Supply chain and procurement – Green Plan

The purchasing and supply of medicines, medical equipment and other consumables accounts for over half of the NHS Carbon Footprint. Influencing the supply chain and procurement process therefore has the potential to greatly impact scope 3 emissions and the journey to a net zero NHS.

The NHS net zero supplier roadmap (PDF) sets out the NHS requirements for procurements until 2028. We have implemented the 2022 requirement of 10% net zero and social value in all competed procurements and implements the requirements for carbon reduction plans and application of the Evergreen sustainable supplier assessment where possible.

To extend beyond these targets, further engagement across the Trust is needed to understand where single use products can be reduced, and sustainability considerations can be built into procurement as a standardised item. This is a particular challenge within clinical operations, with work needed to ensure the safety and clinical functionality of products.

Our supply chain and procurement objective is to:

Provide information and training across the Trust to embed sustainability considerations into all our procurement decisions and business processes, from end users to board members.

Where we are

  • Inclusion of 10% net zero social value weighting in all our competed procurements
  • Encourage our suppliers to have a carbon management plan in place

Where we want to be

  • Work with the Green Plan Implementation Group to encourage staff and signpost to sustainability training to encourage end users to consider sustainability in procurement decisions
  • Further promotion of carbon reduction plans from our suppliers, and encourage suppliers to be compliant with the Evergreen Framework
  • Reduce our reliance on single-use products
  • Continue the roll-out of a digitised inventory management solution (SupplyX) where suitable

Actions

We have identified the following actions to enable achievement of our supply chain and procurement objective:
Action Trust lead Delivery date
Embed NHS net zero supplier roadmap requirements into all relevant procurements and ensure they are monitored via KPIs Head of Sustainability 2028
Reduce reliance on single-use products, considering how to safely build this work into clinical improvement projects Head of Sustainability 2028
Explore and implement a digitised inventory management solution across the Trust Procurement Lead and CDIO 2028
Promote PPN 006 (formerly PPN 06/21) to ensure carbon reduction plans are in place for key suppliers Procurement Lead 2028
Collate case studies from other NHS organisations on projects to reduce single-use items to support with their implementation Head of Sustainability End of 2025
Explore and implement sustainability-specific training to supply chain and procurement professionals Procurement Lead and Head of Sustainability End of 2026

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