Companies that supply goods and services to the NHS will be well used to carbon reporting. In April 2023, the NHS, along with all other UK Public sector buyers, required suppliers to contracts or frameworks with a value over £5m a year to submit and maintain Carbon Reduction Plans.
In April 2024, that £5m threshold was removed, and carbon reporting became mandatory for all supplies.
In April 2027, the requirements for Scope 3 reporting will be extended. Currently only five of the 15 Scope 3 categories are required. After this date, reporting on all 15 categories will be mandatory. The impact of this will vary depending on the nature of the business.
For service providers, agency staff for example, some of the additional categories won’t be relevant, but will encompass purchased goods and services, leased assets, and more detailed reporting on energy and fuel.
For product suppliers, all categories will be relevant. In addition to those above, the carbon involved in product processing, use, and end-of-life disposal must be reported.
‘But that’s over a year away…..’
Yes, it is, but it has implications now.
Any carbon reduction plan which falls due for renewal on or after April 2027, will be for either the reporting calendar year 2026, or for the financial year Apr ‘26 to March ‘27, so suppliers are either now in the period in which this will apply, or only a couple of months away from it.
The cost of carbon reduction plan renewal will increase, as will the data collection requirements.
At the Clean Tech Business Group, we have a number of NHS suppliers on our books. For those clients, over the coming weeks we will be contacting them directly with more detail of these requirements.
For those suppliers not on our books, if you wish to discuss the quality and cost of your existing carbon reporting arrangements, of course we’d love to hear from you and to guide you through these new requirements.