NHS Evergreen Assessment: A Practical Guide for SMEs

What SMEs need to know about the NHS Evergreen Assessment and carbon reporting

If your business supplies to the NHS – or plans to – you’ll need to understand the NHS Evergreen Framework and carbon reporting rules.

The NHS Evergreen Framework has been introduced to help simplify how suppliers demonstrate sustainability credentials with the NHS, with relevant data and reports all shared in one place.

In this guide, we’ll cover all you need to know about reporting carbon data through NHS Evergreen.

The NHS Net Zero strategy: what’s driving this?

The NHS aims to become the world’s first Net Zero health system. It has committed to:

Net Zero for direct emissions by 2040
Net Zero for wider supply chain by 2045

Since over 60% of the NHS carbon footprint lies in its supply chain, suppliers are a critical part of meeting these goals.

NHS Carbon Reporting: what’s currently required?

Let’s start with a quick bullet-summary of the current rules when it comes to carbon reporting to the NHS. We’ll then look at each requirement in more detail.

Carbon Reduction Plans – PPN 006 (06/21)
- From April 2023: required for major contracts (≥£5m per year excl. VAT).
- Since April 2024: extended to all contracts regardless of value, though there's some flexibility at the procuring body's discretion for smaller entities.

Evergreen assessment:
- NHS Supply Chain and Medicine suppliers: Required to submit Evergreen assessments annually as of early 2024.
- For all other suppliers, completion is strongly encouraged and will be essential for eligibility from 2030.

NHS Carbon Reduction Plans

At the moment, a report called a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is required across most NHS procurement. A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is a short document that shows your current carbon footprint and how you plan to reach Net Zero. Your CRP must follow a set format described under PPN 006 (formerly called PPN 06/21), which includes:

Emissions for Scope 1, Scope 2, and selected Scope 3 categories
A baseline year and most recent year’s footprint
A clear Net Zero commitment
An action plan to reduce emissions
Board-level or equivalent approval
Publication on your website
Annual updates (within 6 months of your financial year end)

For a plain English explanation of CRPs, and more detail on how to comply, we’ve written a practical guide to Carbon Reduction Plan compliance for SMEs. The team at Seedling have helped 100s of businesses – from 10 person fully remote teams to 400-strong global manufacturers – get Carbon Reduction Plan compliant and use the process to drive value for their business. So, if you need a hand, get in touch.

What is NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment?

NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment is an online self-assessment tool that suppliers use to share sustainability information with the health service. It generates a ‘maturity level’ score based on how well the supplier aligns with NHS environmental priorities - particularly carbon reporting.

This score provides a baseline and helps both parties track progress over time. Suppliers can see what’s needed to move up to the next level and improve their chances of winning NHS contracts.

Completing the assessment is optional for many suppliers today – but it will become essential by 2030.

Side note: while this guide focuses on carbon reporting, the NHS Evergreen Assessment also covers wider sustainability topics – including social value, modern slavery, and broader ESG performance.

What’s the difference between NHS Evergreen and Carbon Reduction Plans (PPN 006)?

NHS Evergreen and the Carbon Reduction Plans (CRP) are different but complementary tools.

A CRP is a standalone document required to bid for many NHS contracts. It focuses on emissions measurement and Net Zero targets for UK operations.
Evergreen builds on this by offering a broader view of a supplier’s sustainability maturity - including global emissions, year-on-year reductions, product-level footprints, and more.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how Carbon Reduction Plans and NHS Evergreen differ and overlap.

Comparison of requirements: Carbon Reduction Plans vs. the NHS Evergreen Assessment

Evergreen builds on the CRP. A compliant Carbon Reduction Plan is required to reach even the first maturity level in the Evergreen assessment.

How does NHS Evergreen scoring work?

The Evergreen Assessment evaluates suppliers against a set of sustainability criteria and assigns a maturity level from 1 to 4. These levels indicate the extent to which a supplier is aligning with NHS expectations around carbon reporting and sustainability:

Level 1: Foundational – Requires a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan. Demonstrates basic awareness and commitment to sustainability, including a Net Zero target.
Level 2: Developing – Adds more detailed emissions data, including Scope 3 coverage, and some tracking of performance improvements.
Level 3: Established – Includes global emissions reporting, demonstrable emissions reductions over time, and strategies for product-level carbon footprints.
Level 4: Advanced – Demonstrates high maturity with verified emissions data, third-party certifications, integration into corporate strategy, and leadership in sustainability innovation.

The requirements are summarised here in the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment Maturity Criteria Matrix:

Summary of NHS Evergreen maturity rating requirements (NHS Maturity Criteria Matrix)

Suppliers are not expected to reach Level 4 immediately. The assessment is designed to encourage progression and readiness for future NHS requirements.

Who is required to complete NHS Evergreen assessment?

Some suppliers - including medicine and NHS Supply Chain suppliers – are already required to complete Evergreen assessments. All other suppliers will be expected to complete them by 2030.

Where to complete your Evergreen assessment

To complete the NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment:

Register or log in to Atamis, the NHS commercial platform
Go to the “Supplier Assessments” tile
Complete the online questionnaire and submit your evidence

Carbon reporting for the NHS: what’s changing?

In the future, the NHS intends to expand its carbon reporting requirements (you can check out the future NHS roadmap here). These changes eventually aim to go beyond commitments and require suppliers to demonstrate real reductions – as part of a wider push to meet the NHS Net Zero strategy, though what this means in practice is to be confirmed.

Coming soon:

April 2027: CRPs must cover global Scope 1, 2, and all Scope 3 emissions, aligned with a 2045 Net Zero target.
April 2028: Begin product-level carbon footprinting using recognised methods.
By 2030: Suppliers will need to demonstrate progress toward reducing emissions to remain eligible for NHS contracts.

The Evergreen assessment will be a key part of showing progress, and will support future decisions on contract eligibility. It's important to say that implementation plans are still evolving. We'll help you stay up to date!

Do I need to measure Scope 3 Emissions as an NHS supplier?

Today, only a partial Scope 3 footprint is strictly needed, including the below categories:

Upstream transportation and distribution
Waste
Business travel
Employee commuting
Downstream transportation and distribution

However, the absence of a full Scope 3 assessment will mean you're limited to Level 1 in the Evergreen framework (check out the NHS Maturity Criteria Matrix above).

By 2027, NHS carbon reporting rules will require suppliers to produce CRPs that include global Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

How Seedling helps

We make carbon reporting manageable, accurate, and NHS-compliant:

Measure full-scope emissions: Build an accurate, GHG Protocol-aligned footprint, including full Scope 3 emissions.
Generate CRPs automatically: Fully compliant with PPN 006 (06/21) and NHS expectations. Signed and ready to publish.
Track year-on-year progress: Our platform makes it easy to update footprints, compare results, and show real reductions.
Prepare for product-level footprints: Our product carbon footprint (PCF) tool means you'll be ready for the 2028 PCF rollout.
Export bid-ready outputs: Whether for Evergreen, public tenders, or internal reporting – your reports are just a click away.

Supplying the NHS?

Start measuring, reporting and reducing now - with support at every step. Check out our work, or book a call with one of our experts. We'd love to help.

Further reading