The Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment (ESSA) is an online self-assessment tool from NHS England. Suppliers use this tool to participate in NHS sustainability efforts and line up with NHS net zero goals. The assessment gives suppliers a simple way to share their sustainability information with the NHS. It creates a single channel to exchange information and data between suppliers and the NHS system.
Following completion of the assessment, suppliers can receive a sustainability maturity score. This score indicates where they stand against NHS priorities while mapping out their path forward. It reflects how well suppliers match key NHS sustainability goals, including those in the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap.
The NHS has a mission to reach net zero emissions, and the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment contributes to this as it aims to control direct emissions by 2040 and reduce emissions from goods and services by 2045. The initiative builds on the UK Government’s procurement policy and gives suppliers a well-laid-out framework to showcase their sustainability work.
Although the assessment isn’t yet part of scored procurement requirements, it brings great benefits to both suppliers and NHS organizations.
More specifically, suppliers can:
For NHS organizations, the Evergreen sustainable supplier assessment is an opportunity to dive deeper into supply chain sustainability, as it allows them to keep all supplier information in one place and consequently helps them in making better contract management decisions.
The assessment takes its criteria from leading sustainability initiatives like the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT). The criteria also include specific NHS sustainability requirements from the Net Zero Supplier Roadmap. Suppliers are asked to meet five key requirements, including an Evergreen Supplier Assessment, to help NHS reach its sustainability targets.
This complete assessment supports NHS in fostering a supply chain that’s quick, responsible, and eco-friendly, while also supporting NHS’s broader environmental and social governance goals.
NHS England requires many organizations to complete the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment. Different supplier categories must meet specific timelines and criteria.
NHS England, integrated care boards, and NHS trusts need their suppliers to complete the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment. The health departments and NHS systems across Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales can access the data from these assessments. Medicine suppliers and NHS Supply Chain suppliers already need to complete these assessments, and by 2030, the rest of the suppliers should follow.
As mentioned earlier, the Evergreen assessment stands as one of the five key sustainability requirements for existing suppliers. They also need to publish a Carbon Reduction Plan and add a minimum 10% Net Zero and Social Value weighting to all procurements.
Entities bidding for NHS England Medicines Value and Access tenders must submit an Evergreen Assessment from January 2024. The tender pack outlines these details. The assessment works as a pass/fail requirement that checks if an active submission exists. Bidders without an assessment cannot move forward in the procurement process.
The NHS has broadened its Carbon Reduction Plan requirements since April 2024. These now cover all new procurements, not just those above £5 million per year. They use a two-tier system. High-value procurements (£5m per year and above) need full Carbon Reduction Plans. Lower-value procurements (below £5m per year and above £10k) require a Net Zero Commitment.
Current NHS Supply Chain Framework suppliers should have submitted their Evergreen Assessment by February 1, 2024. Future framework bidders will need to submit an assessment during the tendering process.
NHS Supply Chain lists five essential requirements that suppliers must meet to support sustainability targets:
Organizations working for NHS entities must also follow these requirements. Suppliers who don’t meet NHS Evergreen assessment levels might lose their bids soon.
The NHS Evergreen Assessment needs a structured process through the Atamis platform. This approach will give suppliers a way to provide consistent sustainability information to the NHS system.
Suppliers must first register on the Atamis platform, the health family’s e-commerce procurement system. The registration starts when you click the “Register Here” button on the portal’s landing page, and there should be detailed company information filled in, including the Company House Registration Number and DUNS Number.
Organizations already on Atamis should have their new users select “Join Company” or “Request Merge” to access the existing supplier account.
Your organization should decide internally who will manage and coordinate the completion process before starting the assessment.
It needs transparent and accurate environmental and social data.
Higher maturity levels come with additional and more detailed evidence, including confirmed net-zero plans that cover emissions from your organization and global parent entity.
Suppliers submit the assessment through the Atamis portal and receive a sustainability maturity score based on their evidence. This score shows how well you line up with NHS sustainability standards.
You should complete the Evergreen sustainable supplier assessment yearly, and your maturity score remains valid for 12 months. Notwithstanding that, you can update your yearly assessment with major developments throughout the year.
The ESSA maturity scoring system assesses suppliers across four progressive levels that show how well they match NHS sustainability priorities. Each level shows growing sophistication in sustainability practices and commitment to NHS environmental goals.
Level 1 marks the starting point for suppliers who begin their sustainability experience. Organizations at this tier must show they have put environmental measures in place and made a public commitment to achieve net zero carbon. Suppliers must provide carbon emissions data that covers Scope 1, 2, and some Scope 3 emissions within UK boundaries. They also need a net zero target of 2050 or sooner. This level sets up simple sustainability awareness and asks only for legal compliance with modern slavery statements.
Level 2 needs a more complete approach to sustainability. Suppliers here must report on Scope 1, 2, and all relevant Scope 3 emissions within UK boundaries. This stage asks for a well-laid-out approach to modern slavery issues and a formal corporate social value program. Level 2 shows that suppliers actively implement sustainability practices beyond simple compliance and integrate sustainability into their operations.
Level 3 marks major progress in sustainability maturity. Suppliers must set a 2045 net zero target (five years earlier than Level 2) and report emissions globally. External parties must verify these targets and emissions data. Suppliers must complete the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool, which shows excellent sustainability integration and strong progress toward reduction targets.
The highest maturity level recognizes suppliers as sustainability leaders in their field. Level 4 needs 2045 net zero targets verified independently across the entire global organization, including the parent company. Suppliers must show transparency through higher performer reporting (e.g., CDP, EcoVadis, or B Corp). On top of that, they must actively map their supply chain or break down and alleviate supplier risks of modern slavery beyond regulatory requirements. This level represents exceptional sustainability excellence that drives state-of-the-art solutions and achieves substantial carbon reductions.
The NHS made history in October 2020 as the world’s first health service to commit to reaching carbon net zero. This groundbreaking step addressed the mounting health risks from climate change. The NHS developed and implemented the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment as a key tool to reach its sustainability goals.
Around 80,000 suppliers provide materials to the NHS, which makes up over 60% of its carbon footprint. The NHS doesn’t control these emissions directly but can use its substantial buying power to drive meaningful changes through its supply chain.
This assessment offers an excellent path for the NHS to track supply chain emissions and meet its Net Zero Supplier Roadmap requirements. The system collaborates especially well with the NHS’s complex supply chain that has more than half a million products.
NHS England works with supplier trade groups through its Trade Association Engagement Program so through this partnership common issues can be more easily tackled across different sectors. They cooperate on rules, policies, and what the NHS expects from suppliers in terms of sustainability.
Research shows public healthcare systems like the NHS can implement national emission reduction strategies more efficiently than market-based systems. Healthcare in the USA produces more than twice the carbon footprint per person compared to the UK. This difference emphasizes how well the NHS’s unified approach to sustainability fits.
For more information on sustainability and ESG terms, frameworks, and regulations, make sure to constantly check our glossary page as well as our certified online courses for a deeper dive into sustainable practices.
