NHS Supplier Requirements
NHS Evergreen Assessment:
Expert Support for Suppliers
If you supply the NHS, or want to win NHS work, you will start seeing the word “Evergreen” in tender documents. The NHS Evergreen Assessment is now a gate on some NHS work: since April 2026, bidding for a new NHS Supply Chain framework means reaching Level 1 by the time the tender closes. Miss it, and your bid is not even looked at.
Net Zero Group helps suppliers get Evergreen-ready fast. We build carbon footprints that stand up to scrutiny, write and publish PPN 006 compliant Carbon Reduction Plans, and take you through the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment question by question, so you stay eligible and win more NHS work.
Not sure whether you are eligible for your next NHS tender?
Book a free 30-minute Evergreen readiness call and we will tell you exactly where you stand and how far you are from Level 1.
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The basics
What is the NHS Evergreen Assessment?
The Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment is an online form where you tell the NHS how your company is performing on carbon and sustainability, and receive a maturity level from 1 to 4 in return. It is run by NHS England through its Central Commercial Function.
It is a self-assessment: you answer the questions yourself rather than being audited. You complete it once, it stays valid for twelve months, and every NHS buyer can see it. It is not a scheme you pay to join, and it is not a certification.
Why does it exist? Roughly two thirds of the NHS carbon footprint comes from what it buys rather than what it does. The NHS cannot hit its own net zero targets without its suppliers moving too. It is aiming for net zero by 2040 for emissions it controls directly, and 2045 for its supply chain. That 2045 date is why the top levels ask for a 2045 target.
Eligibility
Does the NHS Evergreen Assessment apply to me?
For most suppliers it is currently strongly encouraged rather than legally required. But there are two situations where it is a hard requirement:
New NHS Supply Chain frameworks
You need Level 1 at the point the tender closes (since 6 April 2026). This requires a fully compliant Carbon Reduction Plan. Before that date, any submission at any level was accepted. That change is why suppliers are suddenly asking about Evergreen.
NHS England medicines tenders
You must have a live submission on file (applied since January 2024, covering medicines, devices and appliances, borderline substances, plasma derived products and homecare). You need a submission, but not yet a specific level.
The assessment is open to any supplier that provides, or plans to provide, goods or services to NHS England, an integrated care board, or an NHS trust in England. Health bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can also see the data.
If your company already files SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting), you already hold some of the data Evergreen wants.
Renewal
How often do you redo it, and what happens if you ignore it?
Your level is valid for twelve months, then you do it again. You can update mid-year whenever something significant changes (and you should, if the change moves you up a level). One submission covers every NHS bid you make in that window, so you do not resubmit for each tender.
Ignore it, and if you bid for NHS Supply Chain frameworks you get shut out. Not marked down, shut out, before anyone reads your pricing or quality answers. And from 2030, the stated position is that only suppliers who can show progress will qualify for NHS contracts. Companies that wait until 2029 will be trying to build three years of carbon data in three months.
Maturity levels
NHS Evergreen Maturity Levels Explained
A maturity level is a single number from 1 to 4 showing how far your company has progressed with measuring and cutting its emissions, and how much of that has been independently checked. Higher is better; Level 4 is the top. The criteria were updated in April 2026, and despite what some older articles claim, there are four levels, not five.
Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment: Maturity Criteria Matrix
Source: NHS England, June 2026
| Criteria | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental measures in effect (e.g. carbon reduction projects) | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Scope of net zero target and emissions provided (publicly available) | Scope 1, 2 and a subset of scope 3 | Scope 1, 2 and all relevant scope 3 | Scope 1, 2 and all relevant scope 3 | Global entity and reporting entity: Scope 1, 2 and all relevant scope 3 |
| Geographical boundary of net zero target and emissions provided (minimum) | UK boundary | Global boundary | Global boundary | Global boundary |
| Net zero target year (minimum and publicly available) | 2050 | 2050 | 2045 | 2045 |
| Validation of net zero target and verification of emissions provided | Not required | Not required | Required for reporting entity | Required for reporting entity and global parent company (targets only) |
| Entity providing target information | Reporting entity | Reporting entity | Reporting entity | Reporting entity and global parent company |
| Approval required for the sign-off of carbon reduction initiatives, including targets and emissions | Board level | Board level | Board level | Board level |
| Emissions reporting standard | Adherence to GHG Protocol Standard | Adherence to GHG Protocol Standard | Adherence to GHG Protocol Standard | Adherence to GHG Protocol Standard |
| Publication date of information provided | Required to be within 12-month period of Assessment submission | Required to be within 12-month period of Assessment submission | Required to be within 12-month period of Assessment submission | Required to be within 12-month period of Assessment submission |
| Higher performer – transparency reporting (e.g. CDP, EcoVadis or B Corp) | Not required | Not required | Not required | Required |
| Public modern slavery statement | As per legislative requirements1 | As per legislative requirements1 | Required | Required |
| Modern Slavery Assessment Tool | As per legislative requirements1 | As per legislative requirements1 | Required | Required |
| Identifying and mitigating modern slavery risks | As per legislative requirements1 | As per legislative requirements1 | As per legislative requirements1 | At least one of the following: actively taking steps to map supply chain; actively investigating incidents and mitigating high risks found |
Superscript 1 is NHS England’s own footnote marker against “As per legislative requirements” on the published matrix.
Level 1
The entry point
A published Carbon Reduction Plan meeting the government’s PPN 006 standard, a commitment to net zero by 2050 across your UK operations, and reported emissions. The plan must have been published within the twelve months before you submit, and signed off by your board.
Level 2
Level 1 taken worldwide
The same 2050 target date, but covering your global operations rather than just the UK, and all relevant supply chain emissions. Level 2 is deliberately built to match what the NHS will expect of everyone from April 2027, so reaching it now means you are already ahead.
Level 3
Brings the date forward, adds outside checks
A 2045 net zero target, independently validated. You also need a public modern slavery statement and a completed Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT), the free government questionnaire on labour risk in your supply chain.
Level 4
For companies genuinely ahead
Everything in Level 3, but your 2045 targets must cover your whole global group including your ultimate parent, validated at that level. You also report through a recognised transparency scheme such as CDP, EcoVadis or B Corp, and either map your supply chain or investigate incidents and reduce the high risks you find.
The underlying numbers
Carbon Reporting and the Carbon Reduction Plan
Emissions reporting means adding up the greenhouse gases your company causes in a year, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Emissions are split into three scopes:
Scope 1
Fuel you burn yourself (gas boilers, diesel in your own vans, refrigerant leaks).
Scope 2
Electricity, heat or steam you buy. Usually the easiest number, straight off your energy bills.
Scope 3
Everyone else in your value chain: purchased goods and services, deliveries, staff commuting, business travel, waste. Fifteen official categories, and almost always the biggest and hardest number.
Level 1 under PPN 006 asks for five Scope 3 categories, not all fifteen: upstream transport and distribution, waste, business travel, employee commuting, and downstream transport and distribution. Level 2 is where all relevant Scope 3 arrives, including purchased goods and services, which is usually why the jump from Level 1 to Level 2 takes real effort.
A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is a short public document on a government template stating your emissions and what you are doing to cut them. It must commit to net zero by 2050 as a minimum, show your baseline and current-year emissions, list your reduction projects, carry a director’s signature, be published on your own website, and be refreshed annually. You cannot reach Level 1 without one, so the plan comes first, then you answer Evergreen using its numbers.
How we help
How Net Zero Group Helps You Pass the Evergreen Assessment
Evergreen is arithmetic on top of invoices, and the hard part is finding the invoices, choosing the right baseline year, and not confusing a commitment with a validated target. That is where we come in. As a B Corp certified UK sustainability consultancy, we take the whole process off your desk:
Evergreen readiness review
We log the assessment against your current position and tell you whether you are a fortnight or six months from Level 1.
PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plans
We build and publish a compliant, board-ready CRP that holds up to buyer scrutiny.
Full carbon footprinting
Scope 1, 2 and 3 to the GHG Protocol standard, including the spend-based Scope 3 estimates that trip most suppliers up.
Question-by-question submission support
We take you through all nine Evergreen sections on Atamis so nothing is left blank or misreported.
A roadmap to higher levels
A clear plan to move from Level 1 towards Levels 2, 3 and 4 as NHS expectations tighten in 2027 and 2028.
The result does double duty: do the work once for the NHS, then point at your Evergreen level when a local authority, a large retailer, a tier-one contractor or a bank asks similar sustainability questions. It keeps you in the room, and gives you evidence for the parts of a tender that are actually scored.
The timeline
Why Acting Early on Evergreen Is a Competitive Advantage
April 2027
Suppliers are expected to publicly report targets and emissions and publish a CRP covering global Scope 1, 2 and 3, which is Level 2 territory.
April 2028
Product-level carbon footprinting arrives.
2030
Only suppliers who can demonstrate progress will qualify.
It takes more than a year to demonstrate a credible net zero trend. A company with 2026 baseline data can show a trend in 2030; one starting in 2029 can show a single data point and a promise.
There is also a queue problem: validation and verification are done by a limited number of bodies, and demand rises every time a requirement changes. Starting now is the cheapest and safest route.
Before you start
What You’ll Need for Your Evergreen Submission
Before you begin, gather the following. If any of these feel out of reach, that is exactly what we help with:
- Twelve months of energy bills for every site you occupy
- Fuel records or mileage logs for vehicles you own or lease
- Refrigerant top-up records for air conditioning and refrigeration
- Waste transfer notes or invoices from your waste contractor
- Business travel data: flights, rail, hotel nights, mileage claims
- Employee numbers by site, plus commuting patterns
- A full year of purchase ledger data by supplier and spend category
- Your Carbon Reduction Plan and modern slavery statement, with dates
- Your target wording, exactly as it appears publicly
- Any verification or validation certificates
Free download
Download our free NHS Evergreen guide
The NHS Evergreen Assessment: a simple guide for suppliers walks you through all four maturity levels, the nine question sections, and the exact data you need, in plain English, no jargon required.
Download the free guide (PDF)FAQ
NHS Evergreen Assessment: Frequently Asked Questions
Get started
Ready to get Evergreen-ready?
Whether you have a tender deadline looming or you are planning ahead for 2027, Net Zero Group will build your carbon footprint, publish your PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan, and take you through the Evergreen Assessment step by step. If you are not sure whether you are eligible, we will work that out first.
Talk to an NHS Evergreen specialist
Tell us which tender you are bidding for and where your carbon data stands, and we'll come back with the shape of the work and a timeline.
A specialist replies — no automated sequence.