearly signposted and published on your website,
It must be updated at least annually – Bioregional can help with this.

What's new in 2024?

From April 2024, all NHS England suppliers need to meet NHS requirements for setting a Net Zero Commitment and Carbon Reduction Plan:

All existing suppliers with contracts worth more than £10k-per-year must publish a Net Zero Commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 or earlier.
For new frameworks, all suppliers must have a Carbon Reduction Plan aligned with UK government requirements (previously, suppliers with contracts worth less than £5m-per-year were exempt). Some variation may apply to specific frameworks. Further details can be found on the NHS England website.

How we helped Burlodge meet new NHS procurement legislation

Sustainable business, Net zero

Our support helped Burlodge develop a science-based net-zero reduction plan and meet the NHS Evergreen Assessment requirements

Our carbon credentials

Carbon Accounting Alliance banner Bioregional

Bioregional is a founding member of the Carbon Accounting Alliance - a coalition of software companies, consultancies, auditors and certifying bodies that have come together to collaborate on solving challenges faced by our industry, to share best practice and promote the development of robust standards.

Costs

Our fees vary depending on the scale of the work involved for each client. Book an intro call so we can find out more about your exact needs, and we’ll put together a proposal with full costings.

Bioregional’s expert team were instrumental in creating our baseline carbon footprint and NHS CRP, which included a net-zero workshop to engage our team, along with supporting the final submission to ensure it was water-tight and met all the NHS supplier criteria.
Daniela Triolo, Business Assistant, Burlodge